Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The term social worlds is used in the social sciences in two main ways. One is as a generic reference to a specific situation or social context, and the second is explicit social worlds/arenas theory within the theoretical tradition of symbolic interactionism. In its generic form, the term social world usually refers to the relatively immediate milieu of the individuals or collectivities being studied. It is conventionally understood as pointing at the specific contexts of the situation in which those individuals and/or collectivities are to be found. For example, reference may be made to the social world of antique collectors, professional baseball, or surfing. The usage is somewhat similar to the concept of subculture. However, (sub)cultural studies generally focus on the subculture per se (who the members are, what they do, how and why they do it, etc.), such as “Deadhead” or “Trekkie” fandoms. The generic use of social world usually points outward from the individuals or collectivities being studied to their salient contexts as a means of explicitly situating them in sociocultural space and time. In symbolic interactionist theory over the past century, a series of concepts has been built up around the core concept of social world. Here as elsewhere, interactionists have taken a general term, elaborated it conceptually, and integrated it with related sensitizing concepts to form ... log in or subscribe to read full text