The Fine Line
9780226981598
The Fine Line
Eviatar Zerubavel argues that most of the distinctions we make in our daily lives and in our culture are social constructs. He questions the notion that a clear line can be drawn to separate one time or object or concept from another, and presents witty and provocative counterexamples in defense of ambiguity and anomaly.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction: In The Beginning
1. Islands of Meaning
Chunks of Space
Blocks of Time
Frames
Chunks of Identity
Mental Fields
Ritual Transitions
2. The Great Divide
Mental Gaps
Mental Quantum Leaps
Mental Images and Social Reality
3. The Rigid Mind
Purity and Order
Self and Environment
Social Segregation
The Psychological Roots of Rigidity
Rigid Social Environments
4. The Social Lens
Culture and Classification
The Color Gray
The Social Construction of Discontinuity
5. The Fuzzy Mind
The Ocean
Letting Go
Opening Up
Ritual Fluidity
Playful Promiscuity
Comic Transgression
Fluidity in Art
The Ethics of Fluidity
Fluidity and Modernity
6. The Flexible Mind
Transgression and Creativity
Boundaries and Order
Mental Plasticity
Notes
Bibliography
Author Index
Subject Index
Introduction: In The Beginning
1. Islands of Meaning
Chunks of Space
Blocks of Time
Frames
Chunks of Identity
Mental Fields
Ritual Transitions
2. The Great Divide
Mental Gaps
Mental Quantum Leaps
Mental Images and Social Reality
3. The Rigid Mind
Purity and Order
Self and Environment
Social Segregation
The Psychological Roots of Rigidity
Rigid Social Environments
4. The Social Lens
Culture and Classification
The Color Gray
The Social Construction of Discontinuity
5. The Fuzzy Mind
The Ocean
Letting Go
Opening Up
Ritual Fluidity
Playful Promiscuity
Comic Transgression
Fluidity in Art
The Ethics of Fluidity
Fluidity and Modernity
6. The Flexible Mind
Transgression and Creativity
Boundaries and Order
Mental Plasticity
Notes
Bibliography
Author Index
Subject Index