Positional sociology and the material conditions of subjectivities

Bibliographic Data

ID7095210
AuthorsFabio De Nardis (0000-0003-3159-5118, University of Salento, corresponding author)
Year2026
Pages1-17
Publication date2026-01-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDistinktion Journal of Social Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1600-910X • E-ISSN: 2159-9149
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1600910x.2026.2620775
OpenAlexW7126080387
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited26

This article advances a renewed materialist framework through the development of positional sociology, an approach that reconnects macro-structural transformations with the subjective experiences through which individuals navigate contemporary capitalism. Building on historical materialism while engaging critically with post-structuralism, subaltern studies and Bourdieusian field theory, the paper argues that position constitutes the key analytical bridge linking structure, history and subjectivity. While positional sociology first emerged within an Italian network of scholars, the Rete di Sociologia di Posizione, which has also initiated an editorial series dedicated to this agenda, this article seeks to extend the debate to an international audience by articulating the theoretical foundations of the approach in dialogue with global discussions on neoliberalization, social decomposition and the micro, macro divide. The article shows how positional sociology reframes experiences of precarity, fragmentation and dispossession as materially grounded phenomena, not individual contingencies. By integrating historical analysis, structural dynamics and lived subjectivities, positional sociology offers a coherent lens for understanding the forms of domination and agency that define the neoliberal conjuncture and for rethinking the materialist tradition in contemporary social theory.

Ethnography · Field (mathematics · Identity (music · Perspective (graphical · Subjectivity · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Critical Realism in Sociology · Critical Theory and Philosophy

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