An Embattled Yet Enduring Influence: Introduction to a Special Issue on Blumerian Symbolic Interactionism

Low, Jacqueline; Bowden, Gary

doi:10.1002/symb.519

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Many have refined these tenets (cf. Fine 1993;Low and Bowden 2020;Snow 2001). Such adjustments urge consideration of social life beyond the "definition of the situation" (Thomas and Thomas 1928:571-72) so to better specify the "processes of being-in-the-world" or how "meanings, selves, and institutions constitute each other in patterned ways" (Fine and Tavory 2019:459).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Blumer (1969:2) famously argued that symbolic interaction rests on three premises: first, “human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings that the things have for them”; second, “the meanings of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with one's fellows”; third, “these meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretive process used by the person in dealing with the things he encounters.” Many have refined these tenets (cf. Fine 1993; Low and Bowden 2020; Snow 2001). Such adjustments urge consideration of social life beyond the “definition of the situation” (Thomas and Thomas 1928:571–72) so to better specify the “processes of being‐in‐the‐world” or how “meanings, selves, and institutions constitute each other in patterned ways” (Fine and Tavory 2019:459).…”

Section: Narratives and White Idenity Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How Blackness Matters in White Lives

Hughey

2021

Symbolic Interaction

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Since the birth of "Black Lives Matter" in 2013 there has emerged a broad spectrum of public discourse about, and scholarship examining, the movement. Within this diverse conversation, some have concentrated on the supposed growth of White support for racial equality in general and Black Lives Matter in specific. Yet, within this scholarly corpus, there is no examination of White engagement with Black Lives Matter from a symbolic interactionist lens. Moreover, while there is focus on a seemingly mounting chorus of White voices who loudly proclaim support for the movement, few have examined how varied White expectations, silences, and actions speak louder than these words. Based on ethnographic observation, in-depth interviews, and content analysis data collected over 2014-2020 from two different all-White groups in the New England region of the United States, the relationship between White identity formation and White interpretations of the Black Lives Matter movement is analyzed.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Narratives and White Idenity Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Blackness Matters in White Lives

Hughey

2021

Symbolic Interaction

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“…The roots of this version of the astructuaral bias charge can be traced back to those who associate symbolic interactionism with what they argue is an exclusively micro-oriented Meadian strain within it (Coser 1976;Musolf 2016a). An emphasis that obscures the classical foundations of interactionist understandings of social structure (Low 2008;Low and Bowden 2020;Smith 2017). A partial reason for this misrepresentation of the perspective is that critics fail to understand that the symbolic interactionist emphasis on process is essential to understanding social structure (McGinty 2016;Schwalbe 2016;Prus 1997).…”

Section: The Charge Of Inherent Astructural Biasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symbolic Interactionism and the Myth Of Astructural Bias

Low,

Thomson

2021

Can. J. Soc.

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Symbolic interactionism continues to be criticized from both inside and outside of interactionist circles by those who claim that the perspective does not address issues of social structure and fails to recognize constraints on human agency. In this paper, we critically address these claims and defend Blumerian symbolic interactionism from three versions of the charge of astructural bias and demonstrate how the perspective accounts for social structural forces. In doing so, we make reference to the classical roots of the perspective. We conclude with an illustrative and didactic example that demonstrates how even the most micro-oriented of interactionist research can still take account of social structural issues.

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Generic Social Process and the Problem of Success-Claiming: Defining Success on the Margins of Canadian Federal Politics

Grills

2022

QSR

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Envisioning success and its pursuit as an enduring feature of human group life, this paper examines success as a humanly constructed and realized social process. As framed herein, success represents the attribution by some audience of qualities associated with achievement, attainment, and/or accomplishment to social act(s) and/or social objects. Consistent with symbolic interactionist approaches to the study of deviance, success is not a quality of the situation at hand, but rather is audience-dependent. Therefore, while the social construction of success may be evidence-based, what is defined as successful outcomes and what constitutes evidence of success is subculturally located. Drawing on extended ethnographic research, an application of alternate definitions of success is examined in the context of those participating in an electorally unsuccessful political party—the Christian Heritage Party of Canada. Specifically, this paper examines the definition of success in terms of political influence, providing political alternatives and demonstrations of religious faithfulness as strategies of success-claiming. Framing success in process terms, this paper examines the trans-contextual and trans-historical qualities of “doing success” as a feature of everyday life.

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An Embattled Yet Enduring Influence: Introduction to a Special Issue on Blumerian Symbolic Interactionism

Cited by 3 publications

References 70 publications

How Blackness Matters in White Lives

How Blackness Matters in White Lives

Symbolic Interactionism and the Myth Of Astructural Bias

Generic Social Process and the Problem of Success-Claiming: Defining Success on the Margins of Canadian Federal Politics

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