Christopher Bégin

Religiosity and rituals in clubbing: resonance in unity, consumption and timelessness

Clubbing in Berlin occupies a distinctive position within both the city's cultural identity and contemporary discussions of urban nightlife. The city's post-reunification history, characterized by abundant abandoned spaces and permissive regulations, created conditions for nightlife experimentation that have made Berlin a global reference point for club culture. While often referred to under a single heading, "clubbing" in Berlin actually encompasses a wide range of events, venues, and musical styles, from world-renowned techno institutions to smaller queer events and eclectic festival-like spaces. Far from being mere leisure activities, these events constitute sites where individuals experiment with alternative modes of living, relating, and experiencing the world. This project examines how different types of clubbing in Berlin create fundamentally different experiential configurations. Through comparative ethnographic analysis, the research explores how space and time are reconfigured, how participants relate to self and body through embodied practices and altered states, how participants relate to each other, and how symbols and scene-specific frameworks structure meaning within different scenes. The extended temporal suspension of marathon techno weekends differs substantially from the intimacy of queer events, while festival-like venues generate a playground atmosphere with its own distinct dynamics.

The project relies on participant observation within diverse Berlin club settings and semi-structured interviews with many different participants. The comparative approach reveals that these experiential dimensions are not uniform but are shaped by each context's specific characteristics. The space, size, duration, musical focus, and underlying values create varied conditions for how participants engage with themselves, others, and the temporary worlds these events generate. This variation also reveals tensions between anonymity and recognition, between individual dissolution and community formation, and between the pursuit of freedom and the establishment of norms. These tensions illuminate how clubbing spaces relate to the rhythms and constraints of everyday life.

By analyzing these variations, this project shows how nightlife practices serve as laboratories for alternative self-world relationships. Drawing on Hartmut Rosa's resonance theory, spatial theory, queer theory, and concepts of temporary autonomous zones, this research contributes an empirically grounded analysis of Berlin's cultural landscape and the broader role of nightlife in contemporary urban life.

 

Curriculum Vitae

* 10/2021-present: PhD student at the Max-Weber-Kolleg, Erfurt and member of the IGS.
* 2018-2020: M.A. in Sociology, University of Montreal.
* 2017/2019: Graduated diploma in German studies, CCGES, University of Montreal.
* 2017/2018: Minor in Sociology, University of Montreal.
* 2012-2017: B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal.