symbolic interactionism
- humans act on meanings
- meanings arise out of social interaction
- meanings are modified by interpretation
- humans create worlds of experience
- the meanings of those worlds come from interaction and are shaped by self reflection
- self interaction is interwoven with social interaction and social influences
- society is a shifting mosaic
some beliefs of symbolic interactionists:
- general theories are not useful
- local understanding is important
- fuck objectivity
- don’t bother importing theories from the natural sciences
- don’t ignore history
- don’t ignore individuals
- ask “how” questions, not “why” questions
