Ambivalence and Inbetweeness
Title
Ambivalence and Inbetweeness
Author
Giesen, Bernhard
Research Area
Culture
Topic
Culture and Society
Abstract
In the following remarks, we present new developments in social theory and cultural analysis that converge in a particular focus on a third perspective beyond the distinction between inside and outside. This focus on “thirdness” transcends the classical structuralist paradigm of binary classification. It is especially sensitive for the analysis of sudden surprises, paradoxical twists, and disturbing events in history and social life and, thus, contrasts to the assumption of progress and orderly linear development. We outline this new paradigm with respect to three different domains: garbage, monsters, and victims.