BETWEEN THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER: DURKHEIMIAN THEORY IN THE CULTURAL SOCIOLOGY OF JEFFREY ALEXANDER

AUTOR(ES)

Weiss, Raquel

FONTE

Sociol. Antropol.

DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2019-04

RESUMO

Resumo A obra de Émile Durkheim é a pedra angular na arquitetônica da sociologia cultural de Jeffrey Alexander, a ponto de ser virtualmente impossível discernir com precisão em qual ponto termina o movimento de interpretação e começa a construção de uma nova teoria. Neste artigo, mostro os pontos nodais da leitura de Alexander da obra de Durkheim, discutindo como determinados conceitos e argumentos foram cuidadosamente pinçados para estabelecer as bases do programa forte em sociologia cultural, inclusive da “virada performativa”. Ao fazê-lo, saliento virtudes e fragilidades dessa leitura, mostrando existir uma importante expressão de seu “espírito”, mesmo quando não há fidelidade à “letra”. Em suma, Alexander opera, em relação a Durkheim, uma tradução capaz de atualizar suas potencialidades, purgando-o de suas premissas positivistas e tornando-o mais apto à compreensão do mundo social entendido enquanto teia de significados socialmente criados e partilhados.Abstract Émile Durkheim`s work forms the cornerstone of Alexander’s cultural sociology, to the point where it becomes virtually impossible to discern precisely where the process of reinterpretation stops and the construction of a new theory begins. In this article I aim to show the cardinal points of Alexander`s reading of Durkheim’s work, discussing how certain concepts and arguments are carefully selected in order to establish the bases of the strong program in cultural sociology, including in its ‘performative turn.’ In so doing, I highlight both strong and weak points in his reading of Durkheim’s texts, showing that there is an important expression of its ‘spirit’ even when he is not faithful to its ‘letter.’ In short, Alexander’s approach to Durkheim, a translation capable of actualizing its potentialities, purges his work of positivistic premises and adapts his theory to a comprehension of the social world, understood as a mesh of socially created and shared meanings.

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