Sociology about Art

Organized around three main schools of thought - critical sociology, symbolic interactionism and social systems theory - Sociology About Art serves as an introduction to and a self-reflective discussion about how sociologists study the Arts.

Sara Malou Strandvad is Lead of libraries, culture houses, and citizen service in Odsherred municipality, Denmark, and previously worked at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Quirijn Lennert van den Hoogen is Assistant Professor of Arts Sociology and Arts Policy at the University of Groningen and the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Manuel Reyes is a junior lecturer at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands and the translator and editor of L.J. Müller's Sound and Sexism.

Introduction; Part I: Art and Critical Sociology; 1. Introduction to Critical Sociology; 2. Art and Distinction; 3. Fields of Cultural Production; 4. The Legacy of Bourdieu's Field Perspective; Part II: Art and Interpretative Sociology; 5. Introduction to Interpretative Sociology; 6. Art Worlds; 7. Art and the Production of Culture Perspective; 8. Art and the Actor-Network Perspective; Part III: Art and Systems Theory; 9. Introduction to Systems Theory; 10. Luhmann and the Complexity of Society; 11. Art as a Social System; 12. The Function of Art in Society; Part IV: Conclusion; 13. A New Pathway for Sociology of Art: Sociology About Art