Meanings of Social Life

In The Meanings of Social Life , Jeffrey Alexander presents a new approach to how culture works in contemporary societies. Exposing our everyday myths and narratives in a series of empirical studies that range from Watergate to the Holocaust, he shows how these unseen yet potent cultural structures translate into concrete actions and institutions. Only when these deep patterns of meaning are revealed, Alexander argues, can we understand the stubborn stayingpower of violence and degradation, but also the steady persistence of hope. By understanding the darker structures that restrict our imagination, we can seek to transform them. By recognizing the culture structures that sustain hope, we can allow our idealistic imaginations to gain more traction in the world. A work that will transform the way that sociologists think about culture and the social world, this book confirms Jeffrey Alexander's reputation as one of the major social theorists of our day.

"Alexander effectively positions meanings at the center of a cultural form of public sociology that is concerned with symbolic codes, their social production, and their distribution through carrier groups and social movements The Meanings of Social Life provides the urtext for a new cultural framing of sociology."—John R. Hall, Contemporary Sociology, "Alexander has succeeded to a remarkable degree in establishing his distinctive cultural theory and empirical research program as a collective enterprise. Indeed... one can fairly speak of the existence of... an Alexander School—of cultural sociology."—Mustafa Emirbayer, Thesis Eleven, "The Meanings of Social Life is an intellectual tour de force that cements Jeffrey Alexander's reputation as a paradigmatic thinker in cultural as well as theoretical sociology."—Mabel Berezin, Newsletter of the Sociology of Culture Section of the American Sociological Asssociation, "This book is important for the clarity and liveliness with which it communicates the core ideas and real innovations cultural sociology offers the discipline, and I hope that it's widely read."—Lyn Spillman, Newsletter of the Sociology of Culture Section of the American Sociological Asssociation, "Whether Alexander is considering high theory, the Holocaust, or computerization, the reader is treated to a mind at work that breathes originality and brilliance. A commanding...compelling performance! "—Steven Seidman, author of Beyond the Closet: The Transformation of Gay and Lesbian Life

Jeffrey C. Alexander is Lillian Chavenson Saden Professor of Sociology at Yale University, and co-Director of the Center for Cultural Sociology.