How do relational communities develop shared scripts for being authentic, and what does that do to the practice?
Reconceptualising emotional capital and intimacy using a sociological lens: the Authentic Revolution
The practice
An ethnography of Authentic Relating and Circling communities, from interviews and participant observation: how they cultivate emotional intimacy and respond to social isolation.
The only peer-reviewed study we know of that examines Circling and Authentic Relating communities directly. Nica reads them through the sociology of emotions: how they cultivate emotional intimacy and meaningful connection, and how they respond to social isolation.
It is the natural starting point for research on the communities themselves.
What it doesn’t show
Describes what the practices mean to the people who do them; it does not test whether they work.
Summary based on the abstract.
Directions that build on it
- Authenticity as a social script
- Safety, facilitation and harm
What makes a circle safe, and what goes wrong when it isn’t?
Links
Cite
Nica, A. (2022). Reconceptualising emotional capital and intimacy using a sociological lens: the Authentic Revolution. Emotions and Society, 4(1), 69–89. https://doi.org/10.1332/263169021X16260553458069