Sociocultural Interventions: The Performative Augmentation of the Social Imaginary

Abstract

This dissertation develops a theoretical vocabulary to interpret and discuss ‘sociocultural interventions.’ This term refers to acts of public, political expression other than deliberative argument, such as rallies, public fasts, street art and vigils, which performatively alter elements of the social imaginary that structures political life. Although sociocultural interventions can profoundly affect the relationships between differently positioned political actors as well as the outcomes of collective decision-making processes, they have not typically received the political philosophical attention that they deserve. This is due in part to the great influence of theories of the public sphere that almost exclusively focus on the public justification of political positions by means of deliberative argument. Taking sociocultural interventions into account helps us to approach the public sphere not exclusively as a site where citizens seek to convince people subscribing to other points of view, but also as a site where political actors engage with historical traditions of existential meaning-making in creative, innovative ways. This is also important from the vantage point of a commitment to principles of democratic equality. Sociocultural interventions can serve to challenge widely held perceptions of which social groups are recognized as equal members of society and as legitimate participants in public debate. Moreover, they can also change the way in which resonant cultural elements that play an important role in political discourse are widely understood. Finally, sociocultural interventions can enable political actors belonging to marginalized groups within society to strengthen the resolve, sense of purpose and collective identity within these groups. Drawing upon Hannah Arendt’s reflections on action, authority, and augmentation, the dissertation argues that political actors stand in a dual relation to the perceived authority of the cultural elements that their sociocultural interventions draw upon: on the one hand, the authority of cultural elements is what inspires their contributions; at the same time, these contributions themselves forward novel interpretations of these same cultural elements. This dual relation makes it possible for authoritative cultural elements to simultaneously provide a sense of transhistorical continuity as well as a sense of empowering agency to political actors. For political actors, the engagement in collaborative meaning-making through sociocultural interventions drawing upon historical traditions of existential-meaning-making can be an inherently satisfying endeavour. Recognizing this enables us to better understand what motivates people to engage in political action, in spite of sometimes high risks of frustration, disappointment, and political repercussions.