Doing Common Things from Specific Places. Using Deweyan Pragmatism for Analysing Social Participation of European Muslims

Abendvortrag von Prof. Dr. Dr. Anne-Sophie Lamine

Dienstag, 6. Februar 2018, 18:15-20 Uhr
JO1, Hörsaalgebäude, Johannisstr. 4, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster

Das Forschungskolleg "Religiöse Pluralisierung und ihre Regulierung in der Region" (RePliR) veranstaltet am 6. Februar 2018 einen Abendvortrag in englischer Sprache mit der Soziologin Anne-Sophie Lamine von der Universität Straßburg. Sie verfolgt einen am Pragmatismus angelehnten Ansatz einer Sozio-Anthropologie des Glaubens und stützt sich dabei hauptsächlich auf John Dewey (1859-1952).

Abstract des Vortrags (Englisch)
John Dewey, in The Public and its Problems, proposes two original notions: the public as constituted by those who are affected by a given “problem” and social participation. They allow to examine the production of the common world through looking at how it is produced by social actors, who, while acting locally (environment, neighborhood, school) or showcasing a specific identity (religion, ethnicity), proceed with an awareness of the common good and a vision of a much wider common good. Two cases will be presented. The first case was of a Muslim mother wearing a headscarf who offered to volunteer for the (public) school’s Christmas party and whose participation was denied. The second case involved the French Muslim online media, Saphirnews.com, which aims for neutrality, professional expertise and recognition from non-Muslims and therefor appears more of a specialist than a communitarian actor. This pragmatist approach allows the study of an overlooked possibility: besides well-known processes of social differentiation, some other processes produce the common from the specific and are conversely aiming at dedifferentiation.