The locus of subjectivity in cultural studies

Cornejo, C.

Abstract

I offer an interpretation of Ernst E. Boesch's theory of symbolic action focusing on the usually overlooked phenomenological and existential aspects of this cultural-psychological approach. This interpretation raises the more general question about the role that subjectivity plays in cultural- psychological studies. It is argued that, depending on the concept of meaning that is assumed, cultural studies can be divided in to two main streams, namely the hermeneutic-historicist and the phenomenological-existentialist perspectives. The theoretical consequence of this dual program is the so-called 'micromacro problem'. Boesch's concept of action field is interpreted here as a meso-unit: it is unfolded within an objective system of reference; but at the same time, it is oriented toward the future from the personal perspective of a subject. This existential aspect of Boesch's theory serves to illustrate the theoretical need for the consideration of the phenomenological dimension in cultural studies. Copyright © 2007 SAGE Publications.

Más información

Título según WOS: The locus of subjectivity in cultural studies
Título según SCOPUS: Review essay: The locus of subjectivity in cultural studies
Título de la Revista: CULTURE PSYCHOLOGY
Volumen: 13
Número: 2
Editorial: SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
Fecha de publicación: 2007
Página de inicio: 243
Página final: 256
Idioma: English
URL: http://cap.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/1354067X07076608
DOI:

10.1177/1354067X07076608

Notas: ISI, SCOPUS