Rupture and Rhythm: A Phenomenology of National Experiences

Surak, Kristin

Abstract

This article investigates how people make sense of ruptures in the flow of everyday life as they enter new experiential domains. Shifts in being-in-time create breaks in the natural attitude that offer the opportunity to register national—or, for example, religious, gender, or class—experiences. People interpret ruptures in perception and proprioception by drawing connections with domains in which similar or contrasting kinds of disruption are evident. Normalizing the transition, rhythm—as both cadence and overall flow—helps people adjust to new circumstances, align action, and smooth subsequent ruptures. Based on extensive qualitative fieldwork, I examine the specific case of how novice and experienced tea ceremony practitioners in Japan move into, interpret, and normalize action within tea spaces.

Citation

Surak, K. (2017). Rupture and Rhythm: A Phenomenology of National Experiences. Sociological Theory, 35(4), 312-333. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735275117740403

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 9, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Dec 27, 2017
• Publication Date: Dec 27, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jun 9, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 9, 2017
• Journal: Sociological Theory
• Print ISSN: 0735-2751
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-9558
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 312-333
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0735275117740403
• Keywords: phenomenology, rhythm, nationalism, experience, embodiment