L’attore sociale non è un attore sociale. Note su Bourdieu e Garfinkel

There is a general agreement among critics and readers that the works of Pierre Bourdieu and Harold Garfinkel are to be regarded as incommensurably different in many respects, and in fact a substantive divergence between them has been expressed even during a face-to-face meeting by the interested parties. On this background, this essay intends to go against the grain, with the aim of reconsidering certain profound similarities that nevertheless seem to exist between the sociological approaches of the two authors under discussion. The practice turn in contemporary social action theory is the specific focus of this analysis: it is precisely at the level of an anti-objectivist epistemology that putting alongside Bourdieu and Garfinkel’s proposals appears to be fruitful. In view of the complexity and difficulties of avoiding risks inherently associated with the study of practical activities, the integration of both Bourdieu and Garfinkel’s points of view about social action is considered crucial – and is the ultimate goal of this article.