Cultural alternatives. A material reading of the mourning of 11th-M / Alternativas de la cultura. Una lectura material del duelo del 11-M

Abstract

Since the human ecology approach occurs a break in the forms of studying culture or its accomplishments. The novelty has to do with the need to examine it not in itself or in their performances, but as an element of the ecological system is interconnected with the rest of their material elements. This material functional analysis model is described as a substantive by its main theoretical. Thus the cultural behaviours are responses to disturbances belonging to the system environment. One of the most interesting for the study of social and cultural are rituals, as part of retroactive mechanisms within any human ecological system. The aims of this paper is to theorize about the observation of the material aspects of collective behaviours, such as rituals, ceremonies, or others collective manifestations, that highlight the social importance and interpretative of these aspects. The article manifests both the creation and the orientation of “enactment of meanings” through the analysis of collective behaviours. It also shows an important part of social truth in material performances. Methodological applications such as Rappaport’s reference to material signs in his ritual theory, placing emphasize on the communication role of these are used to interpret the mourning ritual.

Keywords

• Ecological system
• collective behaviours
• adaptation
• new rituals
• citizen culture