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Studies in Symbolic Interaction, Vol. 26, edited by Norman K. Denzin. Oxford, UK: Elsevier/JAI, 2003. 345 pp. $90.00 cloth. ISBN: 0-7623-1009-X.
In the first substantive essay in Volume 26 of the Studies in Symbolic Interaction series, Mary Jo Neitz notes David Maines' argument that the basic principles of Symbolic Interactionism are so pervasive that all sociologists are now Symbolic Interactionists. Neitz also posits the reverse-that the issues and concerns embraced by Symbolic Interactionists have expanded dramatically since the days of Blumer. The essays in this volume, edited by Norman Denzin, certainly support Neitz's contention in their diversity. In fact, readers not familiar with contemporary scholarship in symbolic interactionism, or those only versed in the basic tenets of the perspective, may be surprised at material, such as self-narrative performance essays and poetry, included in the volume as symbolic interactionism.
As with previous volumes in the series, the essays in this volume are divided into major sections. Part I of the volume is a special partial issue dedicated to the contributions to sociological inquiry of Peter M. Hall. A particularly informative piece in this section is an essay by David Altheide that draws on Hall's work, particularly his concept of meta-power, to analyze the anti-terrorism bill that Congress passed after the September 11th, 2001 attacks. Altheide proposes that the government's actions to promote more control after 9/11 were carried out as a method to show that the government was in control. Altheide argues that Hall's concepts of mesostructure and metapower link social processes with...