Anonymity and Pseudonymity as Interactional Performances
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60923/issn.1971-8853/23129Keywords:
Anonymity, Concept-driven sociology, Social pattern analysis, Theme-driven social analysis, Qualitative research, TheorizingAbstract
This essay introduces this issue’s Debate section on Thomas DeGloma’s Anonymous: The Performance of Hidden Identities (University of Chicago Press, 2023). First, it presents its research questions and methodology. Next, it argues the book’s acclaim is partially the result of a novel take on Eviatar Zerubavel’s concept-driven sociology; its distinctively sociological approach; and a seamless knitting between theory-building and rich, diverse, and captivating examples. Further, the book’s publication coincides with a renewed interest in theorizing. In closing, I present a handful of critiques by the authors who commented on DeGloma’s book: Robin Wagner-Pacifici, Seth Abrutyn, and Lorenzo Sabetta.
References
Abend, G. (2008). The Meaning of “Theory”. Sociological Theory, 26(2), 173–199. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9558.2008.00324.x
Abrutyn, S. (2013). Teaching Sociological Theory for a New Century: Contending with the Time Crunch. The American Sociologist, 44(2), 132–154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-013-9181-x
Abrutyn, S. (2025). Anonymous and the Art of Theorizing. Sociologica, 19(3), 121–131. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/22878
Aspers, P., & Corte, U. (2019). What is Qualitative in Qualitative Research. Qualitative Sociology, 42(2), 139–160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-019-9413-7
Aspers, P., & Corte, U. (2021). What is Qualitative in Research. Qualitative Sociology, 44(2), 599–608. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-021-09497-w
Besbris, M., & Khan, S. (2017). Less Theory. More Description. Sociological Theory, 35(2), 147–153. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735275117709776
Blumer, H. (1954). What Is Wrong with Social Theory? American Sociological Review, 19(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.2307/2088165
Brekhus, W. (2007). The Rutgers School: A Zerubavelian Culturalist Cognitive Sociology. European Journal of Social Theory, 10(3), 448–464. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368431007080705
Corte, U. (2024). Howard Becker: A Sociologist between Worlds and Eras. Sociologica, 18(1), 139–144. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/19640
DeGloma, T. (2019). Seeing the Light: The Social Logic of Personal Discovery. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
DeGloma, T. (2023). Anonymous: The Performance of Hidden Identities. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
DeGloma, T. (2024). Theme‐Driven Social Analysis: Three Approaches. Symbolic Interaction, 47(2), 278–297. https://doi.org/10.1002/symb.692
Fine, G.A., & Hallett, T. (2014). Stranger and Stranger: Creating Theory through Ethnographic Distance and Authority. Journal of Organizational Ethnography, 3(2), 188–203. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOE-07-2013-0015
Lofland, J., Snow, D.A., Anderson, L., & Lofland, L.H. (2006). Analyzing Social Settings. A Guide to Qualitative Observation and Analysis (4th ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Sabetta, L. (2025). God’s Scrutiny, Divine Anonymity, and the Reception of Social Action. Sociologica, 19(3), 133–145. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/22886
Sabetta, L., & Zerubavel, E. (2019). Times of Sociology. Eviatar Zerubavel in Conversation with Lorenzo Sabetta. Sociologica, 13(2), 55–74. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/9747
Shmidt, M., & Aspers, P. (2016). Interview with Patrik Aspers: “Since There Are So Many Theories, We Should Focus on Really Good Empirical Research Instead”. Journal of Economic Sociology, 17(5), 147–158. https://doi.org/10.17323/1726-3247-2016-5-147-158
Simmel, G. (1950). The Sociology of Georg Simmel. Edited by K.H. Wolffe. New York: The Free Press.
Swedberg, R. (2014). The Art of Social Theory. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Wagner-Pacifici, R. (2025). Anonymity’s Constructions and Deconstructions of the Self. Sociologica, 19(3), 115–120. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/22524
Zerubavel, E. (1980). If Simmel Were a Fieldworker: On Formal Sociological Theory and Analytical Field Research. Symbolic Interaction, 3(2), 25–34. https://doi.org/10.1525/si.1980.3.2.25
Zerubavel, E. (2020). Generally Speaking: An Invitation to Concept-driven Sociology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Zerubavel, E. (2024). Concept‐Driven Sociology. Symbolic Interaction, 47(2), 123–141. https://doi.org/10.1002/symb.680
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ugo Corte
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
