Domination and Subjugation in Everyday Life

Reputable scholars have long charged that symbolic interactionism, which is based on the principle of sociality, discounts the importance that subordination plays in human groups. Emphasizing dominance and power, Athens explains how subordination operates in human group life from a new interactionist's perspective, aptly dubbed by him, radical interactionism.

Expanding on the work of sociologist Robert E. Park, Athens explains the nature and operation of super-ordination and subordination, which he believes affects all social interaction between human beings and groups. He then develops a generic framework and a common terminology to help explain all forms of social conflicts. Athens argues that a radical interactionism disentangles the nature of domination, power and force, as well as the relationship among them, in a manner consistent with the basic premises of the Chicago school of pragmatism.

This book offers a provocative and intelligent outline of the development and evolution of radical interactionism, a perspective interactionists can add to their toolbox with profit.

Norman K. Denzin is professor of sociology, cinema studies, and interpretive theory at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He was awarded the George Herbert Mead Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction. He is the author of several books, including The Alcoholic Society, Children and Their Caretakers, Hollywood Shot by Shot, Sociological Methods, and The Values of Social Science.

Lonnie H. Athens is a professor of criminal justice at Seton Hall University. He is the author of Domination and Subjugation in Everyday Life and Acts and Actors Revisited. He received the George Herbert Mead Award from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction for lifetime achievement.