Faculty Publications

Social Order Through a Prism: Color as Collective Representation

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Sociological Inquiry

Volume

68

Issue

4

First Page

443

Last Page

457

Abstract

Although color has rarely been examined as a sociological topic, the meaning of color is linked to numerous social domains and serves as a collective representation. Color contributes to social meanings in institutional orders, stratification systems, and identity. While color has some meaning separate from its linkage to particular objects, in most cases colors are situated. We perceive not color, but colored objects. Any given color has multiple meanings that are understood in context. Through our examination of a range of domains in which color has social significance, we suggest that the examination of this field has considerable promise. We conclude by linking the analysis of color to the model of cultural formation suggested by Schudson (1989), focusing on retrievability, rhetorical force, resonance, institutional retention, and resolution.

Department

Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology

Original Publication Date

1-1-1998

DOI of published version

10.1111/j.1475-682X.1998.tb00479.x

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