Performing Action: Artistry in Human Behavior and Social Research - Couverture rigide

Gusfield, Joseph R.

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0765800160 ISBN 13 : 9780765800169

Editeur : Transaction Publishers, 2000

Synopsis

In recent years the social sciences and the humanities have drawn closer to each other in thought and method. This rapprochement has led to new perceptions of human behavior by sociologists, as well as new methodological orientations. Sociologist Joseph R. Gusfield draws upon drama and fiction to show how human action is shaped by the formal dimensions of performance.

Gusfield first defines the concept of behavior as artistic performance. He then analyzes routine and classic social research reports as literary performances in qualitative and quantitative terms. Next he moves to social movements and public actions, demonstrating how objects and events are products of the interpretation and reflection of individuals. He draws upon literary and artistic conventions to deal with issues of representation and meaning. In the first and last chapters, Gusfield provides a conceptual summary examining the relation between sociology as science and art, arguing that sociological methods are neither science nor art, but partake of both.

Following the philosopher Paul Ricouer, Gusfield shows how human behavior can be read as a text, always telling the participant or observer "something about something." Performing Action will be of interest to sociologists, psychologists, and students of aesthetics and critical theory.

A propos du livre

À propos de l?auteur

Joseph R. Gusfield was professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California, San Diego. His books include Contested Meanings: The Construction of Alcohol Problems and Mass Society and Extremist Politics.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Transaction Publishers
• Date d'édition: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0765800160
• ISBN 13: 9780765800169
• Reliure: Relié
• Langue: anglais
• Nombre de pages: 350
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible