Social imaginaries at the boundaries of the social world
Final Report Abstract
Social Imaginaries represent ideas and beliefs about how societies are organized, how the social world is structured and which normative implications these rules are based on. Although it addresses fundamental questions about the relationship between subjects and society, the concept of social imaginaries is not yet a distinct, even established, sociological category. This is the starting point of the project. It aimes to clarify how concrete phenomena can be understood as social imaginaries in a differentiated way from a sociological perspective, which methods can be used for this empirical endeavor and which established research traditions can be drawn upon. Overall, the project thus makes an important contribution to understanding the cultural constitution of the social world: it is human beings themselves who create the structures they live upon - and they form their own impressions, images and understanding of them. In terms of theory, the project is based on the concept of social imaginaries as it has been established in political philosophy (in particular Castoriadis and Turner). The project formulates new theoretical references by also focusing on the "dark side of the imagination" and turning its attention to phenomena that are experienced as disturbing or even repulsive, that touch the boundaries of the imaginable or are completely rejected from imagination. To this end, the project finds theoretical connections in Kristeva's theory of abjection and empirically turns to the phenomena of organ donation and the so-called fourth age. Finally, with Schmitt's method of systematic metaphor analysis, the project formulates a methodological approach that is able to address the figurative qualities of language and thus reconstruct the shared knowledge that is represented in social imaginaries. The findings of the project thus provide new theoretical, methodological and empirical insights within the emerging sociological research on social imaginaries.
Publications
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„Der Körper am Lebensende – eine Metaphernanalyse“. Body Talk – Körperdiskurse, Körperpraktiken, Körperpolitik. Erlangen.
Pfaller, Larissa
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"‘Als wären wir Viren auf zwei Beinen‘ – Das Abjekte in der Corona-Krise“. 40. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie. Berlin – digital.
Pfaller, Larissa; Schramm, Tobias & Morgenstern, Nadja
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Theorizing the virus: abjection and the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 40(9/10), 821-829.
Pfaller, Larissa
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Abjektion und existenzielle Krise. cultura & psyché, 2(1), 73-82.
Schramm, Tobias
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An den Rändern der Pandemie. In: Lenz, Sarah / Hasenfratz, Martina (Hg.): Gesellschaft als Risiko. Soziologische Situationsanalysen zur Coronapandemie. Campus, Frankfurt/New York: 271-276.
Schramm, Tobias & Pfaller, Larissa
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Die dunkle Seite der Vorstellungskraft: Das Abjekt als Verworfenes im Imaginären. Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 46(3), 301-319.
Pfaller, Larissa
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Die Organspende als Unheimliches in der modernen Medizin. In: Schetsche, Michael / Heintz, Nadine Sarah / Schmidt, Renate-Berenike (Hg.): Das Unheimliche in der modernen Welt. Logos, Berlin: 57-69.
Pfaller, Larissa
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Theorie und Phänomenologie des Abjekts. cultura & psyché, 2(1), 1-6.
Pfaller, Larissa & Schetsche, Michael
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Die systematische Metaphernanalyse und das soziale Imaginäre. Die Praxis der systematischen Metaphernanalyse, 55-64. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden.
Pfaller, Larissa
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Pragmatische Kontexte, Multimodalität und kulturelle Archive: Grenzerkundungen metaphorischer Quellbereiche am Beispiel Organspende [56 Absätze]. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 23(3), Art. 7, Open Access:
Pfaller, Larissa
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The Tell-Tale Heart. The Gender of Things, 84-94. Routledge.
Böhrer, Annerose & Pfaller, Larissa
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„Lesarten des Imaginären“. Das soziale Imaginäre lesbar machen. Interdisziplinärer Workshop. Erlangen.
Pfaller, Larissa
