What Makes a Hero? Theorising the Social Structuring of Heroism

an article by Kristian Frisk (University of Southern Denmark) published in Sociology Volume 53 Issue 1 (February 2019)

Abstract

The article discusses four dominant perspectives in the sociology of heroism:
– the study of great men;
– hero stories;
– heroic actions; and
– hero institutions.

The discussion ties together heroism and fundamental sociological debates about the relationship between the individual and the social order; it elucidates the socio-psychological, cultural/ideational and socio-political structuring of heroism, which challenges the tendency to understand people, actions and events as naturally, or intrinsically, heroic; and it points to a theoretical trajectory within the literature, which has moved from very exclusive to more inclusive conceptualisations of a hero.

After this discussion, the article examines three problematic areas in the sociology of heroism:
– the underlying masculine character of heroism;
– the presumed disappearance of the hero with modernisation; and
– the principal idea of heroism as a pro-social phenomenon.

The article calls for a more self-conscious engagement with this legacy, which could stimulate dialogue across different areas of sociological research.

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