Civil Sphere Theory Meets Cultural Sociology

Close Encounters of the Symbolic Kind

Bibliographic Data

ID12903282
AuthorsChristopher Thorpe (0000-0002-1514-5638, University of Exeter, corresponding author), Jeffrey C Alexander (0000-0003-3600-8023, Yale University), J Steven Alexander (0000-0001-6975-3711, Yale University)
Year2026
Publication date2026-03-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCultural Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-9755 • E-ISSN: 1749-9763
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/17499755261422453
OpenAlexW7139983798
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited10

First published in 2006, Jeffrey C. Alexander’s The Civil Sphere ( TCS ) quickly established itself as one of the classic works of post-classical sociology. In this interview, occasioned by the 20th anniversary of the publication of TCS , Christopher Thorpe, one of the current editors of Cultural Sociology , spoke with Jeffrey Alexander, author of TCS and driving force behind the Strong Program in cultural sociology. The ensuing discussion is wide-ranging, cleaving not only to the subject of TCS , its conception, reception, and influence, but to the relationship of Civil Sphere Theory to cultural sociology more broadly. Various misconceptions surrounding Alexander’s work are addressed, as is the relationship of his intellectual legacy to Critical Theory and the limited and limiting conception of culture associated with several of its most influential proponents. In the closing stages of the discussion, Alexander reflects on what he believes mark out the most insightful forms of cultural-sociological studies

Closing (real estate · Critical theory · Culture theory · Limiting · Sociology of culture · Subject (documents · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Critical Realism in Sociology · Cultural Studies · Social and Cultural Dynamics

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access