Paul Lichterman on "Towards a new sociology of civic action"

This week, Paul Lichterman (University of Southern California), was invited to speak to the members of the Max-Weber Kolleg about his recent research on "civic action":

Sceptical of neo-Tocquevillian assumptions like

1.   Sectors: it happens in a specific “sector” outside market, family, and state, one in which small, face-to-face groups are typical

2.   Skills and virtues: it cultivates one set of “skills and virtues” that are transposable to all civic groups (fosters democratic orientation and skills”)

3.   Normative: it is “good” in itself

Lichterman suggested a new definition of civic, asking how people are coordinating action, how they act together, hence "civic" taken as an adverb, looking for styles of action and discerning different scene styles.