Presenting itself as a theory-method package, symbolic interactionism has always expressed a certain reluctance, if not a real
scepticism, with respect to the elaboration of a complex theoretical system (Dingwall, 2001). Moreover, the centrality of data and the so-called interactive determination (Snow 2001) have prompted symbolic interactionists to refuse to develop an explicit and systematic theoretical approach to social life and to fully investigate their theoretical roots. A starting point, in this direction, may be to reflect historically on the development of the perspective, as we will propose in this article and to redefine a new pragmatic epistemology based no longer on the centrality of the actor in social action, but on the event.
