Sociological Poetics And Aesthetic Theory

What can Sociology add to our understanding of art? This volume brings together a range of respected scholars in the field who demonstrate the many ways in which sociology can add to our understanding of artistic issues. Covering all the major schools of thought, and dealing with many different art forms, the book offers the reader a comprehensive and accessible guide to an often complex area. It will be an invaluable resource for students seeking to understand sociology's contributions to the study of artistic and aesthetic issues.

Introducing the fundamental theories and debates in the sociology of art, this broad ranging book, the only edited reader of the sociology of art available, uses extracts from the core foundational and most influential contemporary writers in the field. As such it is essential reading both for students of the sociology of art, and of art history. Divided into five sections, it explores the following key themes: * classical sociological theory and the sociology of art * the social production of art * the sociology of the artist * museums and the social construction of high culture * sociology aesthetic form and the specificity of art. With the addition of an introductory essay that contextualizes the readings within the traditions of sociology and art history, and draws fascinating parallels between the origins and development of these two disciplines, this book opens up a productive interdisciplinary dialogue between sociology and art history as well as providing a fascinating introduction to the subject.

Since Aristotle, genre has been one of the fundamental concepts of literary theory, and much of the world's literature and criticism has been shaped by ideas about the nature, function and value of literary genres. Modern developments in critical theory, however, prompted in part by the iconoclastic practices of modern writers and the emergence of new media such as film and television, have put in question traditional categories, and challenged the assumptions on which earlier genre theory was based. This has led not just to a reinterpretation of individual genres and the development of new classifications, but also to a radically new understanding of such key topics as the mixing and evolution of genres, generic hierarchies and genre-systems, the politics and sociology of genres, and the relations between genre and gender. This anthology, the first of its kind in English, charts these fascinating developments. Through judicious selections from major twentieth-century genre theorists including Yury Tynyanov, Vladimir Propp, Mikhail Bakhtin, Hans Robert Jauss, Rosalie Colie, Fredric Jameson, Tzvetan Todorov, Gérard Genette and Jacques Derrida, it demonstrates the central role that notions of genre have played in Russian Formalism, structuralism and post-structuralism, reception theory, and various modes of historical criticism. Each essay is accompanied by a detailed headnote, and the volume opens with a lucid introduction emphasising the international and interdisciplinary character of modern debates about genre. Also included are an annotated bibliography and a glossary of key terms, making this an indispensable resource for students and anyone interested in genre studies or literary theory.

Cultural sociology - or the sociology of culture - has grown from a minority interest in the 1970s to become one of the largest and most vibrant areas within sociology globally. In The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Sociology, a global range of experts explore the theory, methodology and innovations that make up this ever-expanding field. The Handbook's 40 original chapters have been organised into five thematic sections: Theoretical Paradigms Major Methodological Perspectives Domains of Inquiry Cultural Sociology in Contexts Cultural Sociology and Other Analytical Approaches Both comprehensive and current, The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Sociology will be an essential reference tool for both advanced students and scholars across sociology, cultural studies and media studies.

This detailed study of Williams unlocks his late sociology of culture. It covers previously overlooked aspects, such as his critique of Birmingham cultural studies, his use of an Adorno-like approach to 'cultural production', his 'social formalist' alternative to structuralism and post-structuralism and his approach to 'the media'.

From the perspective of critical cultural sociology, this book delves into the intertwining relations of cultural transformation and social evolution, illuminating contemporary Chinese culture’s landscape and underlying logic since the 1980s. With a special focus on the tensions among politics, economy, and culture itself, this book examines the transitions of Chinese culture from tradition to the modern age. It expounds the cultural differentiation and its effect in contemporary China. Within this framework, the author addresses some key issues and phenomena that figure in the cultural scene of modern China, ranging from the crisis of Chinese cultural identity in the context of globalization, the media culture, and its impacts on everyday life, to the visual culture and social transformation. Offering a panoramic view of Chinese contemporary culture, literature, arts, and society, this title will serve as an essential read for scholars of China studies, Cultural studies, and visual culture, as well as anyone interested in what’s going on in Chinese contemporary culture.

There is currently no reader in print that provides a broad ranging overview for an undergraduate course on the sociology of the arts or the sociology of culture. This book remedies this situation as it provides students with an overall understanding of the current issues, theoretical approaches, and substantive contributions in the sociology of the arts. Included are chapters on the aesthetic meaning of art; the social and institutional production of art; the links among audiences, artists, and cultural organizations; tensions between artists and their bureaucratized working settings; the training and careers of artists; relations between art and society; and the dynamics of cultural change. In addition to section introductions, there is a comprehensive introduction to provide students with an understanding of the history of the field, its main theoretical currents, and also to provide them with an appreciation of the contributions to cultural studies by other disciplines, such as anthropology and history. An extensive bibliography is also included in the reader, which was developed to assist students who wish to pursue research topics.