Enacted Context

Abstract

This chapter presents a distinct perspective on context, adopting an interactionist view that includes the interaction of context, actors, and action. The chapter traces the gradual development of this interactionist perspective and then provides three illustrative examples from which to develop further the concept of context. First, it is argued that the actor fluidly blends context into form by selectively melding contextual elements, with the crucial difference between the elements of the external context and the elements of the personal context being one of distance. Second, it is suggested that attention to certain elements of context is dynamically driven by focus, and selective attention is framed by sensemaking and is driven by an individualized judgment of what is “relevant.” This explanation perceives the bounding of context as an act of individual sensemaking, embodied cognition, and judgment.