Suchergebnisse

Although examinations of social memory have largely focused on societies and large populations, much remembrance occurs within bounded publics. This memory, especially when it is held in common, ties individuals to their chosen groups, establishing an ongoing reality of affiliation. I term this form of memory work as sticky culture, recognizing the centrality of the linkage of selves and groups. To examine how sticky culture operates, I examine the social world of competitive chess with its deep history and rich literature. More specifically, I examine forms through which chess publics are cemented through remembrances of the past, focusing on the hero, the critical moment, and validated styles. Champions, memorable games, and recognized strategies establish a lasting public.

Although explicit attention to the role of small groups has waned in sociology, an empirical understanding of the interaction order is increasing. A focus on the group—the meso-level of analysis—enriches both structural and interactional approaches, stressing shared and ongoing meaning. Groups constitute social order, just as groups are themselves constituted by that order. The examination of local action reveals how interaction orders emerge and create meanings that spread throughout a wider network. Despite the limits of a meso-level analysis in examining both external webs of constraint and immediate negotiations, this approach addresses identity, social capital, collective action, group culture, networks, and civil society. By building on collective identity, shared history, common spaces, and ongoing social relations, groups provide mechanisms through which individuals fit into larger structures and through which social structures shape individuals.

In a political world characterized by social movement rivalry, advocates routinely use reputation work to discredit the motivations & character of their adversaries. Reputational entrepreneurs undercut organizational legitimacy by depicting members with disreputable or radical affiliations as representative of their opponents. These attacks on character must be countered, costing resources & limiting organizational reach. Through reputation work advocates assert that groups they oppose have a large proportion of stigmatized supporters, are affiliated with prominent disreputable figures, & espouse policies favored by such figures. Such claims direct attention from the substance of the debate, directing attention to the moral stature of claimants. Those attacked must rely on counterstrategies to defend themselves. They deny that disreputables are representative, demonstrating their bona fides by exclusive practices, claim that opposing groups have the same problem, & suggest that stigmatized supporters are agents of their opponents. To study these reputational strategies, I examine struggles over the character of members of the America First committee in the period immediately prior to World War II. References. Adapted from the source document.