Inclusive Education for an Inclusive Europe: Examining Social Interactions, Dynamics and Friendship Networks of Students in Schools
Relational Thinking by Norman Gabriel
Follow the link below to access the presentation.
Norbert Elias – Figurational sociology
The key to using a figurational approach to over-come an egocentric one, is to draw
“attention to people’s interdependencies. What actually binds people together into figurations”
Elias, using a figurational perspective argues that,
“power is not an amulet possessed by one person and not by another it is a structural characteristic of human relationships – of all human relationships”
This further illustrates the ability of the figurational approach’s ability to clarify concepts, such as power, by transforming “a concept of substance to a concept of relationship”. That is the fundamental difference between traditional sociology (egocentric) and a relational sociology (figurational): traditional sociology most often treats concepts as objects and substance , while relational sociology treats concepts as processes and relationships.
To learn more about how Elias envisions a relational sociology consider checking out the following books:
Elias, N. (1978). What is Sociology? New York: Columbia University Press
Elias, N. (2000). The Civilizing Process (Rev. Ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publications
Gabriel NR & Mennell S (2011) Norbert Elias and Figurational Research: Processual Thinking in Sociology. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
Source: The Critical Futurist
Alan Daly
Shifting Terrain: Mapping the Social Space for Learning and Change
Scroll down to watch the full speech delivered on Founders Symposium 2015 at the University of California, San Diego.
11/12/2015
Do you agree with the picture above? If you do, share with us pictures, drawings, proverbs or anything else (be creative) that promotes inclusion, respect and celebration of diversity in terms of ethnicity, color, disability, gender, or any other form!!!