Back

Crowds, Race, Colonialism: On Resuscitating Classical Crowd Theory.

  • Published In: Social Research, 2023, v. 90, n. 2. P. 245 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Borch, Christian 3 of 3

Abstract

Crowd psychologist Gustave Le Bon is often seen as emblematic of fin-de-siècle crowd theory. Widely read in the 1890s, Le Bon's work was later critiqued for its gendered descriptions and political biases. This essay reconsiders fin-de-siècle crowd theory in light of postcolonial critique and asks whether parts of this tradition merit attention in discussion of crowd action today. While Le Bon's work is based on a racial hierarchy and subscribes to a colonial episteme, the situation is more complex when it comes to sociologists such as Gabriel Tarde and Émile Durkheim. While elements of their work can be subjected to postcolonial critique, their theorization on crowds points to distinctly collective dimensions of crowd action that are important to revive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Social Research. 2023/06, Vol. 90, Issue 2, p245
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:History
  • Publication Date:2023
  • ISSN:0037-783X
  • DOI:10.1353/sor.2023.a901704
  • Accession Number:164938087
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of Social Research is the property of Johns Hopkins University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Looking to go deeper into this topic? Look for more articles on EBSCOhost.