The Arts Society Literature

Roland and Romanesque : Biblical iconography in The song of Roland by William R . Cook, Ronald B. Herzman. Wordworth, Coleridge, and Turner by James A.W. Heffe rnan. Alexander Pope and picturesque landscape by James R. Aubrey. The metamorp hosis of the centaur in fifth-century Greek arts and society by Krin Gabbard. F orm and protest in atonal music : a meditation on Adorno by Lucian Krukowski. "That hive of sublety" : "Benito Cereno" as critique of ideology by James H. Kavanagh. Poetry and kingship : Shakespeare's A midsummer night's dream by Leo Pau l S. de Alvarez. Hugh MacDiarmid and the Lenin/Douglas line by Stephen P. Smith .

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.

In The Subversive Imagination , professional writers, artists and cultural critics from around the world offer their views on the issue of the artist's responsibility to society. The contributors look beyond censorship and free speech issues and instead emphasize the subject of freedom. More specifically, the contributors question the ethical, mutual responsibilities between artists and the societies in which they live. The original essays address an eclectic range of subjects: censorship, multiculturalism, the transition from communism to capitalism in Eastern Europe, postmodernism, Salman Rushdie, and young black filmmakers' responsibility to the black community.

An exploration of the complex and problematic relationships between cultural products - from Shakespeare to visual art, the novel, film and modern drama - and the societies which produce them. The contributors are all specialist authors in this increasingly important field of study.

"For almost 300 years, an organisation has quietly tried to change almost every aspect of life in Britain. That organisation is the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, often known simply as the Royal Society of Arts. It has acted as Britain's private national improvement agency, in every way imaginable - essentially, a society for the improvement of everything and anything. This book is its history. From its beginnings in a coffee house in the mid-eighteenth century, the Society has tried to change Britain's art, industry, laws, music, environment, education, and even culture. It has sometimes even succeeded. It has been a prize-fund for innovations, a platform for Victorian utilitarian reformers, a convenor of disparate interest groups, and the focal point for social movements. There has never been an organisation quite like it, constantly having to reinvent itself to find something new to improve. The book rewrites many of the old official histories of the Society and updates them to the present day, incorporating over half a century of further research into the periods they covered, along with new insights into the organisation's evolution. The book reveals the hidden and often surprising history of how a few public-spirited people tried to make their country better, offering lessons from their triumphs and their failures for all would-be reformers today"--

"A fundamental historical account of the much-cited but little-studied concept of mimesis, and an essential starting point for all future discussions of this crucial critical concept."—Hayden White

How do we define 'culture?' In this volume, Adam Muller brings together contributions from established and emerging scholars in a number of different disciplines who each examine the concept of culture as it is understood and deployed within their respective fields.

"This expanded edition is brought up to date in the light of the most recent developments in contemporary art. A new chapter considers globalization in the visual arts and the complex issues it raises, focusing on the many major international exhibitions since 1990 that have become an important arena for women artists from around the world."--BOOK JACKET.