Culture in interaction1

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By n eliasoph · 2003 · cited by 1076 — the next section, below, reviews two prominent theories of culture,. page 8. american journal of sociology. 742 arguing that a focus on culture in interaction ...
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AJSVolume108Number4(January2003):735–947352003byTheUniversityofChicago.Allrightsreserved.0002-9602/2003/10804-0001$10.00CultureinInteraction1NinaEliasophandPaulLichtermanUniversityofWisconsinHowdoescultureworkineverydaysettings?Currentsocialresearchoftentheorizescultureas“collectiverepresentations”—vocabularies,symbols,orcodes—thatstructurepeople’sabilitiestothinkandact.Missingisanaccountofhowgroupsusecollectiverepresentationsineverydayinteraction.Theauthorsusetwoethnographiccasestodevelopaconceptof“groupstyle,”showinghowimplicit,culturallypatternedstylesofmembershipfiltercollectiverepresentations.Theresultis“cultureininteraction,”whichcomplementsresearchinthesociologyofemotion,neoinstitutionalism,thereproductionofine-quality,andotherwork,byshowinghowgroupsputculturetouseineverydaylife.Communicationisatthecoreofrecentscholarshipinthesociologyofculture.Culture,thiscurrentworksays,isasetofpubliclysharedcodesorrepertoires,buildingblocksthatstructurepeople’sabilitytothinkandtoshareideas.As...