Abstract
The paper retraces the elaboration of a model that accounts for the emergence of subjectivity—the possibility to distance
self from others and oneself—if we consider people as always taken in social and cultural streams of meaning and tensions.
It builds a model considering first, human experience as possible when a person takes distance from the here-and-now. Second,
it suggests considering two general semiotic streams that feed in, or support, that distancing—social and cultural discourses,
and personal experience. Third, a knitting model suggests the constant creation of personal patters out of these two streams.
Fourth, a dynamic, star-like model is proposed to account for the actual and constant emergence of subjectivity out of such
social and cultural configurations. The model is constituted by a 2, 3 or N-number of eight-shaped crossing loops, resulting
in a star-like model situated in a 3 dimensional space. The proposition is to analyze a person in a specific situation: the
attractors enabling these loops, or end-points of the star, are the relevant social and cultural elements: others with whom
he or she interacts, specific bodies of shared knowledge, social representations, cultural elements and tools, and so on.
In each situation, the relative strength of these elements, or the tension they generate, are negotiated by the person; the
unique ways of dealing with that situation and inviting solutions can thus be seen as the emergent subjectivity. The model
is explored to account for developmental dynamics at various scales in the lifecourse. Finally, the pragmatic interest of
a model emphasizing complex configurations, not simple causalities, is recalled.
self from others and oneself—if we consider people as always taken in social and cultural streams of meaning and tensions.
It builds a model considering first, human experience as possible when a person takes distance from the here-and-now. Second,
it suggests considering two general semiotic streams that feed in, or support, that distancing—social and cultural discourses,
and personal experience. Third, a knitting model suggests the constant creation of personal patters out of these two streams.
Fourth, a dynamic, star-like model is proposed to account for the actual and constant emergence of subjectivity out of such
social and cultural configurations. The model is constituted by a 2, 3 or N-number of eight-shaped crossing loops, resulting
in a star-like model situated in a 3 dimensional space. The proposition is to analyze a person in a specific situation: the
attractors enabling these loops, or end-points of the star, are the relevant social and cultural elements: others with whom
he or she interacts, specific bodies of shared knowledge, social representations, cultural elements and tools, and so on.
In each situation, the relative strength of these elements, or the tension they generate, are negotiated by the person; the
unique ways of dealing with that situation and inviting solutions can thus be seen as the emergent subjectivity. The model
is explored to account for developmental dynamics at various scales in the lifecourse. Finally, the pragmatic interest of
a model emphasizing complex configurations, not simple causalities, is recalled.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Regular Article
- Pages 1-15
- DOI 10.1007/s12124-012-9203-1
- Authors
- Tania Zittoun, Institute of psychology and education, Faculty of Arts and Social sciences, University of Neuchâtel, Louis Agassiz 1, CH – 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Journal Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science
- Online ISSN 1936-3567
- Print ISSN 1932-4502