Towards an anthropology of the urban night

Abstract

From an interpretative perspective, we reflect on the
dichotomous and predominantly urban character of night in its broad sense. Through the analysis of the relationship between urban space and performance, we propose to examine the uses and meanings –both symbolic and social– of urban night, which are expressed through lived  experiences in a social space and time characterized by differentiated access, inequalities, and specific imaginaries that particularize and diversify cultural practices. Although the vast diversity and totality of nocturnal practices are evidently unmanageable, we introduce a methodological tool for their approach and analysis: a distinction between two broad, interrelated, complementary spheres with  liminal boundaries that allow us to differentiate the uses and meanings of night, with an emphasis on labor practices. These spheres are: the private/everyday night (the nocturnal - noctis) and the social night that disrupts everyday margins (nocturnality - noctem).