Interaction Theory in the Federal Republic of Germany

Development, Current Position, Themes, and Problems

Bibliographic Data

ID2480911
AuthorsHans Haferkamp (University of Bremen, corresponding author)
Year1987
Volume10
Issue2
Pages143-165
Publication date1987-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSymbolic Interaction (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0195-6086 • E-ISSN: 1533-8665
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1525/si.1987.10.2.143
OpenAlexW1984189888
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited38

After the end of World War II in West Germany, action and interaction theories and phenomenological sociology occupied only fringe positions. At the end of the 1960s, criticism of the prevalent neopositivistic research methodology, systems theory, and the rapidly spreading critical theory increased. This, coupled with the positive reception given symbolic interactionism and ethnomethodology from the United States, caused interaction theories to flourish. Today they are among the four or five main schools of thought in West German sociology. In methodological work, the 'interpretative' or 'communicative' social research of the time developed the narrative interview and life history method. Group discussion and participant observation were also used for interactionist social research. A survey of the subjects interactionists have covered in their research shows how widely interaction theory has been applied. The main themes of current interaction theory are: (1) conceptualizing the difference between unpremeditated behavior and meaningful action, (2) formulating a theory that covers both 'structure' and 'action', and (3) developing an interactionist macro theory. The future of interaction theory is analyzed and assessed optimistically

Critical theory · Epistemology · Ethnomethodology · German · History of sociology · Interaction theory · Interactionism · Narrative · Social science · Sociology · Symbolic interactionism · German Social Sciences and History · Sociology and Education Studies · Sociology and Norbert Elias

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