Debating the Measure: Steve Reich’s Sociological Imagination.

This article intends to identify the contributions of Steve Reich's music to sociology. His music presents three main characteristics: it is made out of empirical material collected on the field; it is a theory of processes; it is a political and cultural act. Steve Reich's music affects sociology on these three points: it reminds the social scientist of the nature of his craft and his commitment to the social world, questions his methods and practices; it even sheds light on some of his familiar concepts (in particular that of ‘process’). The author proposes to extract from Steve Reich’s compositional work some elements that could prove useful for sociology as a profession.