Are the rhetorical marks in sociological discourse specific and of a "scientific" nature? To tackle this delicate question, let us start by drawing up the generic characteristics of sociological texts. Let us compare these characteristics with those of a literary genre: the French "roman à these" from the beginning of the XX century. This old-fashioned and decried litterature will serve as a driving bolt in order to demonstrate that a formalism sometimes asserted as scientific, does not guarantee scientificity, but just conformity to editorial requirement. To conclude, if the difference between sociologal theses and novel is not embedded in the text itself then, what eventually makes its "scientific nature"? Maybe just the fragile conditions of its production and reception: debate and criticism of the sources, if effectively implemented. But is this always the case?
Sociology; novel; literary genre; rhetoric; scientificity