What Is Structuralism?: UNIVERSITY SUMMARIES

By MAURICIO ENRIQUE FAU

The study of a social phenomenon can be accessed from the social object or from the relationships between them, depending our approach on the theoretical postulates that we assume. We understand by SOCIAL PURPOSE not as an individual act but as the reiteration of those acts, considering them not as isolated events but as a whole, during a given period of time and in a given society. A SOCIAL FACT - to study it we consider it an object - consists of every way of acting, thinking and feeling that exerts external pressure on the individual; social facts are prior to and external to the individual and are expressed in norms, laws and institutions. STRUCTURALISM is one of these theoretical postulates and focuses its attention on the relationships of social objects in order to specify how they affect the whole and the parts. Structuralism proposes to discover the principle - The "Universal" Of Human Behavior - which cannot be accessed through immediate empirical observation of behaviors. To address the issue, we have summarized the essentials of "Structuralism", by Estela Gurevich.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BOOKS AND SUMMARIES BY MAURICIO FAU
• Release date: Oct 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201586911

MAURICIO ENRIQUE FAU

Mauricio Enrique Fau nació en Buenos Aires en 1965. Se recibió de Licenciado en Ciencia Política en la Universidad de Buenos Aires. Cursó también Derecho en la UBA y Periodismo en la Universidad de Morón. Realizó estudios en FLACSO Argentina. Docente de la UBA y AUTOR DE MÁS DE 3.000 RESÚMENES de Psicología, Sociología, Ciencia Política, Antropología, Derecho, Historia, Epistemología, Lógica, Filosofía, Economía, Semiología, Educación y demás disciplinas de las Ciencias Sociales. Desde 2005 dirige La Bisagra Editorial, especializada en técnicas de estudio y materiales que facilitan la transición desde la escuela secundaria a la universidad. Por intermedio de La Bisagra publicó 38 libros. Participa en diversas ferias del libro, entre ellas la Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires y la FIL Guadalajara.

Book preview

What Is Structuralism?

UNIVERSITY SUMMARIES

MAURICIO ENRIQUE FAU

Published by BOOKS AND SUMMARIES BY MAURICIO FAU, 2021.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

WHAT IS STRUCTURALISM?

First edition. October 15, 2021.

Copyright © 2021 MAURICIO ENRIQUE FAU.

ISBN: 979-8201586911

Written by MAURICIO ENRIQUE FAU.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Gurevich, Estela

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Further Reading: What Is Social Imaginary?

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About the Author

About the Publisher

Gurevich, Estela

STRUCTURALISM

Structuralism in Anthropology

The study of a social phenomenon can be accessed from the social object or from the relationships between them, depending on our approach to the theoretical postulates that we assume.

We understand by SOCIAL OBJECT not as an individual act but as the reiteration of those acts, considering them not as isolated events but as a whole, during a given period of time and in a given society. A SOCIAL FACT - to study it we consider it an object - consists of every way of acting, thinking and feeling that exerts external pressure on the individual; social facts are prior to and external to the individual and are expressed in norms, laws and institutions.

STRUCTURALISM IS ONE OF THESE THEORETICAL POSTULATES AND FOCUSES ITS ATTENTION ON THE RELATIONSHIPS OF SOCIAL OBJECTS IN ORDER TO SPECIFY HOW THEY AFFECT THE WHOLE AND THE PARTS. STRUCTURALISM PROPOSES TO DISCOVER THE PRINCIPLE -THE UNIVERSAL OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR- WHICH CANNOT BE ACCESSED THROUGH IMMEDIATE EMPIRICAL OBSERVATION OF BEHAVIORS

CLAUDE LÈVI-STRAUSS (Brussels, 1908) was the promoter of the structuralist movement in anthropology. Graduated from the Sorbonne, in Philosophy and Law, he did important ethnographic work - field work - in indigenous communities of Brazil, in Matto Grosso and Amazonia (1934/37). He dabbled in theoretical questions relating to ethnology.

His literary production begins with the publication of THE ELEMENTARY STRUCTURES OF RELATIONSHIP, in 1949. Levi-Strauss finds that that universal is in the mentality, in the mechanisms of thought, from which man imposes an organization to its world (its representation of the world).

Historical situation

The structuralist movement was the intellectual fashion of the sixties in Latin countries (mainly France, Italy and Latin America). Previously it had been imposed as a research method in Psychology (Gestalt) and Linguistics (Prague School). Then he reached Ethnology, Psychoanalysis, Marxist theory, literary criticism, and so on. Its rise can be linked to the reality of contemporary man, more conditioned than creator of the socio-economic and political structures in which he operates. Later - along with Marxism and the grand theories that had inspired anthropology until the 1970s - it has been displaced by postmodern thought.

Theoretical background. Continuities and breaks

We will see some proposals of authors that served as a reference to Levi-Strauss.

EMILE DURKHEIM (1858-1917), was concerned with bringing the spirit and methods of the physical sciences to the human sciences, emphasizing the study of phenomena and their internal determinations rather than their nature or origin. He declared THE PRIMACY OF THE SOCIAL OVER THE INTELLECT AND AFFIRMED THAT THE SOCIAL PHENOMENA ARE PART OF NATURE AND