Citation

Gross N. Am. Sociol. 2010; 41(4): 337-357.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s12108-010-9110-1

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Charles Tilly's work on repertoires of contention and social mechanisms was pathbreaking. In this article, I argue that his understanding of both concepts overlaps with social-theoretical work informed by the philosophical tradition of classical American pragmatism. There is no evidence that Tilly was influenced by pragmatism, but I argue that the overlap is substantial enough that large portions of his oeuvre can serve as illustrations of the explanatory power of pragmatist social science--and that Tilly's theorization of mechanisms in particular would have been even stronger had he engaged pragmatism directly.

Language: en