Showing papers in "Cultural Sociology in 2019"
TL;DR: In this paper, a study of lifestyles in Stavanger, Norway is presented, where the theory of cultural capital was originally outlined in Pierre Bourdieu's magnum opus Distinction.
Abstract: In this article, we engage with the theory of cultural capital, which was originally outlined in Pierre Bourdieu’s magnum opus Distinction. We start from a study of lifestyles in Stavanger, Norway,...
27 citations
TL;DR: The authors compared trends in household cook-out habits and found that people now spend less time doing housework in general, and cooking in particular, and that cooking still remains a central feature of our daily eating practices.
Abstract: People now spend less time doing housework in general, and cooking in particular. So is cooking still a central feature of our daily eating practices? This article compares trends in household cook...
25 citations
TL;DR: The term art is not a given and cannot be defined once and for all as the consecrated body of works of established institutions and disciplines as mentioned in this paper, but rather, it springs from a simple idea.
Abstract: The term ‘artification’ springs from a simple idea: art is not a given and cannot be defined once and for all as the consecrated body of works of established institutions and disciplines. Rather, i...
25 citations
TL;DR: The authors reviewed the trajectory and features of the development of the cultural sociology of China, and argued that the emerging field of cultural sociology can be traced back to the early 20th century.
Abstract: In this essay, we review the burgeoning field of the cultural sociology of China. We first describe the trajectory and features of the development of the cultural sociology of China. We argue that ...
21 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the methodological question of making sense of contradictions in sociological analysis is addressed, focusing on the scholarly debate about generating and interpreting data on symbol-based analysis, and how to make sense of these contradictions.
Abstract: In this article, we address the methodological question of making sense of contradictions in sociological analysis. Focusing on the scholarly debate about generating and interpreting data on symbol...
19 citations
TL;DR: The dramatic decline in the economic value of recorded popular music in the US has been studied in this article. But it is not clear how much the majority of people value music, and whether that level of value should be reflected in music's economic value.
Abstract: How much do the majority of people value music, and can or should that level of value be reflected in music’s economic value? The dramatic decline in the economic value of recorded popular music in...
17 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored how black middle-class individuals in the UK decode forms of middleclass cultural capital using 23 qualitative interviews, and ethnographic work in London, and found that black middleclass individuals decoded forms of cultural capital.
Abstract: Drawing upon 23 qualitative interviews, and ethnographic work in London, this article explores how black middle-class individuals in the UK decode forms of middle-class cultural capital. This decod...
16 citations
TL;DR: Sociology has focused predominantly upon collective memories and their impact on social continuity and change, while relegating individual memories to the status of an empirical data resource for social change as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Sociology has focused predominantly upon ‘collective memories’ and their impact on social continuity and change, while relegating individual memories to the status of an empirical data resource for...
15 citations
TL;DR: The common perspective on centre-periphery power relations views central cities as the source of cultural authority and legitimacy, the influence of which peripheral cities passively accept as mentioned in this paper, which is not the case.
Abstract: The common perspective on centre–periphery power relations views central cities as the source of cultural authority and legitimacy, the influence of which peripheral cities passively accept. By fol...
12 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the field(s) of cultural production of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have attracted considerable scholarly attention since the events of the ‘Arab Spring’ in 2011.
Abstract: Since the events of the ‘Arab Spring’ in 2011, the field(s) of cultural production of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have attracted considerable scholarly attention. However, the conceptua...
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on 13 in-depth interviews and three focus-group interviews with Black middle-class pupils, along with 14 indepth interviews with their parents.
Abstract: Drawing on 13 in-depth interviews and three focus-group interviews with Black middle-class pupils, along with 14 in-depth interviews with their parents, this article highlights Black parents’ and p...
TL;DR: Fashion design is created in systems of collaborative relationships comparable to art worlds but fashion systems differ from art worlds in the relative emphasis on economic considerations and in the importance of economic considerations as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Fashion design is created in systems of collaborative relationships comparable to art worlds but fashion systems differ from art worlds in the relative emphasis on economic considerations and in th...
TL;DR: In France, the theatrical field is split between a commercial pole and a public pole, and theatre directors occupy a central position within the latter as discussed by the authors. They monopolize public subsidies, run theatre-r...
Abstract: In France, the theatrical field is split between a commercial pole and a public pole. Within the latter, theatre directors occupy a central position. They monopolize public subsidies, run theatre-r...
TL;DR: In this article, the symbolic boundary work of upper-and middle-class actors has placed a greater emphasis on the "what" and "how" of cultural consumption than on the where.
Abstract: Research on the symbolic boundary work of upper- and middle-class actors has placed a greater emphasis on the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of cultural consumption than on the ‘where’. However, the spaces where...
TL;DR: The analysis of social types, such as the stranger, the marginal man and the folk devil, has a long, significant history in sociology and related fields as mentioned in this paper. But the social type concept currently...
Abstract: The analysis of social types, such as the stranger, the marginal man and the folk devil, has a long, significant history in sociology and related fields. Although the social type concept currently ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the question of preservation and exhibition of video games in cultural institutions such as museums indicates that this media form is moving from being seen as contentious consu cation to being viewed as a desirable medium.
Abstract: Recent attention to the question of preservation and exhibition of video games in cultural institutions such as museums indicates that this media form is moving from being seen as contentious consu ...
TL;DR: Popular discourse describing selfies as the "narcissistic"2 practice of teenagers or a tool of personal empowerment, minimize the structural constraints under which selfies operate as a ubiquitous...
Abstract: Popular discourse describing selfies as the “narcissistic”2 practice of teenagers or a tool of personal empowerment, minimize the structural constraints under which selfies operate as a ubiquitous ...
TL;DR: Self-publishing is an eloquent expression of do-it-yourself culture and amateur production as discussed by the authors, and self-publishers invest in and make decidable decisions.
Abstract: A do-it-yourself culture and amateur production are significant features of creative industries. Self-publishing is an eloquent expression of these features. Self-publishers invest in and make deci...
TL;DR: Ceramic artists emerged as a professional group in France in the second half of the 20th century by shunning industrial standards and basing their practice on the notion of singularity as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Ceramic artists emerged as a professional group in France in the second half of the 20th century by shunning industrial standards and basing their practice on the notion of singularity. They also r...
TL;DR: The sport of football is widely referred to as the "beautiful game" as discussed by the authors, which gives the impression that the sport can be aesthetically appreciated by its human observers. However, while many people might acknowledg...
Abstract: Football is widely referred to as the ‘beautiful game’. This gives the impression that the sport can be aesthetically appreciated by its human observers. However, while many people might acknowledg...
TL;DR: The authors used the concept of artification to analyze how circuses have been transformed through a socio-historical study of trapeze artists' work since 1850, and showed that the opening of two circuses can be traced to the artification of circuses.
Abstract: This article uses the concept of artification to analyze how circuses have been transformed. Through a socio-historical study of trapeze artists’ work since 1850, I will show that the opening of tw...
TL;DR: In recent years, a small but prolific network of French magicians and their allies have taken calculated, systematic, and very public steps to reposition magic as a form of high culture.
Abstract: In recent years, a small but prolific network of French magicians and their allies have taken calculated, systematic, and very public steps to reposition magic as a form of high culture, produced a...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors looked at the Thai massage industry in Slovenia and its impact on the perception of Thai women workers among users of the service, and the arrival of Thai massage salons in Slovenia present...
Abstract: This article looks at the Thai massage industry in Slovenia and its impact on the perception of Thai women workers among users of the service. The arrival of Thai massage salons in Slovenia present...
TL;DR: For the producers of food products originating in the tropics, far from consumers and their local farmers' markets, vital processes of interacting and storytelling necessarily take place in grocery stores.
Abstract: For the producers of food products originating in the tropics, far from consumers and their local farmers’ markets, vital processes of interacting and storytelling necessarily take place in grocery...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the historical case of North American feminist bookstores, using archival materials, interviews, and surveys to consider how cultural distribution sites affect the acquisition and in...
Abstract: To investigate the historical case of North American feminist bookstores, I use archival materials, interviews, and surveys to consider how cultural distribution sites affect the acquisition and in...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that working-class masculinity has been subjected to negative theorisations from the 1970s and 1980s that are no longer representative of contemporary masculinity, and they call for a re-evaluation of social theory to accurately reflect how young workingclass men have adapted to the stock of educational, employment, parental and emotional evolutions in recent decades to provide more inclusive forms of masculinity.
Abstract: emanating from ethnographic research on social media and semi-structured interviews, the author clearly and concisely reveals how the group readily communicate a range of emotions and, in doing so, dispels the myth of working-class young men as guarded or emotionally distant individuals. The book culminates in a short, yet engrossing conclusion, which authoritatively unites the key themes of the book. Roberts states that workingclass masculinity has been subjected to negative theorisations from the 1970s and 1980s that are no longer representative of contemporary masculinity. With that in mind, Roberts calls for a re-evaluation of social theory to accurately reflect how young working-class men have adapted to the stock of educational, employment, parental and emotional evolutions in recent decades to provide more inclusive forms of masculinity. While Roberts provides readers with a fascinating dataset and the application of relevant theories, the book stops short of providing its own detailed theorisation of contemporary working-class masculinity, instead highlighting the relevance of Inclusive Masculinity Theory. The theories presented within the book could have been strengthened by utilising the ‘epistemological fallacy’ of Furlong and Cartmel (1997) to better theorise the disjuncture between the educational and labour-market aspirations and the outcomes through Bourdieu’s theory of social class. Also, the strength of the book in terms of breadth occasionally becomes a slight weakness as more space is required to showcase the data and theory to its full. Overall, the book was a fascinating and deeply enjoyable read; it provides significant contributions to a number of areas within academia and sets a high bar for future writings on working-class masculinity.
TL;DR: The authors argue that the power and ambivalence of humour in contemporary culture can be understood with reference to the two key features of reflexive modernization: the demand for the discursive justification of all claims to cognitive and normative authority and the obligation to respect the equal rights of all individuals.
Abstract: This article utilizes Ulrich Beck’s concept of ‘reflexive modernity’ to account for the ambivalent view of humour in the public sphere: its celebration as a form of criticism of irrationality and injustice and its censure as a vehicle for the denigration of subordinate or marginal groups and identities. The article argues that the power and ambivalence of humour in contemporary culture can be understood with reference to the two key features of reflexive modernization: the demand for the discursive justification of all claims to cognitive and normative authority and the obligation to respect the equal rights of all individuals. Drawing on Beck’s distinction between a ‘first’ and ‘second’ modernity, the article uses the example of the Danish ‘Muhammed Cartoons’ to show that critical-emancipatory joking cannot simply lay claim to an ‘Enlightenment’ view of secular-scientistic reason in conflict with an atavistic and backward ‘religion’ due to the transformation of reason by reflexive scientization and the t...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define popular culture at the outset, leaving the reader to presume such definition is loose, mainly relating to the cornucopia of media and literature of the broad mainstream rather than via the associative discourses relating to cultural industries, lived realities and the dominant ideology.
Abstract: might be described as science fiction without really making a seamless transition from the discussion of legacy that was explored in Chapter 2). My only reservation here is an oversight to clearly define popular culture at the outset, leaving the reader to presume such definition is loose, mainly relating to the cornucopia of media and literature of the broad mainstream rather than via the associative discourses relating to cultural industries, lived realities and the dominant ideology. In truth, the author tends to lean heavily (though not exclusively) towards the depiction of death in television and film; a visual cultural appraisal thus dominates and, to be fair, is not unwelcome. It is a rather fascinating discourse and this book does it justice.