Structuralisme et volontarisme en sociologie de la culture

Abstract

Structuralism in the sociology of culture seeks to understand human symbolic effort as the expression or outcome of constraints generated by the placement of persons and groups in social structures. Voluntarism in the sociology of culture conceives culture less as the expression of social constraints than as a series of symbolic repertoires or resources that can be actively invoked as modes of shaping social structure or dealing with personal problems. This paper is an effort at integrating the two modes of doing sociology of culture by examining the strengths and weaknesses of several empirical studies representing each of the two modes. Two themes are emphasized: first that the findings of each study generates ideological problems that each other deals with in different ways; second, that some of the differences between structuralism and voluntarism are results of the micro or macro perspectives of the authors, which, by themselves, are inadequate modes of explanation. The paper concludes with an analysis of how the two sociologies of culture might be integrated. "Reductionism' is regarded as a false problem. If it means merely oversimplification, then we should all shun it. But one of the main thrusts of scientific analysis is toward simplification, and if reductionism means parsimonious explanation, then we should all seek it. -from English summary