Social imaginaries at the boundaries of the social world

社会学对想象和社会想象产生了新的兴趣。这些方法强调，不仅认知或语言概念，而且想象力和图像创造文化意义，塑造人类的思维和行为。社会想象是日常生活的组成部分；它们指导社会实践并使其保持活力。该项目解决了想象社会学这一新兴领域的一个愿望：现有方法通过指出社会想象和想象的积极内容和指导原则来重建社会想象和想象。然而，他们并没有注意到那些可以位于社交世界边缘的图像和想象。这些意象和想象涉及卑微的事物和存在的边界，例如主体与客体、自然与文化、人与非人之间的边界。到目前为止，还没有人试图对这些主题进行概念化或进一步详细的研究，无论是在理论层面上还是在实证探索中。为了满足这一愿望，该项目考虑了社会世界边缘的两个主要研究领域：第四年龄和器官捐赠。这两个主题都是特别合格的--它们构成了生死的边缘，提供了令人厌恶的想象力。本研究将使用隐喻分析以及图像和电影分析来分析在这两个领域进行的文件、访谈和焦点小组。这一研究项目的主要目的是考察社会想象的构成和社会世界边界上的想象。从而区分了这些概念，为进一步的理论探索奠定了基础。同时，隐喻分析被引入作为研究社会想象的一种方法。

There is a new growing interest in imagination and social imaginaries in sociology. These approaches highlight that not only cognitive or linguistic concepts, but also imagination and images create cultural meaning and shape human thinking and acting. Social imaginaries are constitutive for everyday-life; they guide social practices and keep them vibrant.The project addresses a desideratum in this emerging field of the sociology of imagination: existing approaches reconstruct social imaginaries and imagination by pointing to their positive content and guiding principles. However, they do not pay attention to those images and imaginations that can be located at the borders of the social world. These images and imaginations relate to abject things and existential boundaries, e.g. the boundary between subject and object, nature and culture, human and non-human. So far, there have been no attempts to conceptualize or to investigate in further detail in those subject matters, neither on a theoretical level nor in empirical explorations.To fulfill this desideratum, the project considers two main research fields at the borders of the social world: fourth age and organ donation. Both subjects are specially qualified – they constitute at the borderline of life and death and offer aversive imaginations. The research will use metaphor analysis as well as image and film analysis to analyze documents, interviews and focus groups conducted in these two fields. The main purpose of this research project is to examine the constitution of social imaginaries and imagination at the boundaries of the social world. Thereby, it differentiates these concepts and sets up the ground for further theoretical exploration. At the same time, metaphor analysis is to be introduced as a method for investigating social imaginaries.