Michel Maffesoli

Michel Maffesoli

Michel Maffesoli (born November 14, 1944 in Graissessac , Département Hérault , France ) is professor of sociology at the Sorbonne University in Paris and editor of the journals Sociétés and Cahiers de l'Imaginaire as well as head of the Center de recherche sur l'imaginaire , an institution in Paris dedicated to exploring the imaginary .

biography

1944: Michel Maffesoli was born on November 14th in Graissessac (Département Hérault) in France. He attends the Henri IV high school in Béziers .

1967: Maffesoli begins studying medieval philosophy and sociology at the University of Strasbourg .

1969: In March he marries Hélène Strohl, with whom he now has four daughters.

1971: Maffesoli completes his final exams with Lucien Braun and Julien Freund . The thesis is entitled Explications et modification. La technique chez Marx et Heidegger . Maffesoli then took on an assistantship at the Pierre Mendès-France University in Grenoble.

1973: His doctoral thesis results from the work in Grenoble on the everyday culture of the common people.

1978: Maffesoli completes his habilitation thesis with the title La dynamique sociale (“The social dynamics”) in June.

1978: In the same year he returned to Strasbourg, where he took over the management of conflict research. He occupies the position of Maître-Assistant , which means something like independent teaching senior assistant for life.

1981: Maffesoli is appointed to the Paris Université René Descartes (Paris V - Sorbonne ) to fill the chair of sociology.

1982: Maffesoli and Georges Balandier found the Center d'Etudes sur l'Actuel et le Quotidien (CEAQ) at the Sorbonne. Much of the work of the CEAQ is published in the Sociétés journal, which was founded and edited by Maffesoli .

1988: He publishes the magazine Cahiers de l'Imaginaire . This magazine belongs to the Center de Recherche sur l'Imaginaire in Paris, which he has been running since the early 1980s, first together with Gilbert Durand, and later alone.

Also in the early 1980s, Michel Maffesoli and Georges Balandier organized the first major sociology congresses in France.

Maffesoli becomes Vice President of the Institut International de Sociologie founded by René Worms in 1893.

1990: He received, among other things, the Prix de l'Essai André Gautier for the book Au creux des apparences (in German roughly means: "In the cavity of external appearances").

2003: Maffesoli receives the Order of the Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor and other titles, such as the Chevalier du mérite. The latter is considered to be the highest honor in France for military or civilian service to French society.

2006: In April, a "Michel Maffesoli Chair" is established in honor of the Mexican Universidad de las Américas Puebla.

Historical context

Michel Maffesoli was born in a small town in the Cevennes . His paternal family is an immigrant family. The grandfather came from Northern Italy and his grandmother from Algeria . The two met there and moved to France together in 1910. Maffesoli's father was born in Graissessac. His mother, however, came from a long-established French family who lived in the same region.

Graissessac and its residents were heavily influenced by underground coal mining. Through this source of income, numerous immigrants lived in the place, v. a. from Spain, Italy, Poland etc. Maffesoli grew up in an event that was shaped by the hard mining work, which was also his father's occupation. Maffesoli's strongest memories include the howling of the siren , which heralded a misfortune: “In my childhood, the sound of the bell brought every woman, dressed in black, to the coal mine to organize immediate funerals” (Maffesoli 2005a: 200, cited above. according to: Keller 2006: 10). Everyday work in Graissessac was regularly interrupted by collective village celebrations at which the families could forget their difficult lives.

Maffesoli's school career is not a list of elite schools, as is the case with many colleagues. He attended the Henri IV high school in Béziers in the south of France. After a short time in Lyon, where Maffesoli studied propaedeutics and literature , he moved to the University of Strasbourg in 1967. There he began to study medieval philosophy and sociology in the middle of the turbulent times of May 1968 in Paris . In Strasbourg it was the time of the situationists. The Situationist International was an anarchist and actionist grouping consisting mainly of avant-garde artists and intellectuals and existed from 1957 to 1972. Guy Debord is the central figure in this movement. The Situationist International dealt primarily with painting, theory, history and urban planning, with the focus turning more and more towards politics. The ideas of this group were communist- anarchist and libertarian . Maffesoli stayed in groups that also lived this set of ideas, and largely shared Debord's ideas, apart from his criticism of alienation expressed in the company of the spectacle . Maffesoli also deals with German council communism in Heidelberg, where he often stays during his studies in Strasbourg .

When Maffesoli accepted the post of assistant at the Institute for Urban Research at the Université Pierre Mendes Frances in Grenoble in 1971 , he mainly worked on the subject of everyday culture of the common people. The French Socialist Party , which determined urban politics in Grenoble at the time, stood for a change in the current situation. This represented a development towards the “ totalitarianism of planning and calculating reason” (Keller 2006: 14). The socialists wanted to counter this attitude with anarchy and situationism. Maffesoli agreed with this attitude and has remained a friend of libertarian thought, anarchism and situationism to this day.

Theory-historical context

Maffesoli's most important teachers during his student days include Lucien Braun, who is an expert in the field of philosophy and mysticism of the Middle Ages , as well as the sociologist of conflict Julien Freund .

Maffesoli met Max Weber and Georg Simmel through his teachers . Maffesoli is based on Simmel's basic understanding of sociology. Even Karl Marx influenced Maffesoli, more philosophical and Marxist currents. From this perspective Maffesoli examined the “functioning of the imaginary” (Keller 2006: 14), which can be read in Logique de la domination (The logic of rule, 1976).

The work of Martin Heidegger has had a lasting influence on Maffesoli, as has the philosophical approaches of Friedrich Nietzsche : for example the assumption of a constant “return of the same” or strict amorality (cf. Keller 2006: 36). Aspects of the old critical theory with representatives such as Henri Lefèbvre or Herbert Marcuse can also be found in Maffesoli's works.

Since Maffesoli is primarily interested and pronounced in theoretically well-founded qualitative and interpretative methods in sociology, he also deals in detail with the reading of sociologists who followed a phenomenological and scientific- sociological tradition, such as u. a. Alfred Schütz , Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann .

With regard to social and community cohesion, Maffesoli refers to Emile Durkheim's reflections. The position of Maffesoli as the symbol of Dionysus was mainly influenced by Georges Bataille , even if Maffesoli Bataille does not agree in all areas. On the importance of the imaginary , which is a focus in Maffesoli's work, he draws on Carl Gustav Jung's approach, especially in later works . Guy Debord should also be mentioned at this point because, as already mentioned, he was a central figure of Situationism , whose ideas Maffesoli largely shared.

During the years that Maffesoli spent in Grenoble, friendships with other “marginalists” of French sociology, such as the media theorist and philosopher Jean Baudrillard , as well as Gilbert Durand, one of Maffesoli's most important mentors, Edgar Morin , developed an independent form of system theory and sociological reflection on the complexity of the relationships between society and nature (cf. Keller 2006: 21), and Pierre Sansot, who mainly dealt with the phenomena of everyday culture.

A present figure in Maffesoli's life is also the Africa expert, ethnologist and sociologist Georges Balandier . He is one of the people who helped Maffesoli to the Chair of Sociology at the Sorbonne in Paris and, alongside Maffesoli, organizer of the first major sociology congresses in France. He and Maffesoli are also the joint founders of the “Center d'Études sur l'Actuel et le Quotidien” (CEAQ) at the Sorbonne.

plant

Maffesoli's understanding of sociology

In order to understand the main theses of Maffesoli, it is necessary to know something about his attitude towards sociology and his "practice" of sociology. As already mentioned, Maffesoli stands for a qualitative, interpretative and understanding sociology from a libertarian perspective. That is why the most important subjects and theses he deals with cannot be reduced to the logical and cannot be quantified. Rather, it is about an affirmative sociological cognition - the "ordinary cognition" (cf. Keller 2006: 62).

“Is what I do something scientific? IM not sure. Rather take it as a kind of waking dream that I pursue and which I put up for discussion. ”(Maffesoli 2004c, quoted from: Keller 2006: 62)

The implementation of Maffesoli's ideas is sometimes referred to as the “phenomenology of the 'style' and the 'forms' of postmodern sociality” (Keller 2006: 69). This operates with various techniques of visualization, such as metaphors . “Style” in this sense means, for example, an epoch-specific form of expression, in Maffesoli especially the distinction between “ modern ” and “ postmodern ” style. In his opinion, the style of an important period of time reflects the thinking and feeling of a culture. “Forms” in this sense denote the various structures within social relationships. (Compare Keller 2006: 62-77)

Power and violence

In his reflections on violence , but also power and domination, Maffesoli draws attention to the “double faced”. On the one hand violence is destructive, on the other hand productive - the founding of modern nations is mostly based on the use of force.

Maffesoli also differentiates between the “ totalitarian violence of institutionalized powers” ​​such as bureaucracies or states , a “substantive anomic violence of social collectives” (such as in revolutions ) and “banal violence ritualized in everyday life”.

With regard to the political, Maffesoli distinguishes between two social manifestations:

• puissance: non-organized or non-institutionalized power, comparable to Nietzsche's “ will to power ”.
• pouvoir:: politically institutionalized and legitimized power (for example: state power)

(cf. Keller 2006: 78–93)

Sociology of Everyday Life

For Maffesoli, everyday life represents a place of resistant and non-political sociality, but also the “ communalisation taking place ” (Maffesoli 1985b: 13, quoted from: Keller 2006: 94). Everyday life is a “means of creative alternative and space for resistance “(Cf. Balandier 1983: 12, in: Keller 2006: 93).

Maffesoli has worked out two starting points for the sociological analysis:

• Everyday life, as an expression of existential senselessness ("being to death")
• Everyday life traversed by the ritual and the irrational , which "absorb the fundamental tragedy of existence" (Keller 2006: 94)

The Dionysian Paradigm

In the Greek world of gods, Dionysus is a god of wine, fertility and ecstasy. It represents both love and death, is a symbol of the "unleashing" of worries, but also of suffering and contradictions.

After Friedrich Nietzsche , Sigmund Freud , Émile Durkheim and Georges Bataille , Maffesoli also takes up the unproductive and Dionysian aspects of everyday life. He tries to empirically prove these situations of “being outside of oneself” (Keller 2006: 101), of intoxication and ecstasy and in the next step to develop the argumentation of a re-spread of the Dionysian. This means a connection between the new hedonism , the ecology movement and the “circulation of passions” (cf. Keller 2006: 100f.). According to Maffesoli, the logic of socialization is beginning to replace the logic of socialization. In this context, the “orgiastic” represents the merging of the individual with the collective to a “confused order of corresponding elements” (Keller 2006: 102).

Neo-Tribalism and Postmodern Nomadism

Maffesoli has put forward the thesis that the social contract is being replaced by a conflict-ridden, fragmented and constantly rearranging network of “tribal formations”. He describes this “vote” as a “postmodern form of the social bond” (Maffesoli 1993a: 73, quoted from: Keller 2006: 106). The concept of the trunk makes it clear that the connections are not purpose-oriented, but arise on the basis of shared experiences, feelings and experiences. Within the tribe there are rituals , compulsions, social norms, etc. that the members of the tribe must adhere to. A characteristic of neo-tribalism is the dynamic back and forth between the “crowd” and the tribes, which also means that membership of a tribe is only temporary and that tribal changes are possible.

In this post-modern form of society, individuals act as restless “ nomads ” between the tribes. The “postmodern nomad” is to be understood as an ideal type . In the many social circles in which he associates, both belonging and outside, he is connected and separated at the same time. He rejects the pursuit of consistency and clarity. Rather, he is a drifting individual on the discovery of various possibilities and self-realization. (Compare Keller 2006: 106–123.)

Reception and effect

That Michel Maffesoli finds ample recognition for his achievements can already be concluded from the chapter "Biography in dates", in which several awards are listed above. The number of copies of his books also speak for him. However, some “normal” French sociologists consider it a scandal due to its “different” views.

Overall, Maffesoli has coined important terms in contemporary sociology and provided numerous food for thought and research programs. Sociologists around the world use his work for their research. Current examples would be topics such as gangs of the Paris Metro underworld, drug scenes, etc. In the German-speaking area, his theories were mainly used by Dietmar Kamper and Christoph Wulf for the project of a “Historical Anthropology of Passions”. In the English-speaking world, one encounters his theories on neo-tribalism and post-modern nomads. It also applies in the Cultural Studies as a major French cultural theorist (see Keller 2006. 123-126).

Works

• together with Clemens Albrecht , Andreas Göbel , Justin Stagl and Manfred Prisching editors of the journal Sociologia Internationalis , published twice a year by Duncker & Humblot Verlag Berlin, European journal for cultural research (SOCINT), ISSN  0038-0164
• 1976: Logique de la domination. Paris
• 1978: La violence fondatrice (with Alain Pessin). Paris
• 1979: La Violence totalitaire. Paris
• 1979: Violence et transgression (with Andre Bruston). Paris
• 1979: La Conquête du présent. Sociologie de la vie quotidienne. Paris
• 1980: La galaxie de l'imaginaire. Dérive autour de l'oeuvre de Gilbert Durand. Paris
• 1981: Le pluriel (with Georges Balandier ). In: Recherches Sociologiques , Vol. 13, No. 1/2. Strasbourg
• 1981/1982: Les Sociologies I (with Georges Balandier). 2 volumes. Paris / Louvain
• 1982: L'Ombre de Dionysus. Contribution to a sociologie de l'orgie. Paris
• 1984: Essais sur la violence banale et fondatrice. Paris
• 1985: Une Anthropologie des Turbulences. Homage to Georges Balandier (with Claude Rivière). Paris
• 1985: La Connaissance ordinaire, précis de sociologie compréhensive. Paris
• 1988: Le Temps des tribus. Le déclin de l'individualisme dans les sociétés de masse. Paris
• 1989: The Sociology of Everyday Live . In: Current Sociology. ISA. The Sociology of Everyday life , Vol. 37, No. 1. London
• 1990: Au Creux des apparences. Pour une éthique de l'esthétique. Paris
• 1992: La Transfiguration du politique. Paris
• 1993: La Contemplation du monde.
• 1996: Éloge de la raison sensible. Paris
• 1997: You nomadism. Vagabondages initiatiques. Paris
• 1997: Le Mystère de la conjonction. St. Clement de Rivière
• 2000: L'Instant éternel. Paris
• 2003: Notes sur la postmodernité. Le lieu fait lien. Paris
• 2003: Le voyage ou la conquête des mondes.
• 2004: Le Rythme de la vie. Paris
• 2004: La Part du Diable. Champs Flammarion
• 2007: Le Réenchantement du Monde. Paris
• 2009: Apocalypse. Paris
• 2010: Matrimonium. Paris

literature

• Reiner Keller (2006): Michel Maffesoli. An introduction. UVK: Constance
• Reiner Keller (1988): The Aesthetic Paradigm in the Sociology of Michel Maffesoli. An exemplary comparison of contemporary French and German theories. Unv. Thesis. Bamberg
• Thomas Keller (2004): A French life sociologist: Michel Maffesoli. In: Stephan Moebius / Lothar Peter (ed.): French sociology of the present . Constancy
• Reiner Keller (2006): Michel Maffesoli: The return of the tribes in postmodernism. In: Stephan Moebius / Dirk Quadflieg (ed.): Culture. Present theories. Wiesbaden
• David Evans (1997): Michel Maffesoli's sociology of modernity and post-modernity: an introduction and critical assesment. In: The Sociological Review , Vol. 45, pp. 220-243
• Jonathan S. Fish (2003): Stjepan Mestrovic and Michel Maffesoli's "implosive" defense of the Durkheimian tradition: theoretical convergences around Baudrillard ’s thesis on the "end" of the social. In: The Sociological Review , Vol. 51, No. 2, pp. 257-275

Web links

• Center d'Etude sur l'Actuel et le Quotidien, Paris