Abstracts
Abstract
The main purpose of this article is to re-examine the legacy of Marx and Simmel for the study of romantic love from a feminist perspective. I am interested in the relational legacy these two authors provide for the study of the affective sphere. Specifically, I am interested in highlighting how both offer analytical inputs to consider the relationships between love, power, and conflict. I attempt to answer the following questions: What do Marx and Simmel postulate when they talk about love? What is the complementary contribution of their proposals considering recent studies on love from a feminist perspective? While Marx allows us to incorporate the socio-structural and historical level – specifically the material dimension –, Simmel allows us to incorporate the social process and symbolic exchange – specifically the cultural dimension – to think about the affective dimension of social ties and love as social bond. I consider that from this analytical and political perspective, the Marxist-Simmelian legacy provides a thought-provoking program for the relational analysis of affects, emotions and love.
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Appendices
Biographical note
Olga Sabido Ramos is Professor-Researcher of the Department of Sociology, UAM, Azcapotzalco. She is author and co-editor of five books, chapters and articles on Simmel’s Relational Sociology; Sensory Studies, and Sociology of Emotions. She is author of El cuerpo como recurso de sentido en la construcción del extraño (2012). She edited Georg Simmel. Una revisión contemporánea (2007) and Los sentidos del cuerpo: un giro sensorial en la investigación social y los estudios de género (2019) among others.
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