Jeffrey C. Alexander

Jeffrey C. Alexanderborn May 30, 1947

American

Sociologist

EdicationBA from Harvard in 1969

PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1978

Instruction The University of California, Los Angeles, from 1974 until 2001

Joining Yale University in 2001, where (as of 2008) he is the Lillian Chavenson Saden Professor of Sociology and co-Director of the Center for Cultural Sociology

Other Activities He was one of the editors of the journal Sociological Theory.

He is currently co- editor of the "American Journal of Cultural Sociology.

ThoughtsAlexander is one of the main proponents of Neofunctionalism, and a central figure in contemporary Cultural Sociology.

Alexander defines action as the movement of concrete, living, breathing persons as they make their way through time and space. In addition he argues that every action contains a dimension of free will, by which he is expanding functionalism to include some of the concerns of symbolic interactionism.Cultural Sociology:

Alexander picks up specifically on Durkheim's suggestion that the religious processes observed in tribal societies are as pertinent in modern societies. Regardless of whether modern societies believe themselves to be rational and secular, their civil life and processes, claims Alexander, are underpinned by collective representations, by strong emotional ties and by various narratives thatmuch like tribal societiestell society what it believes and what values it holds sacred.Alexander distinguishes between the sociology of culture and cultural sociology. The sociology of culture sees culture as a dependent variablethat is, a product of extra-cultural factors such as the economy or interest-laden politicswhereas cultural sociology sees culture as having more autonomy and gives more weight to inner meanings. In other words, in Alexander's conception of cultural sociology assumes that ideas and symbolic processes may have an independent effect on social institutions, on politics, and on culture itself.Cultural trauma:

Two of Alexanders earlier articles can be seen as precursors to his more direct engagement with the topic of trauma. One is about Holocaust and the other is about Watergate Crisis. A key claim of both studies is that even events that are currently thought of as deeply traumatic for civil society are not inherently devastating but are rather constructed as such through cultural processes.

More generally, Alexander differentiates "cultural trauma" from what he calls "lay trauma" in social thought. "Lay trauma" refers to the idea that certain events are inherently traumatic to the individuals who experience them. However, "cultural trauma" approach cannot assume that any eventas horrendous as it may bewill turn into a trauma for the collective who encounters it. As Alexander explains, cultural trauma occurs when members of a collectivity feel they have been subjected to a horrendous event that leaves indelible marks upon their group consciousness, marking their memories forever and changing their future identity in fundamental and irrevocable ways".Social performance:

In the mid-2000s Alexander turned attention toward the ways actors create social or cultural performances, which are "the social process[es] by which actors, individually or in concert, display for others the meaning of their social situation". Actors, claims Alexander, care deeply about having others believe the meanings they attempt to convey, and to this end they seek to create a performance as authentic-looking as possible. To do so, they engage in what Alexander calls "cultural pragmatics" and draw upon the various elements of social performance: the systems of collective representation, means of symbolic production, mise-en-scne arrangements (much like a theater production would). Iconic consciousness:

In recent years, Alexander has turned attention towards the material aspects of culture, extending his specific strand of cultural sociology towards aesthetics and particularly icons. As he defines it, iconic consciousness occurs when an aesthetically shaped materiality signifies social value. Contact with this aesthetic surface, whether by sight, smell, taste, touch provides a sensual experience that transmits meaning. Alexander argues that the ways in which culture operatesboth in instilling and in recreating valuesis intrinsically tied to symbolic material forms.Honors and Awards In 2004, he won the Clifford Geertz Award for Best Article in Cultural Sociology.

In 2008, he won the Mary Douglas Prize for Best Book in Cultural Sociology.

He received the 2007 Theory Prize from the Theory Section of the American Sociological Association for best theoretical article.

In 2009, he received The Foundation Mattei Dogan Prize in Sociology by the International Sociological Association, awarded every four years in recognition of lifetime accomplishments to "a scholar of very high standing in the profession and of outstanding international reputation..

He received honorary doctorates from La Trobe University, Melbourne and the University College Dublin, Ireland.

Works Recent Books:

Narrating Trauma: On the Impact of Collective Suffering (2011) (with R. Eyerman and E. Butler Breese)The Meanings of Social Life: A Cultural Sociology (2003) Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity (2004) (with R. Eyerman, B. Giesen, N. J. Smelser and P. Sztompka)Social Performance: Symbolic Action, Cultural Pragmatics, and Ritual (2006) (with B. Giesen and J. Mast)The Civil Sphere (2006) A Contemporary Introduction to Sociology: Culture and Society in Transition (2008) (with K. Thompson)

The New Social Theory Reader (2nd edn) (2008) (with S. Seidman)The Performance of Politics: Obama's Victory and the Democratic Struggle for Power (2010) Interpreting Clifford Geertz: Cultural Investigation in the Social Sciences (2011) ( with P. Smith and M. Norton) Performance and Power (2011) Performative Revolution in Egypt: An Essay in Cultural Power (2011) Trauma: A Social Theory (2012) The Dark Side of Modernity (2013)