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From statistical categorizations to ordinary categorizations of social space: history and legacy of an original study based on a card game
Von der statistischen Kategorisierung zur alltäglichen Kategorisierung des sozialen Raums: Geschichte und Vermächtnis einer originären und auf einem Spiel mit Karten basierender Studie
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Abstract This article puts the sociology of quantification invented and promoted by Alain Desrosières into perspective regarding a fruitful but rarely addressed approach in this research stream: the relationships that are built between official (or scholar) classifications and ordinary categorizations of the... view more
This article puts the sociology of quantification invented and promoted by Alain Desrosières into perspective regarding a fruitful but rarely addressed approach in this research stream: the relationships that are built between official (or scholar) classifications and ordinary categorizations of the social space. In order to achieve this, the article first sheds light on the history of an innovative study designed by Luc Boltanski and Laurent Thévenot, a study which aimed to put ordinary people in the position to produce their own classification of the social space on the basis of a “card game.” In a second step, we aim to compare and analyze the later uses of this study in France and abroad (Germany, Chile and Switzerland). Beyond differences due to each study’s design and theoretical background, every study’s collected ranking clearly depicts hierarchical social structures, even though those rankings show some variations which rely on the kind of information indicated on each card games, national contexts and respondents’ dispositions.... view less
Keywords
category; playing; quantification; Federal Republic of Germany; social environment; statistics; Chile; experiment; social space; statistical analysis; Switzerland; France; research approach; convention; data capture
Classification
General Sociology, Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Sociology, Sociological Theories
Free Keywords
Desrosières, Alain
Document language
English
Publication Year
2016
Page/Pages
p. 135-154
Journal
Historical Social Research, 41 (2016) 2
Issue topic
Conventions and quantification - transdisciplinary perspectives on statistics and classifications
DOI
https://doi.org/10.12759/hsr.41.2016.2.135-154
ISSN
0172-6404
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed