Outcome Resolve

Co-ordinator = Rebecca Herron

We explore the hypothesis that the social system (society) is not composed of human beings, but by their interactions and communications (Luhmann, 1984). Social order can then be considered as the complex dynamics of the expectations exchanges among us.

From this perspective, organisation and institutionalisation are considered as retention mechanisms. Stabilized identities can be enrolled in this system with a double hermeneutics (Giddens, 1976), that is, both as participants and as observers. Human beings are able to change gears by using our communicative competencies.

The Light Blue group would like to make two suggestions to develop this research:

Firstly, we propose to draft a manuscript among us using the Internet for the internal exchange. We would like members of the network to feed back on drafts by raising critical questions and by providing us with concrete organisational forms and problems that can be related to this conceptual framework.

Secondly, we would like to organise regular discussion groups (open to the whole network) focussing over a number of months on papers identified by the network [as relevant to our thesis].

The aim would be to review progress toward a potential research programme early in 2002.