Symbolic Interactionism

The purpose of the bachelor's thesis “Cultural codes in the formation of Latvian national identity (15 May, 1934 – 15 May, 1939)” is to look at cultural instruments over a 5 year period starting from the Ulmanis coup of May 15, 1934. The thesis seeks to understand how important social elements are encoded into their content, in particular, the issue of national identity.

The theoretical part of the work is based on the perspectives of symbolic interactionism, E. D. Smith's theory of national identity, and B. Anderson's theory of imagined communities. Semiotics and cultural code theory have also been used.

Qualitative content and semiotical analysis have been utilized for the acquisition and analysis of data in literary works, and in fragments of books approved in the primary school curriculum.

The analysis conducted by the bachelor's work shows that national identity is socially constructed using public institutes by techniques described in the theory of national identity.

The distinctive contribution of sociological social psychology can be referred to as sociological miniaturism, a way of interpreting social processes and institutions that is microsociological more than it is psychological. We argue that social psychology of this variety permits the examination of large-scale social issues by means of investigation of small-scale social situations. The power of this approach to social life is that it permits recognition of the dense texture of everyday life, permits sociologists to understand more fully a substantive domain, and permits interpretive control. In the chapter we provide examples of this approach from two quite distinct theoretical orientations: symbolic interactionism and social exchange theory. We discuss the ways in which the study of two substantive topics, social power and collective identity, using these perspectives can be informed by closer collaboration between theorists within sociological social psychology. In the end it is o...

Conflict management is the overall approach an organisation uses to respond to disputes and difficult issues in the workplace. Some of the theoretical ideas that underlie contemporary conflict management, however, are different from the prevailing cultural norms present in many policing organisations. For a police supervisor to develop the most effective approach to in-house conflict mediation then, some considered awareness might be necessary. The purpose of this article is first to distinguish the character of the traditional problem-solving approach to in-house police conflict management. It is suggested that the frame one applies to conflict may affect what one sees and does. Afterwards, the article draws on a case study of a workplace conflict that took place recently in the Irish National Police Service, relating to the introduction of a new-style criminal investigation. The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate that from a social interactionary perspective, the problem-solving conflict approach was not capable of unmasking the relational, meaning-making and value intricacies in the circumstances described. Drawing on this appraisal, an assessment is offered for police supervisors wishing to engage in their own mediation efforts, which encompasses a critical assessment of the deficiency of the problem-solving approach to personnel disagreements. Ultimately, a conclusion is reached that successful conflict intervention demands a careful look at the interpretive relationships between opposition parties; a police supervisor needs to help conflicting opponents to query much of what they suppose they know about the other, in order to learn what really motivates them and why.

Parte della sociologia odierna si è occupata di trattare il contesto postmoderno come foriera di problematiche di vario genere, dallo sfibramento sociale e morale, alla fragilizzazione degli attori sociali. Troviamo in Barry Wellman e nel suo networked individualism una posizione atipica, che ha il merito di occuparsi dell'esperienza individualista senza necessariamente suggerire soluzioni; l'osservazione della realtà sociale di questo autore si combina con le prospettive del recente lavoro etnografico di Klinenberg, "Going Solo". L'idea di base è che la relazionalità abbia assunto fattezze controintuitive. La tendenza latente di molti approcci a sovrapporre il concetto di individualismo a quello di atomizzazione sociale, ne ha reso necessario uno smarcamento teorico e metodologico. Per questo motivo nella seconda parte del lavoro ci occupiamo di come trattare il fenomeno dell'isolamento una volta presa coscienza delle discontinuità teoriche di Wellman e Klinenberg. Utilizzando e riadattando alcuni strumenti e assunti della social network analysis e collegandoli alle intuizioni della loneliness research, cerchiamo di offrire un quadro metodologico che permetta di comprendere cosa significhi e come debba essere studiata la solitudine in ambito postmoderno.

By examining the narratives associated with animal-themed tattoos, this study explores the various ways in which humans relate to other animals. Participants used animal-likenesses to think about themselves, others, and the world around them. By embodying positive attributes of a species that they loved and admired, the tattoos enabled participants to construct meaning and identities based on shared human–animal traits. A thematic discourse analysis of the tattoo narratives grouped them as (1) shared experiences with another species, (2) life experiences and semiotic production of meaning, (3) animal traits embedded in the process of identity formation, (4) animals representing a connection with other humans, or (5) experiences of and/or ideas about animals that represent a profound or transcendent experience. The tattoo narratives were examined in the context of theoretical frameworks associated with “symbolic interactionism” and “interspecies intersubjectivities” to understand how animals were perceived and engaged with. In contrast to how nonhuman animals are often used as objects of ridicule, or representations of inferiority and uncouthness in various discourses and mediums, the animal subjects of the tattoos discussed here are positively portrayed and incorporated into the bearers’ own identity. Participants merged ideas about humanity and animality in a manner not representative of a naturalistic ontology, but rather a form of anthropomorphism that is dichotomous with naturalism.

Dans cet article on essayera de nouer des connections entre l'interactionnisme symbolique et un livre qui a été nommé ''Outsiders'', qui évidemment et notamment parle les déviants et la déviance. Autrement dit, on discutera la relation entre une idéologie, ''l'interactionnisme symbolique'' et un livre ''Outsiders'' en assujettissant la déviance.

Cirus Rinaldi SESSO, SÉ E SOCIETÀ Siamo tutti esseri sessuali? La nostra sessualità si fonda davvero in modo esclusivo su basi biologiche? Come, dove e perché spogliarsi, denudarsi, eccitarsi, urinare in pubblico o farsi massaggiare possono essere interpretati come atti sessuali? Il presente volume ripercorre in modo chiaro ed esemplare le fondamenta sociologiche della sessualità a partire dai significati che negoziamo e scegliamo per dirci sessuali o definire gli altri sessuali, per comprendere quando facciamo sesso o ci accade qualcosa di sessuale, per capire che sesso vuol dire più del sesso biologico, e che sessuali si diventa. Un invito a esplorare gli universi simbolici della sessualità, a rileggere senza pregiudizi il modo in cui le società immaginano, inventano, organizzano e strutturano i comportamenti sessuali.

This paper offers explanations of the meanings that push children to illegally armed groups in Colombia from the testimony of 21 demobilized young girls from the region of Antioquia (Colombia). The girls’ answers are placed on a typology of explanations drawn from academic reports, and compared to three samples of attributions of students, teachers and policemen of their same region. The visions “idealizing” and “criminalizing” mobilization are practically marginal in all samples. The dominant vision among the girls is called “self-assertive”. From the rest of the samples, as well as for the experts, the majority of the views are “victimizing”.

Using data collected during a four-year ethnographic study, this article examines the stigma management strategies of kids who are homeless in the San Francisco Bay area. We focus specifically on strategies of inclusion and exclusion. Strategies of inclusion are attempts by homeless kids to establish harmonious relationships with both peers and strangers. The most common are forging friendships, passing, and covering. Strategies of exclusion are aggressive and nonconciliatory attempts to gain social acceptance. They include verbal denigration and physical and sexual posturing. Some of these strategies successfully protect the kids' sense of self, while other strategies had the unintended effect of reinforcing their spoiled identities. We argue that these stigma management strategies are both informed by and interpreted through their disadvantaged social structural location.

En su 'Elogio del maquillaje', Baudelaire decía que todo lo bello y noble es resultado de la razón y el cálculo. En ese sentido, las artes, y en este caso, la música, lejos de constituir expresiones enteramente sublimes, y por ende, incapaces de ser entendidas bajo los parámetros de la razón humana, son, al contrario, actividades que si bien dotadas de sentido y de un contenido altamente trascendental, existen en la medida que son (re)producidas por seres de carne y hueso, quienes en interacción, tejen un conjunto de lógicas y dinámicas relativamente endógenas que moldean el desarrollo de aquello a lo que se dedican. El último libro de Robert Faulkner y Howard Becker, va precisamente en esa línea. 'El Jazz en acción…' es un minucioso y bien documentado trabajo en torno a las diversas habilidades que aprenden los músicos profesionales de jazz, para poder desenvolverse exitosamente en el escenario.

45 Metrópolis aleph REYNA CARRETERO 55 La ciencia del significado SERGIO FUENTES SOSA 59 El par de en medio o cómo colgar los tenis ALEJANDRO DOMÍNGUEZ MARÍN 63 Villa Coapa, donde la gente es guapa ALEJANDRA LUNA RODRÍGUEZ Certificado de reserva al título de derechos de autor: 04-2008-031314543600-102 ISSN: En trámite. 65 Dos poemas de memoria 69 Lo curioso de un microbús MARCO ANTONIO VICARIO OCAMPO 71 El silente secreto de la soledad MARGARITA CANO MENDOZA 75 Arte y memoria en la mesa de disección

There has been a continuous attack on education, particularly alternative, progressive, democratic and liberatory forms of education that seek social justice and an equality of opportunity for all to develop.  In the UK this has led to an attack on educators as 'the enemies of promise' by the Secretary of State for Education.  However, what is being proposed by policy makers are the old 'know your station in life' strategies of managing inequality.  These have always resulted in a violation of the intelligence of people.

The apparitions in Medjugorje are an extremely complex phenomenon that produces different interpretations and evaluations. In this paper I will focus solely on the perspective of those who recognize the apparitions of Mary as a symbol of resistance. This Mary's role I will analyse in the context of the Medjugorje apparitions in a time of socio-political crisis in communist Yugoslavia, primarily generated by the death of its president Josip Broz Tito and demonstrations in Kosovo.
In that period Medjugorje apparitions have disturbed the spirits, not only within the communist authorities of Yugoslavia, but also within the Church. National authorities characterize the apparitions of Medjugorje as fiction of local Franciscans – "clerical nationalists", in the words of one of communist officials – with the aim of bringing down the constitutional order of the communist Yugoslavia. At the same time, the alleged apparitions in Medjugorje have deeply shaken the Church of this area and intensified the centuries-old conflict between diocesan and Franciscan priests of the Mostar-Duvno Diocese, where Medjugorje belongs.

6. Pour être e_l[acr il y a bien chez Mallar mé un p iano droit, don de Banville à Geneviève, maisil n'est pas dans la fam�use salle à m�ge.: o� on 0 t lieu � �ardis. Il est dans la p�ce a �� aocc, cham?rc de Geneviève et de Mme Mallarme, ams1 qu,eaa tem01gné Léopold Dauphin (me par P. E esruer, M.dlarmé le théâtre de la YU!! de Rome, Paris, Editions du Limon, 199&, ?· 90). 7. Tou�es les réUrences renvoiem à l'édition des OEu= complètes otée note 3. 8. Voir les réserves de Mallarmé dans la lettre qu'il adresse àR. Ghil, Correspondanoe, éd. citée, n° 259, 7 mars 1885, p. 577. , . . 9. Voir aussi • De même», p. 396-397: •Considérons auss i qu � rien, e� �epit de l'i:ns1p1de ten dance, ne se montrera exclusivement laïque, parc� �i;e ce mot n'�lit �as. preoseme;it de se � s. • tO. • De,mêmc •, .P· 396: • Telle, enJ'au � henoc�e de fragments di�cts! la . rru � e en . soene d � la religion d'Etat, par nul cadre encore dé � ee etqu1, �elon une oeuvn; tnple, toVlt3:non dire�c à! es:,. :;ence. du1 �l: Y ci1c Christ), puis iovi s ibiliré de cclw-li, � élar�eme � t du li:� par . i.: 1bran oos jusqu'à]' '

Classical Occultism – i.e. Spiritual Tradition – very often rests on imitation of old usages and forgotten rituals – or on texts and images the inner (i.e. esoteric) content of which is recog¬nized only by Initiates. This most typically applies for old sacred scriptures where cosmic and supra-cosmic processes are com¬mented under the veils of ciphers, myths, pseudo-history, and tales about countries or family clans.

Creation myths of all cultures throughout space and time most clearly illustrate this fact : They report how a God – or a community of gods – conjure ‹out of nothing› an Universe along with its physical and spiritual processes that are, usually, consciously perceived again only by Initiates.

Modern Science since the century of ‹Enlightenment› have always tried to supplant such myths by so-called ‹objective› discoveries and ‹facts›. However, it has become clear, more and more, that those ‹scientific› views are just another myth – but which remains blind to the essence of things, namely : to what we call Spirit, Light and Life. – The popular myth of the ‹Big Bang› – so typical for noise and aggression in our modern world – is the grossest cancerous outgrowth thereof.

The present book brings a Genesis in twelve Theses, in a modern language on the basis of the simplest symbols ever. Its elucidations by P. Martin, occasionally using some neologisms for relations never described before, include the paradigmata of oldest myths, but in the meantime formulate a consequent synthesis of modern Physics and classic spirituality : It also shows where the fundamental Hermetic laws come from ; how divine idea-forms  grow into material realities ; how the Kingdoms of Nature came forth – and the principles of the spiritual Path of Transfiguration  leading to the redemption of Humanity.     

Besides the Aquarius Genesis, this book contains two tales in a typical mythic style, making visible the inner Plan of the Uni¬verse, along with a scenic dialogue and a classic philosophical treatise: «About the Essence of Being» is a modern theory of ideas which – authored 60 years ago – already achieves to reduce all processes to vibrational cycles, and to Energy.

Numerous pictures, some of them full-page, and in-depth Notes explaining further the text and images complete this book.

An international review comments :
«Thus it must be : Old Truths of the Past are being confirmed by the new Truths of today !»

Paper-Back, richly illustrated, 248 pp. – ISBN  978-3-907103-02-9

Da dove viene l'agire violento? Con quali parole gli autori di un crimine narrano a se stessi i loro gesti atroci mentre li commettono? Nessun criminologo può tralasciare, lungo i suoi itinerari, l'analisi delle molteplici sfaccettature della violenza. Avvalendosi anche di interviste svolte in carcere con rei violenti e di frammenti di scene cinematografiche, gli autori costruiscono nuove lenti per mettere sotto osservazione gli atti violenti individuali e riuscire a comprendere in modo inedito la violenza e il male.

This research explores the potential value for the application of the visual expressionistic arts, as well as the application of forensic art for the emancipation of victims of violent crime. Qualitative research methods are used in order to make certain assumptions and recommendations for the application of the forensic arts in the emancipation of traumatized victims. The research is based on the view that human behaviour is influenced by different internal and external contextual influences. The theoretical basis for the research is further supported by the grounding principals of the psychoanalytic, symbolic interactionistic and the phenomenological theoretical approaches. The potential for the application of the forensic arts during crisis intervention and trauma counselling as a therapeutic technique and a communication medium are investigated. The potential forensic value of the victims' art for the criminal justice system is also explored during the research.

Cosa accade quando l’antagonismo esce dai centri sociali e incontra la
“subalternità”, quel vasto sottoproletariato caratterizzato da bassi livelli
di istruzione, sospeso tra lavori precari e malpagati, che affolla le città
del Sud? Il volume risponde a questo interrogativo proponendo uno
studio etnografico sull’incontro tra il movimento politico e la
popolazione dei “margini”, uniti dalla lotta per il soddisfacimento dei
bisogni primari e per la casa. Andando oltre i classici temi della
sociologia politica, comunemente centrati sulla conquista dello spazio
pubblico da parte dei movimenti, questo saggio indaga soprattutto le
forme mentali degli attori, le tattiche di penetrazione del gruppo dei
“politici” in quello dei “subalterni”, le forme della pedagogia politica e
quella delle resistenze alla sua azione “civilizzatrice”. Comunismo,
volontà di potenza, mafia e magia, compongono lo sfondo di una lotta
serrata che non condurrà lontani, ma dalla quale, per ragioni diverse,
nessuno degli attori può sottrarsi.
Scritto in un linguaggio che cerca di riprodurre quanto più fedelmente
quello dei protagonisti, "Prendere le case" è una etnografia totale, che
svela gli anfratti della città meridionale e le difficoltà di una pratica
politica antagonista e popolare nella società contemporanea.

Hong Kong is a society of widening income inequality. Investigating the applicability of three sociological paradigms to income inequality in Hong Kong, the paper finds Marxism and conflict theories as the most relevant perspective in order to understand the issue, arguing exploitation, role of state as a reflection of capitalist class, and prevalence of free market in the territory are the culprits of the worrying social problem in the city. To alleviate the problem, the essay calls the government to abandon its long-hailed 'Positive Non-interventionism' for a more interventionist approach. Therefore welfare programmes could serve to mediate the social illness.

De laatste decennia heeft onder invloed van de ontwikkeling van het symbolisch interactionisme de constructivistische benadering van sociale problemen aan betekenis gewonnen. Bijna 50 jaar geleden leg-den Richard C. Fuller en Richard R. Myers (1941) hiervoor de basis. Sedertdien is hun concept door vele constructivisten terug opgenomen en verder uitgewerkt. Ofschoon het niet gemakkelijk is om alle nuanceringen
die in de definities zijn opgenomen samen te vatten, kan de volgende formulering gebruikt worden: "Een sociaal probleem is een situatie die door een significant aantal personen als ongewenst wordt ervaren en waarvan zij menen dat collectieve actie er iets aan kan veranderen" (1). Alhoewel deze formulering niet impliceert dat de oorzaak van een sociaal probleem in de definitie ervan ligt wijst ze sterk in deze richting. Dit zal nu eerst onderzocht worden.Hierbij zal vooral aandacht worden besteed aan de wording van sociale
conflicten zoals het constructivisme dit ziet. Tegenover"dit constructivisme stellen wij echter dat de wording van
sociale problemen niet enkel het resultaat kan zijn van de definitie door actores. Structurele factoren moeten in de analyse worden opgenomen.Dit wordt in een tweede deel behandeld En in een derde deel tenslotte willen we het constructivisme corrigeren door een bijkomende analyse van structurele factoren

Gender identity constancy and change must be traversed over the life span. The participants in this study, age 67 to 97 years, described their femininity and masculinity and provided examples of same-sexed and opposite-sexed behaviors. Their narratives suggest that their interactions with others, circumstances, and life stage all affect their gender identity constancy and change. Gender identity constancy and change appear to result from multiple factors.

The similarities between music and language are often remarked upon. For this reason, many thinkers fall into a linguistic bias in music analysis. Both are unique products of the human mind serving the purpose of expression, although they do not coincide entirely. Meanings conveyed musically and linguistically differ due to physical, conceptual and formal limitations. A closer study of their creation points to the common root of linguistic and musical production, consisting in the human affinity for symbolic transformation of experience, stemming from evolutionary adaptation to the changing environment. Symbolisation not only allows the human being to internally conceive the reality which surrounds them, but also to represent objects and concepts in absentia. This faculty prompted the elaboration of systems of communication and artistic creation, a virtually ludic activity reflecting the inherent cerebral processes.

İnsanların çalışmaya yükledikleri anlam, çok önceleri mağara duvarına çizilen resimlerden bu yana çeşitli sanatsal temsillerde ortaya çıkmaktadır. Sanatsal temsiller bir toplumun gerçeğe yükledikleri anlam olarak kabul edildiğinde, simgesel etkileşimcilik kuramının söylemleri etkilidir. Simgeler, belli bir toplum için aynı anlamı taşıması bakımından önemliyken sanatsal temsiller incelemesiyle farklı araştırma metotlarıyla ulaşılamayan, bir topluma ait gerçekler gün yüzüne çıkarılmaktadır.

This book discribes the main current sociological paradigms. Attention is paid to the main focus of the theories and their methodological consequences. In ten chapters the following theories are discussed: M. Weber, E. Durkheim, functionalism, the critical sociology of the Frankfurter Schule, the radical sociology, symbolic interactionism, exchange theory,.ethnomethodology, critical theory of J. Habermas,.and systemstheory of N. Luhmann.

Cet article a pour but de décrire brièvement la façon dont la conscience (l’esprit) et le « Soi » d’un individu se construisent à travers le processus social, selon le point de vue de George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) exposé dans son ouvrage posthume, « L’esprit, le soi et la société ».

This article explores recent developments in the sociology of the arts, namely the new theoretical framework in approaching artistic activity set up by the French sociologist Pierre-Michel Menger. It aims to show how he has shape new tools of understanding and modelling for exploring the arts as a particular world of action. Laying down the foundation of a conception of action related to symbolic interactionism and drawing on the economic analysis of risk and uncertainty, Menger move towards a model where uncertainty, not determinism, is the default category. Uncertainty is thus the principle unifying the analysis and understanding of the particularities of the arts, and the main argument in integrating sociological and economic studies on artistic activities. Correlatively, artistic creation is qualified as an act of work, the creative work being defined as a system of action in uncertain horizon. Within this model, the artists are seen less like “rational fools” than like Bayesian actors, adopting strategies for managing risk and uncertainty.

Oversupply of information, irrelevance, and repetition in political and administrative text and talk have received considerable scholarly attention, but the tendency to date has been to analyse these phenomena separately. In this article, I argue that it would be fruitful to explore these aspects in combination, as constitutive dimensions of calculated overcommunicative behaviour in public administration.

Based on a multidisciplinary review of literature on cognitive manipulation, prolixity, (ir)relevance, discourse repetition, and administrative behaviour, I propose an original ‘overcommunication framework’ for explicating certain discursive macro-strategies of positive self-presentation used by public officeholders. In particular, I discuss how governments may use calculated overcommunication to avoid or deflect blame, to signal democratic openness, and to perform swiftness.

By problematising the notion of ‘overcommunication’ and introducing it into discourse studies, I seek to open up new avenues of understanding and investigating political and organisational communication.

In this paper we are planning to put at work the symbolic interactionism theory through a practical application of it. The topic choses in represented by the activity of having lunch at the work place. The research strategy chosen to explore the social process of food consumption is participant observation as it represents “the pivotal strategy of interactionism” (Rock, 1979).  This will allow us to both observe and participate to the activity of having lunch. In order for the application to be as pragmatic as possible a fieldwork in a pre-defined environment, which in our case will be a corporation, will be required. The chosen environment represents in the same time my workplace. This position will not only allow me to actively observe the different roles food may take in social interaction among my co-workers, by will also provide me with a context where I am able to actively participate to the process therefore put myself in the participant’s position.

The digital revolution has not only transformed multiple aspects of social life – it also shakes sociological theory, transforming the most basic assumptions that have underlain it. In this timely book, Ori Schwarz explores the main challenges digitalization poses to different strands of sociological theory and offers paths to adapt them to new social realities. What would symbolic interactionism look like in a world where interaction no longer takes place within bounded situations and is constantly documented as durable digital objects? How should we understand new digitally mediated forms of human association that bind our actions and lives together but have little in common with old-time 'collectives'; and why are they not simply ‘social networks’? How does social capital transform when it is materialized in a digital form, and how does it remould power structures? What happens to our conceptualization of power when faced with the emergence of new forms of algorithmic power? And what happens when labour departs from work? By posing and answering such fascinating questions, and offering critical tools for both students and scholars of social theory and digital society to engage with them, this thought-provoking book draws the outline of future sociological theory for our digital society.

Does the Bell Let’s Talk mental health campaign successfully articulate and undertake one of its core mandates: the reduction of stigma and promoting awareness of mental health? Bell Let’s Talk uses a variety of media to communicate and deliver its campaign messages, and I will examine a piece of their print media: The Bell Let’s Talk Toolkit: Starting the Conversation about Mental Health to determine why and how the material has a sociological approach.

The aim of this study was to investigate how individuals;who had been victims of school bullying;perceived their bullying experiences and how these had affected them;and to generate a grounded theory of being a victim of bullying at school. Twenty-one individuals;who all had prior experiences of being bullied in school for more than one year;were interviewed. Qualitative analysis of data was performed by methods from grounded theory. The research identified a basic process of victimising in school bullying;which consisted of four phases: (a) initial attacks;(b) double victimising;(c) bullying exit and (d) after-effects of bullying. Double victimising refers to a process in which there was an interplay between external victimising and internal victimising. Acts of harassment were repeatedly directed at the victims from their social environment at school – a social process that constructed and repeatedly confirmed their victim role in the class or the group. This external victimising affected the victims and initiated an internal victimising;which meant that they internalised the socially constructed victim-image and acted upon this image;which in turn often supported the bullies’ agenda and confirmed the socially constructed victim-image. The findings also indicate the possible positive effect of changing the social environment.

The aim of this study was to investigate how individuals;who had been victims of school bullying;perceived their bullying experiences and how these had affected them;and to generate a grounded theory of being a victim of bullying at school. Twenty-one individuals;who all had prior experiences of being bullied in school for more than one year;were interviewed. Qualitative analysis of data was performed by methods from grounded theory. The research identified a basic process of victimising in school bullying;which consisted of four phases: (a) initial attacks;(b) double victimising;(c) bullying exit and (d) after-effects of bullying. Double victimising refers to a process in which there was an interplay between external victimising and internal victimising. Acts of harassment were repeatedly directed at the victims from their social environment at school – a social process that constructed and repeatedly confirmed their victim role in the class or the group. This external victimising affected the victims and initiated an internal victimising;which meant that they internalised the socially constructed victim-image and acted upon this image;which in turn often supported the bullies’ agenda and confirmed the socially constructed victim-image. The findings also indicate the possible positive effect of changing the social environment.

Annoverato tra i classici della sociologia della devianza e, più complessivamen-te, della riflessione socio-criminologica contemporanea, Come si diventa devianti merita di ritornare a essere reperibile nel mercato editoriale a cinquant'anni dalla sua pubblicazione. Il testo, presen-tato in una versione aggiornata, ripropo-ne con inedita attualità la necessità di utilizzare un approccio naturalistico che tenga conto della prospettiva soggettiva dello stesso soggetto "deviante". Metten-do in discussione le teorie essenzialiste che guardano alle predisposizioni degli individui alla devianza e riflettendo cri-ticamente sugli approcci classici, David Matza pone le basi per una sociologia pubblica della devianza e del crimine e sottolinea l'importanza della reazione sociale come principale aspetto politico che determina il processo del divenire devianti. Anticipatore della riflessione fenomenologica e esistenzialista, così come delle prospettive che si rifanno alla criminologia culturale, Come si di-venta devianti rimane una lettura impre-scindibile per chi voglia comprendere i significati, le emozioni, le esperienze e i motivi sviluppati dal soggetto deviante inteso come agente attivo all'interno del processo di produzione della devianza. David Matza (1930-2018), è stato tra i maggiori sociologi e criminologi ameri-cani. Ha insegnato alla University of Ca-lifornia, Berkeley. "Lo sviluppo di una visione sociologica dei feno-meni di devianza implica[va], […], la sostituzione di una posizione correzionale con una consapevole valutazione o apprezzamento del soggetto devian-te, l'implicita epurazione di una concezione pato-logica ponendo un nuovo accento sulla diversità umana, e l'erosione di una semplice distinzione fra fenomeni devianti e convenzionali, risultante da una più intima conoscenza del mondo così com'è, a favore di una valutazione più profonda che ne sot-tolinea la complessità."

The task of studying the impact of social class on physical and mental health involves, among other things, the use of a conceptual toolbox that defines what social class is, establishes how to measure it, and sets criteria that help distinguish it from closely related concepts. One field that has recently witnessed a wealth of theoretical and conceptual research on social class is psychology, but geographers' and sociologists' attitude of diffidence toward this " positivistic " discipline has prevented them from taking advantage of this body of scholarship. This paper aims to highlight some of the most important developments in the psychological study of social class and social mobility that speak to the long-standing concerns of health geographers and sociologists with how social position, perceptions, social comparisons, and class-based identities impact health and well-being.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.11.037

In this paper we articulate an empirical approach to the study of social action in digitallymediated contexts. Our approach extends Carl Couch’s theory of cooperative action, which is based on a set of “elements of sociation”: acknowledged attentiveness, mutual responsiveness, congruent functional identities, shared focus, and social objective. Three additional elements of sociation, adapted from studies of jazz performance, are added to the list of elements that characterize coordinated action: a formal theory of task performance, an informal theory of task performance, and synchronicity of individual actions. Using audio-visual recordings of gameplay, the minutiae of social action were captured and subjected to repetitive, reflexive and collaborative analysis in order to identify these patterns, including their potential causes and consequences. We use data from two games—the single-player real-time strategy game Eufloria and the massively multiplayer online game World of Warcraft...

Gunnarsson, Lena (2014) ‘Loving him for he is: the microsociology of power’, in A.G. Jónasdóttir and A. Ferguson (eds) Love – a question for feminism in the twenty first century. London: Routledge, pp. 97-110.

The chapter theorizes the tension inherent in contemporary western heterosexual love between, on one hand, norms of gender equality and freedom to choose and, on the other, persisting gender inequality. Focusing on the empirically documented asymmetry in love ‘exchanges’ as such between women and men, I ask how this tendency comes about despite the fact that mutual love is the raison d’être of the relationship, that the ideological context prescribes gender equality and that there are no salient external factors that stop women from breaking up in case they are not satisfied.

Although fraught with complexity, the self is a central phenomenon of discussion and analysis within sociology. This article contributes to this discourse by introducing the Buddhist ideas of anatta (no-self) and prattyasamutpāda (interdependence) as analytic frameworks to deconstruct and rethink the self within sociology. We argue that the sociological self, most clearly articulated by symbolic interactionism, is premised on a self-other dualism. This dualism leads to a conceptualization of the self as constantly threatened and anxious. Using these Buddhist concepts we propose an alternative interpretive schema, a sociology of no-self, for analyzing social interaction and understanding the roots of social angst.

Within social psychology, the concept of authenticity of the self has traditionally
suffered from lack of definitional clarity. In this article, after conceptualizing
authenticity as the phenomenological emotional experience
of feeling true to one’s self, the author empirically examines the diversity
of emotions associated with various degrees of authenticity and inauthenticity.
Data for this study are from semi-structured in-depth interviews
with forty-six faculty members employed at a public research
university in the United States. Professors’ experiences of and dispositions
toward teaching, and their experiences of authenticity and inauthenticity,
are examined against the background of structural and cultural
forces and changes in American higher education. Data interpretation
shows that teaching is mostly a source of authenticity for professors in the
humanities, and less for those professors who identify themselves primarily
as researchers.

Tutti i diritti, in particolare quelli relativi alla traduzione, alla citazione, alla riproduzione in qualsiasi forma, all'uso delle illustrazioni, delle tabelle e del materiale software a corredo, alla trasmissione radiofonica o televisiva, alla registrazione analogica o digitale, alla pubblicazione e diffusione attraverso la rete Internet sono riservati. La riproduzione di questa opera, anche se parziale o in copia digitale, fatte salve le eccezioni di legge, è vietata senza l'autorizzazione scritta dell'Editore.

Fin dalla comparsa delle forme più elementari di cultura l’uomo
ha provato, sia a livello individuale sia collettivo, a rimuovere ogni forma di comprensione dell’aggressività distruttiva, relegandola a una dimensione estranea da sé. L’azione atroce e cruenta, infatti, svela ciò che dovrebbe rimanere sempre nascosto: il dominio violento dell’uomo su altri uomini. È anche per questa ragione di fondo che il tema della violenza, da sempre oggetto dell’attenzione di studiosi provenienti dalle
più svariate discipline, rimane ancora oggi un vero e proprio enigma conoscitivo.
In campo criminologico – ma non solo – gli approcci teorici e i
metodi impiegati al fine di avvicinare e sondare il fenomeno della violenza sono stati – e continuano a essere – indubbiamente i più vari, ma è possibile affermare che spesso si è registrato un profondo limite osservativo. Infatti, tradizionalmente, l’inquadramento dell’agire violento
si è ridotto a modelli esplicativi che individuano nella “malattia mentale” o, altre volte, nell’“ambiente sociale” la causa del gesto deviante.
Purtroppo, però, questo genere di spiegazioni non aiuta ad avanzare nella comprensione delle dinamiche che animano tali condotte, di fronte alle quali ci ritraiamo, spesso incapaci di pronunciare parole capaci di conferire senso a ciò che appare come del tutto insensato e inspiegabile.
È a partire da queste riflessioni e interrogativi che chi scrive ha
ritenuto utile proporre ad alcuni noti e apprezzati studiosi – quali Alessandro Dal Lago, Gabrio Forti, Eligio Resta, Alfredo Verde – l’occasione di confrontarsi con noi sul tema della violenza, incontrandolo attraverso la lettura del nostro volume "Cosmologie violente. Percorsi di vite criminali". Ciascuno, a partire dall’ambito del proprio universo disciplinare e conoscitivo – da qui il titolo di questo e-book, Universi
della violenza –, ha contribuito a costruire un percorso cognitivo capace di sondare e illuminare quegli aspetti del fenomeno violento che fino a oggi sono rimasti ancora poco esplorati.