TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2018//
TI  - A sociology of nothing: understanding the unmarked
JO  - Sociology
A1  - Scott, Susie
SP  - 3
EP  - 19
VL  - 52
IS  - 1
N2  - Nothing is a sociologically neglected terrain, comprising negatively defined phenomena, such as non-identification, non-participation and non-presence. Nevertheless, these symbolic social objects are created and managed through meaningful social interaction. Nothing is accomplished either by active commission (doing/being a non-something) or by passive omission (not-doing/not-being something). I explore these dichotomous forms through four dimensions of negative social space: non-identity; inactivity; absence; and silence. Paradoxically, nothing is always productive of something: other symbolic objects come into being through the apprehension of phantoms, imaginaries, replacements and alternatives, which generate further constitutive meanings. A sociological analysis illuminates these processes, revealing how much nothing matters.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0038-0385
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0038038517690681
ID  - ref1
ER  -