Faits divers, feuilletons et procès : une sociologie «en dehors de la sociologie»
In 2004, Michael Burawoy, then president of the American Sociological Association (ASA), made a plea for a “public sociology”. His considerations focused on the direction of the discipline's practice. His concerns were for a re-engagement in a dialogue with concerns closer to a “non-sociological” public. In this master thesis, I propose avenues to reflect on these concerns by looking at the journalistic practice through two genres: the “fait divers” and the “feuilleton”. I open up a dialogue between the two genres by exploring them in depth and analyzing their respective treatment of trials. It is through this theme that I underline their possible contributions to a sociology “outside of sociology”. The “fait divers” is a genre that is widely read in today’s newspapers. It focuses its attention on the environment close to its readers and on events that take origin in everyday life, but which have taken paths outside away from the ordinary. While this genre can be described as sensationalist and fearmongering, it nevertheless shows an interest in ordinary events that can bring new themes to sociology. The “feuilleton” and more precisely the type written by Siegfried Kracauer, is a German journalistic genre that flourished in the 1920s and 1930s. This author is interested in “small facts” of the urban world and assembles his observations in the form of a mosaic. The “feuilleton” tries to reveal the involvement of its readers in the phenomena it observes, thereby producing an effect of reflection after being read that brings a possible dimension to sociological writing. Following the analysis of examples from both genres, I propose three avenues that can respond to Burawoy’s concerns: 1) sociology can have a “sensational” aspect, 2) sociology can draw more inspiration from daily life, 3) sociology can take the example of a journalistic writing. By being interested in generating an effect through reading, investing in a form of writing that stimulates reflexivity and adopting a posture that takes into account contingency and the author's point of view in interpretation, journalism can provide elements of direction for the sociological practice in order to help it open up to a wider public.
Fait divers Feuilleton Siegfried Kracauer Trials Sensationalism Reflexivity Everyday life Writing form Mosaic