E Mozart? E o assassinato?

Abstract

Written in a simple and humorous way, this article serves as an introduction to the thought of the American sociologist Howard S. Becker. In this sense, his starting point is to observe the implications of adopting the concept of "definition of the situation" in three distinct fields of sociological activity: the sociology of deviance, the sociology of art, and the sociology of science. By sharing his experiences as a researcher, Becker intends to disentangle himself from immanent theoretical perspectives with the goal of enhancing, through the concept of "labeling", the centrality of meaning as an articulatory instance of social practices. The present translation is particularly important for the Brazilian public because it presents Becker's vision about the sociology of the artistic work, since his reference book on the topic - Art Worlds - has not yet been published in our country.