The Sociology Book

208

Instead, culture is, and should be,
according to Alexander, considered
“an independent variable,”
detached from the life conditions
from which it emerged but able to
exert power over the individuals
and collectives within that culture.
People’s understanding of
events is neither natural or
inevitable but is determined by the
culturally specific language and
symbols they use to interpret, code,
and make sense of the world. As
Alexander says, whether a society
is defined as capitalist, socialist,
or authoritarian does not bring us
any closer to understanding the
collective meaning attributed to
an event. Instead, this is something
that needs to be explored from
“inside,” in terms of the collectively
produced structures, meanings,
and symbols that people use to
make sense of it.
Second, in order to understand
culture, sociologists must adopt an
interpretative approach. Alexander
compares culture to a text—
something that people read and
interpret in ways that are socially

structured, but partially unique to

them, and for this reason cannot

be understood in terms of simple

cause and effect. How people

interpret an event cannot ever be

fully predicted but instead requires

to be understood retrospectively

and from the perspective of the

people concerned.

Third, Alexander claims that

in the same way that there exist

social structures—patterned ways

of behaving that exist above and

beyond individuals—there are also

JEFFREY ALEXANDER

cultural structures. These are

symbolic resources, constellations

of signs and symbols that members

of a culture draw upon to invest the

world with meaning and relevance.

People are often only partially

aware of these structures—they

do not consciously reflect upon the

extent to which their conscious

and unconscious minds are shaped

by them. Nevertheless, those

structures are socially produced

and patterned. The goal of cultural

sociology is to make these

structures visible. The ultimate

aim is to understand better—

and, where desirable, intervene

in—the collective actions and

reactions to events that take

place in the world.

Meaning and the Holocaust

To demonstrate the way social

groups are compelled by value-

laden meanings and symbols,

Alexander draws upon the example

of the Nazi Holocaust of World War

II. He uses this example because

the Holocaust is recognized as one

of the most powerful symbols of

Culture in society can be
explained in a number of different
ways. Marx linked culture to
social structure, but cultural
sociologists such as Alexander
see it as an independent, vast
body of resources.

The failure of Bourdieu... is

that he doesn’t recognize that

culture has relative autonomy

from social structure.

Jeffrey Alexander

Alexander argues

that culture behaves like

software in a computing

cloud that users can

contribute to and draw

upon to create meaning

in the world.

Marx saw

culture as a product of

economic, technological,

and social activity,

forming part of the

social structure.