MASKI STYLU (KOMUNIKACJA SPOŁECZNA, INTERPRETACJA, SOCJOLOGIA LITERATURY)
STYLE MASKS (SOCIAL COMMUNICATION, INTERPRETATION, SOCIOLOGY OF LITERATURE)

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the sociological aspects of the interpretation of specific texts. Their authors are “men of letters” (writers, publicists). The texts themselves (mainly personal do- cument literature, but not only) do not aspire to the form of a novel or any other version of literary fiction; however, the authors use literary and, more broadly, rhetorical stylistic means with full awareness. The materials described in the article are treated as messages and “performances”. It is assumed that each act of communication (and thus also the text) initiated by the addresser is a performance in Goffman’s understanding of the term. The article starts with the interpretation proposed in Clifford Geertz’s essay, then it discusses the opportunities offered by Jan Szczepański’s constructive method in the field of qualitative sociology, as well as some – given with interpre- tative examples – aspects of Leo Strauss’ or Umberto Eco’s concept. Using the outlines of several historical but also more contemporary examples, illustrations, the article aims to sensitise sociolo- gical interpreters to the specificity of the analyzed and more contextually and rhetorically complex performance (including text or other form of communication). While the article primarily intends to support research interests in texts belonging to the literature of the “men of letters” personal document, it also has more general ambitions when it comes to the sociological interpretation of Goffman’s performances.

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