Animation culturelle et mouvements sociaux : perspectives communes de recherche

Abstract

The social dimension of sociocultural community development, defined as an intervention aimed at strengthening the cultural initiative by widening access to works and stimulating social creativity, joins the cultural field of social movements, considered as a mode of mobilization combining organizational structures, forms of leadership and communication. Two distinct cultural dynamics emerge from the traditions of European and North American analysis. On the European side, it features political actors acting in the field of culture (understood as a system of values presiding over development choices) while on the North American side, it includes cultural actors acting in the legal-political field. In the wake of Jean-Claude Gillet’s first work focused on the meaning of action and articulated around real conflicts, Melucci and Castells’s analyses synthesize these traditions and provide a fruitful perspective for understanding both contemporary forms of collective action and the current challenges of sociocultural community development.