Relación y tejido social

una panorámica conceptual a través del enfoque de la sociología relacional

Abstract

Abstract

The objectives of the article are to present an overview of the theoretical-conceptual elements of Pierpaolo Donati's approach to relational sociology, and to understand his vision about the concept of social relation and his use of the metaphor of the social fabric or fabric of society.

The method used is documentary, it is based on the review of the most significant works by this author and others who have worked with this approach, as well as on the recovery and contextualization of what he understands by relation and social fabric.

Although the concept of social relation has been worked on since the beginnings of sociology, relational sociology places it epistemologically at the center and studies it as a reality per se, independent of the actors/agents and the structures.

On the other hand, the metaphor of the social fabric does not have the same theoretical and conceptual clarity and depth in academic literature, but has mostly been linked to projects of social incidence, cooperation and public policy, lending itself to different interpretations, or even to an instrumental use within the political and media discourse.

Key words: relational sociology, social relation, social fabric, networks, participatory action research.