Although it is central to the social sciences, the notion of the collective has been elaborated primarily in fields of study which are concerned with deviant behavior, and then only in the sense of »collective behavior.« In order to consider the emergence of collectivity, the present paper suggests a re-reading of this sociology (especially of Herbert Blumer). By means of a reading of Walt Whitman, who was important as a lyrical and journalistic source of inspiration to early American sociology, a (...) concept of material and medial infrastructures (particularly transport media such as the ferry) is obtained, which is also significant for the current theoretical interweaving of collectivity and infrastructure. German Der Begriff des Kollektivs ist, obgleich im Zentrum der Sozialwissenschaften, meist nur im Rahmen einer für abweichendes Verhalten zuständigen Spezialsoziologie als »kollektives Verhalten« konzipiert worden. Der Aufsatz schlägt eine Re-Lektüre dieser Soziologie (insbesondere von Herbert Blumer) vor, um das Zustandekommen von Kollektivität zu denken. Mit Hilfe einer Lektüre von Walt Whitman, der als lyrische und journalistische Inspirationsquelle für die frühe amerikanische Soziologie wichtig war, wird ein Konzept der materialen und medialen Infrastrukturen (insbesondere von Transportmedien wie der Fähre) gewonnen, das gerade auch für die heutige Verschränkung von Kollektivität und Infrastruktur aussagekräftig ist. (shrink)

Although it is central to the social sciences, the notion of the collective has been elaborated primarily in fields of study which are concerned with deviant behavior, and then only in the sense of »collective behavior.« In order to consider the emergence of collectivity, the present paper suggests a re-reading of this sociology (especially of Herbert Blumer). By means of a reading of Walt Whitman, who was important as a lyrical and journalistic source of inspiration to early American sociology, a (...) concept of material and medial infrastructures (particularly transport media such as the ferry) is obtained, which is also significant for the current theoretical interweaving of collectivity and infrastructure. (shrink)