XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 15-21, 2018)

888

The Borders between Violence and Legitimacy.

RC54 The Body in the Social Sciences (host committee)

Language: English

An empowered body should be defined as the border which makes and marks the foundation of a group in its social environment and an account of oneself in history. Empowerment is a psychological state, a feeling of competence, control, and entitlement.  It is possible to be powerful, and yet, not feel empowered. An empowered body is, indeed, able to locate its experiences  in  the chronicity of change, i.e., in the experiences and events making the when and the where of lifecourse. This session asks why this balance is often and often transformed into the violent and disruptive processes that makes the body the stranger of social life. The phenomenon is complex one which is why it deserves a very profound reflection, both on the problem of the world – in what way is the world a problem?- and on the various forms of violence of which the border is today the place., and how it ceases to be so. This Introductory Session is aimed, therefore, to develop  a new paradigm on the empowered body, able to prove that that mental sets are chosen, not genetic, and with help and practice they can be modified.  The goal is to provide exemplary knowledge and experience on how professionals can handle cultural differences linked to the body in an appreciative and respectful way, when being in contact with citizens and users. The body , above all, performs indeed the rules of social interaction.