Encounter Between Ethnology and Sociology: the Case of Joking Relationships

Abstract

Ethnology and sociology have a long tradition of reciprocal contributions Radcliffe-Brown's classic analysis of the 'joking relationship' between the maternal uncle and the nephew on the sister's side in certain South African tribes provides a useful point of departure for studying joking relationships in our modern societies. Inversely, observations on this subject made in our everyday environment help us to understand the psycho-social processes underlying certain habits, which otherwise seem confusing at first glance, in traditional societies This interdisciplinary encounter points out the possibility of extracting general properties of social life if the appropnate level of abstraction is selected. Subsequently, we are faced with the problem of the relationship between model and reality. Here the theoretical intention of Lévi-Strauss approaches that of Simmel as expressed in modern terms by Boudon.