Between Contexts of Action. A Sociological Analysis of Social Transition Periods

Eine soziologische Analyse sozialer Übergangszeiträume

Abstract

One of the central social characteristics of contemporary society is its plurality of structural, action-related, and experiential contexts. Numerous theories and scholarly debates address this condition by seeking to map societal structures, to identify and relate different provinces of meaning, lifeworlds, systems, or modes of existence. These approaches range from macro-sociological perspectives that aim to conceptualize society as a whole to perspectives that focus on the subjective experience of this structure. The present article aligns with the latter strand while introducing a specific emphasis on everyday transitions between different contexts of action. Transitions are understood as interfaces – namely as moments of encounter, connection, and conflict in which subjects are confronted with social heterogeneity – whose analysis provides insight into how individuals structure their everyday lives, how they cope with the plurality of different contexts, and how meaning, orientation, and identity are negotiated. Drawing on guideline-based, narratively oriented interviews as the empirical foundation for reconstructing these transitional periods, the article presents and discusses initial analytical findings with regard to the subjective experience of contemporary social conditions.