Das Charisma-Netzwerk von Braco

oleh: Martin Ackermann

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Zeitschrift für junge Religionswissenschaft

Deskripsi

Charisma, understood as the attribution of the extraordinary, is a purely relational construct. Hence, the description of a person or a thing as charismatic is incorrect in accordance with this definition. The scientific discourse about charisma until now still stumbles over this linguistic hurdle. So even after Weber’s postulated relationalization of the concept, artifacts of meaning from different discourses about charisma remained. The following article will sharpen the terminology and concept around charisma by implementing the perspective of social network analysis. Instead of speaking of charismatic actors, I suggest to reserve the term charismatic for relationships and networks only. When speaking about actors, however, the terms charismatizing and charismatized will be suggested. Using the example of the healer Braco this proposal will be demonstrated. Further, light will be shed on the constitution of networks of charisma by attribution processes and the normatization of charismatization, which becomes apparent in the analysis of event structures.