Transformative social performance. A cultural pragmatics of social meaning change

Abstract

This article explores the process of social meaning change within the Strong Program in Cultural Sociology, shifting focus from the reproduction of culture to transformative social performance (TSP) in public displays. Social life often generates identifiable narrative patterns, where certain storylines are elevated to dominant or even official interpretations. In response, counternarrative patterns, iterated through a TSP, emerge to challenge and transform these storylines. TSPs refer to social enactments and performative displays of collective representations that shape social life through meaning-making dynamics, including the de-fusion/re-fusion of dramatic or narrative elements, as well as the displacement and condensation of meaning. Conceptually, TSP theory blends narrative genre theory with social performance theory. This paper highlights two ideal types, or categories, of TSP: the heretic/heretical, which challenges dominant narratives by elevating marginalized signifiers; and the apostate/apostatic, which introduces new central signifiers, portraying the past as dark or traumatic. Through these heretical and apostatic performances, TSPs serve as a form of societal catharsis, particularly in contexts of repression or when dominant narratives lose their relevance. Drawing on Susy Díaz’s vindication of Chicha culture in Peru and Mohamed Bouazizi’s immolation in Tunisia as case studies, this article provides methodological criteria for analyzing TSP. Furthermore, it demonstrates cathartic power of TSPs, emphasizing their critical role in driving social and political change by addressing social inertia or repression.