Abstract

The purpose of this conversation is to analyse the bond between Cultural Studies and social research, and define analogies and differences between Cultural Studies and Cultural Sociology. Scott Lash, a cultural theorist strongly influenced by philosophical thought, clarifies how the latter can rightfully be part of a social research oriented towards forms of life and practices, as well as towards a concrete, and not utopian, political commitment. The American scholar thoroughly investigates also the notion of "symbolic" in the field of Cultural Sociology, clarifying how it can interact with the speculative models of Cultural Studies.