Mimesis as a concept emerged from performances of drama and music in Ancient Greece, and philosophical developments of the concept have continued to draw on these origins. The current revival of interest in mimesis has links with the recognition of the importance of body and gesture in social representations and reproduction [...].

The authors contributing to this issue were asked to look into mimesis and its value for social studies by tracking a model through different landscapes. Three different approaches have emerged from their research. First are approaches that track images, texts and people as they establish movements between different spheres of activity. Next come those which focus on the complexities involved in the relationship between copies and their models, i.e. in reproduction. Finally, a series of studies sets out to question models of interpretation, staging and representation [...].

Studying possible mimesis can help to take a fresh approach to the creation, redefinition and persistence of differences between social worlds. Relationships between an original and its copies, similarities or persisting differences all help to understand the implications of the terms we use to define cultures and societies and their various aspects. Jean-Noël Ferrié describes the travels of the  “petite robe” (cocktail dress) in Cairo and shows how a model that seemingly goes against the rules is finally approved through adjustments that have profound implications for the make-up of a society. Similarly, the masculine citations heard by Deborah Kapchan, not from men but from women, provide an ambivalent commentary on society and women. Important new differences emerge from what seems to be identical. As Dominique Pasquier explains, the appropriation of soap opera characters by teenage girls helps them to structure their personalities and to become part of a community in which they can express themselves and become adult women. But is creativity always a product of mimesis? The studies by Jean-Noël Darde and Annie Gentès demonstrate the part played by reflexes in the way information is built up today, as well as the impossibility of addressing these in terms of communication contracts or perspectives.

All our practices, including intellectual practice, need staging. The creative and repressive possibilities of mimesis do not necessarily follow from discursive intentions, as Christoph Wulf underlines in his analysis of social ritual and ritualisation. Women’s work in advertising (Simone Davis), members of the public visiting museums (Roger Silverstone): none of these things is visible, yet they are fundamental to an understanding of possible achievements, which, multiple though they are, meet the expectations of organisers, museums or key media [...].

This issue was edited by Susan Ossman.