Jeffrey C. Alexander
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195160840
- eISBN:
- 9780199944156
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195160840.003.0010
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this volume, which is about social life and cultural sociology. The chapters in this volume can be considered as adventures in the dialectics of ...
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This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this volume, which is about social life and cultural sociology. The chapters in this volume can be considered as adventures in the dialectics of cultural thought as they move back and forth between theorizing and researching, between interpretations and explanations, between cultural logics and cultural pragmatics. This volume presents a new approach for understanding how culture works in contemporary societies and shows how some unseen cultural structures translate into concrete actions and institutions.Less
This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this volume, which is about social life and cultural sociology. The chapters in this volume can be considered as adventures in the dialectics of cultural thought as they move back and forth between theorizing and researching, between interpretations and explanations, between cultural logics and cultural pragmatics. This volume presents a new approach for understanding how culture works in contemporary societies and shows how some unseen cultural structures translate into concrete actions and institutions.
Jeffrey C. Alexander
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195160840
- eISBN:
- 9780199944156
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195160840.003.0014
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
This chapter explores the concept of the cultural sociology of evil. It explains that for every effort to institutionalize comforting and inspiring images of the socially good and right, there is an ...
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This chapter explores the concept of the cultural sociology of evil. It explains that for every effort to institutionalize comforting and inspiring images of the socially good and right, there is an interlinked and equally determined effort to construct social evil in a horrendous, frightening, and equally realistic way. It discusses the systematic crystallization and elaboration of evil by institutions and societies in their pursuit of the good. It also discusses the intellectual roots of the displacement of evil, the displacement of evil in contemporary social science and the transgression and the affirmation of evil and good.Less
This chapter explores the concept of the cultural sociology of evil. It explains that for every effort to institutionalize comforting and inspiring images of the socially good and right, there is an interlinked and equally determined effort to construct social evil in a horrendous, frightening, and equally realistic way. It discusses the systematic crystallization and elaboration of evil by institutions and societies in their pursuit of the good. It also discusses the intellectual roots of the displacement of evil, the displacement of evil in contemporary social science and the transgression and the affirmation of evil and good.
Ann Mische
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199251780
- eISBN:
- 9780191599057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199251789.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
In dialogue with recent developments in cultural sociology, this chapter looks at the forms of discourse generated by movement activists in response to the multiple relations in which they are ...
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In dialogue with recent developments in cultural sociology, this chapter looks at the forms of discourse generated by movement activists in response to the multiple relations in which they are involved. Networks are reinterpreted as multiple, cross‐cutting sets of social relations sustained by conversational dynamics within social settings. They are at the same time the location for the development of movement solidarities and for the transmission of messages, identity, etc. across movements. The chapter identifies several conversational mechanisms that characterize the process of network construction and reproduction. It also introduces a technique, Galois lattices, to map the complexity of conjunctures of actors and events in a dynamic way.Less
In dialogue with recent developments in cultural sociology, this chapter looks at the forms of discourse generated by movement activists in response to the multiple relations in which they are involved. Networks are reinterpreted as multiple, cross‐cutting sets of social relations sustained by conversational dynamics within social settings. They are at the same time the location for the development of movement solidarities and for the transmission of messages, identity, etc. across movements. The chapter identifies several conversational mechanisms that characterize the process of network construction and reproduction. It also introduces a technique, Galois lattices, to map the complexity of conjunctures of actors and events in a dynamic way.
Jeffrey C. Alexander
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195160840
- eISBN:
- 9780199944156
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195160840.003.0022
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
This chapter examines the information machine in the context of cultural sociology. It argues that the theory underlying the proposition about the possibility of a purely technical rationality is not ...
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This chapter examines the information machine in the context of cultural sociology. It argues that the theory underlying the proposition about the possibility of a purely technical rationality is not correct because both human action and its environments are indelibly interpenetrated by the nonrational. It discusses socioscientific understandings of technology and suggests that far from being empirical accounts based on objective observations and interpretations, they represent simply another version of technocratic discourse itself.Less
This chapter examines the information machine in the context of cultural sociology. It argues that the theory underlying the proposition about the possibility of a purely technical rationality is not correct because both human action and its environments are indelibly interpenetrated by the nonrational. It discusses socioscientific understandings of technology and suggests that far from being empirical accounts based on objective observations and interpretations, they represent simply another version of technocratic discourse itself.
Amy J. Binder and Kate Wood
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691145372
- eISBN:
- 9781400844876
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691145372.003.0008
- Subject:
- Sociology, Education
This chapter examines in more abstract terms how universities, in combination with the broader political culture, cultivate distinctive styles of conservatism among students. It reviews research in ...
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This chapter examines in more abstract terms how universities, in combination with the broader political culture, cultivate distinctive styles of conservatism among students. It reviews research in the fields of higher education studies, cultural sociology, political theory, and organization studies to capture some of the more general processes observed at Eastern Elite University and Western Flagship University. In particular, it considers how social and cultural capital gives rise to the particular dominant conservative styles of civilized discourse at Eastern Elite, provocation in the Western Public university system, and the submerged styles seen at these different campuses. The chapter concludes by arguing that the model developed for studying student conservatism on both campuses is general enough to be useful to scholars studying other aspects of students' lives other than politics.Less
This chapter examines in more abstract terms how universities, in combination with the broader political culture, cultivate distinctive styles of conservatism among students. It reviews research in the fields of higher education studies, cultural sociology, political theory, and organization studies to capture some of the more general processes observed at Eastern Elite University and Western Flagship University. In particular, it considers how social and cultural capital gives rise to the particular dominant conservative styles of civilized discourse at Eastern Elite, provocation in the Western Public university system, and the submerged styles seen at these different campuses. The chapter concludes by arguing that the model developed for studying student conservatism on both campuses is general enough to be useful to scholars studying other aspects of students' lives other than politics.
Gordon Lynch
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199557011
- eISBN:
- 9780191738210
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199557011.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The central aim of this book is to provide a theoretical framework for using the concept of the sacred as a tool for social and cultural analysis. It differentiates between ontological theories of ...
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The central aim of this book is to provide a theoretical framework for using the concept of the sacred as a tool for social and cultural analysis. It differentiates between ontological theories of the sacred which locate the sacred in the essence of the cosmos or the human person, and a cultural sociological approach which understands the sacred as culturally constructed. Adopting the latter, a critical re-reading is given of Emile Durkheim’s understanding of the sacred, and of later theoretical contributions made by Edward Shils, Robert Bellah, and Jeffrey Alexander. Using this framework, the intersection of multiple sacred forms is used to analyse the cultural meanings surrounding the systemic abuse and neglect of children within the Irish industrial school system. The role of public media in circulating sacred meanings is also discussed, and the case of the BBC’s refusal to air a humanitarian appeal for Gaza in 2009 is explored to demonstrate the tensions between the sacred function of public media and journalistic notions of impartiality. The book concludes by examining whether human society without sacred forms is possible, and argues that the communicative structure of the sacred underlies the very notion of moral, human society. A critical approach to the sacred is required which involves both a recognition of the harm that can be done through the pursuit of sacred commitments, and the development of critical practices that make it possible to understand the significance of the sacred in social life.Less
The central aim of this book is to provide a theoretical framework for using the concept of the sacred as a tool for social and cultural analysis. It differentiates between ontological theories of the sacred which locate the sacred in the essence of the cosmos or the human person, and a cultural sociological approach which understands the sacred as culturally constructed. Adopting the latter, a critical re-reading is given of Emile Durkheim’s understanding of the sacred, and of later theoretical contributions made by Edward Shils, Robert Bellah, and Jeffrey Alexander. Using this framework, the intersection of multiple sacred forms is used to analyse the cultural meanings surrounding the systemic abuse and neglect of children within the Irish industrial school system. The role of public media in circulating sacred meanings is also discussed, and the case of the BBC’s refusal to air a humanitarian appeal for Gaza in 2009 is explored to demonstrate the tensions between the sacred function of public media and journalistic notions of impartiality. The book concludes by examining whether human society without sacred forms is possible, and argues that the communicative structure of the sacred underlies the very notion of moral, human society. A critical approach to the sacred is required which involves both a recognition of the harm that can be done through the pursuit of sacred commitments, and the development of critical practices that make it possible to understand the significance of the sacred in social life.
Ali Meghji
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781526143075
- eISBN:
- 9781526150424
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526143082
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
This book analyses how racism and anti-racism influences Black British middle class cultural consumption. In doing so, this book challenges the dominant understanding of British middle class identity ...
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This book analyses how racism and anti-racism influences Black British middle class cultural consumption. In doing so, this book challenges the dominant understanding of British middle class identity and culture as being ‘beyond race’.
Paying attention to the relationship between cultural capital and cultural repertoires, this book puts forward the idea that there are three black middle-class identity modes: strategic assimilation, class-minded, and ethnoracial autonomous. People towards each of these identity modes use specific cultural repertoires to organise their cultural consumption. Those towards strategic assimilation draw on repertoires of code-switching and cultural equity, consuming traditional middle class culture to maintain an equality with the white middle-class in levels of cultural capital. Ethnoracial autonomous individuals draw on repertoires of browning and Afro-centrism, self-selecting out of traditional middle- class cultural pursuits they decode as ‘Eurocentric’, while showing a preference for cultural forms that uplift black diasporic histories and cultures. Lastly, those towards the class-minded identity mode draw on repertoires of post-racialism and de-racialisation. Such individuals polarise between ‘Black’ and middle class cultural forms, display an unequivocal preference for the latter, and lambast other black people who avoid middle-class culture as being culturally myopic or culturally uncultivated.
This book will appeal to sociology students, researchers, and academics working on race and class, critical race theory, and cultural sociology, among other social science disciplines.Less
This book analyses how racism and anti-racism influences Black British middle class cultural consumption. In doing so, this book challenges the dominant understanding of British middle class identity and culture as being ‘beyond race’.
Paying attention to the relationship between cultural capital and cultural repertoires, this book puts forward the idea that there are three black middle-class identity modes: strategic assimilation, class-minded, and ethnoracial autonomous. People towards each of these identity modes use specific cultural repertoires to organise their cultural consumption. Those towards strategic assimilation draw on repertoires of code-switching and cultural equity, consuming traditional middle class culture to maintain an equality with the white middle-class in levels of cultural capital. Ethnoracial autonomous individuals draw on repertoires of browning and Afro-centrism, self-selecting out of traditional middle- class cultural pursuits they decode as ‘Eurocentric’, while showing a preference for cultural forms that uplift black diasporic histories and cultures. Lastly, those towards the class-minded identity mode draw on repertoires of post-racialism and de-racialisation. Such individuals polarise between ‘Black’ and middle class cultural forms, display an unequivocal preference for the latter, and lambast other black people who avoid middle-class culture as being culturally myopic or culturally uncultivated.
This book will appeal to sociology students, researchers, and academics working on race and class, critical race theory, and cultural sociology, among other social science disciplines.
Daniel Nehring, Gerardo Gómez Michel, and Magdalena López (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781529200997
- eISBN:
- 9781529201345
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781529200997.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
In the mid-1970s, Latin America entered a period of profound social and economic crisis, marked by the rise of brutal military dictatorships across much of the region and the near-collapse of some of ...
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In the mid-1970s, Latin America entered a period of profound social and economic crisis, marked by the rise of brutal military dictatorships across much of the region and the near-collapse of some of Latin America’s largest economies, in Mexico and Brazil. In response to this crisis, governments across the region adopted neoliberal structural adjustment programmes from the 1980s onwards, under the auspices of international organisations, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. These reforms typically entailed sweeping cuts to public health and welfare programmes, the privatisation of large parts of the public infrastructure, the redistribution of wealth to economic elites, and a notable growth in poverty. As a result, these structural adjustment programmes faced growing resistance from the early 1990s onwards. Social and political movements, such as the Zapatistas in Mexico, formulated powerful challenges to neoliberal orthodoxy, while the election to government of left-wing populist leaders such as Hugo Chávez (1998), Evo Morales (2005) or Rafael Correa (2006) opened the door to experiments with a range of anti-neoliberal political programmes. The failures of these programmes and ongoing conflicts between neoliberal and anti-neoliberal elites and social movements have by the mid-2010s resulted in growing social instability. This book examines cultural responses to this instability. It looks at a wide range of cultural forms, such as literature, underground cinema, street fairs and self-help books to explore how Latin Americans construct subjectivities, build communities and make meaning in their everyday lives in during a profound crisis of the social. In this context, the book emphasises the role which neoliberal and anti-neoliberal narratives of self and social relationships may come to play in popular culture and everyday lived experience in Latin America today.Less
In the mid-1970s, Latin America entered a period of profound social and economic crisis, marked by the rise of brutal military dictatorships across much of the region and the near-collapse of some of Latin America’s largest economies, in Mexico and Brazil. In response to this crisis, governments across the region adopted neoliberal structural adjustment programmes from the 1980s onwards, under the auspices of international organisations, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. These reforms typically entailed sweeping cuts to public health and welfare programmes, the privatisation of large parts of the public infrastructure, the redistribution of wealth to economic elites, and a notable growth in poverty. As a result, these structural adjustment programmes faced growing resistance from the early 1990s onwards. Social and political movements, such as the Zapatistas in Mexico, formulated powerful challenges to neoliberal orthodoxy, while the election to government of left-wing populist leaders such as Hugo Chávez (1998), Evo Morales (2005) or Rafael Correa (2006) opened the door to experiments with a range of anti-neoliberal political programmes. The failures of these programmes and ongoing conflicts between neoliberal and anti-neoliberal elites and social movements have by the mid-2010s resulted in growing social instability. This book examines cultural responses to this instability. It looks at a wide range of cultural forms, such as literature, underground cinema, street fairs and self-help books to explore how Latin Americans construct subjectivities, build communities and make meaning in their everyday lives in during a profound crisis of the social. In this context, the book emphasises the role which neoliberal and anti-neoliberal narratives of self and social relationships may come to play in popular culture and everyday lived experience in Latin America today.
Gordon Lynch
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199557011
- eISBN:
- 9780191738210
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199557011.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter introduces the distinction between ontological and cultural sociological theories of the sacred, which respectively understand the sacred to be grounded in the essence of the cosmos or ...
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This chapter introduces the distinction between ontological and cultural sociological theories of the sacred, which respectively understand the sacred to be grounded in the essence of the cosmos or human person or to be culturally constructed. The limitations of ontological approaches are discussed, and an initial outline of a cultural sociological understanding of the sacred is developed through a critical re-reading of the work of Emile Durkheim. Rejecting Durkheim’s social ontology and his relatively undifferentiated concept of the profane, the chapter concludes by offering an initial definition of the sacred as that which people take to be a non-contingent reality which exerts an unquestionable moral claim over social life, and of sacred forms as specific instantiations of the sacred.Less
This chapter introduces the distinction between ontological and cultural sociological theories of the sacred, which respectively understand the sacred to be grounded in the essence of the cosmos or human person or to be culturally constructed. The limitations of ontological approaches are discussed, and an initial outline of a cultural sociological understanding of the sacred is developed through a critical re-reading of the work of Emile Durkheim. Rejecting Durkheim’s social ontology and his relatively undifferentiated concept of the profane, the chapter concludes by offering an initial definition of the sacred as that which people take to be a non-contingent reality which exerts an unquestionable moral claim over social life, and of sacred forms as specific instantiations of the sacred.
Ali Meghji
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781526143075
- eISBN:
- 9781526150424
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526143082.00006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
This chapter outlines the book’s aims to analyse how racism and anti-racism influence Black middle class cultural consumption. It begins by summarising the colourblind literature on the middle class, ...
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This chapter outlines the book’s aims to analyse how racism and anti-racism influence Black middle class cultural consumption. It begins by summarising the colourblind literature on the middle class, which I argue limits our overall understanding of how middle class identity and culture are racialised. I then review the literature on the White and Black middle classes, before positioning the book in relation to these streams of research. The triangle of Black middle class identity is then sketched out, where I argue there are three Black middle class identity modes – strategic assimilation, ethnoracial autonomous, and class-minded – each showing a different relationship between racism, anti-racism, and cultural consumption.Less
This chapter outlines the book’s aims to analyse how racism and anti-racism influence Black middle class cultural consumption. It begins by summarising the colourblind literature on the middle class, which I argue limits our overall understanding of how middle class identity and culture are racialised. I then review the literature on the White and Black middle classes, before positioning the book in relation to these streams of research. The triangle of Black middle class identity is then sketched out, where I argue there are three Black middle class identity modes – strategic assimilation, ethnoracial autonomous, and class-minded – each showing a different relationship between racism, anti-racism, and cultural consumption.
Ali Meghji
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781526143075
- eISBN:
- 9781526150424
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526143082.00011
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
This chapter brings the book to a conclusion. I review the contributions this book makes to studies of the Black middle class, critical race theory, cultural sociology, and race and class more ...
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This chapter brings the book to a conclusion. I review the contributions this book makes to studies of the Black middle class, critical race theory, cultural sociology, and race and class more broadly. I also examine how my research can open up new studies in cultural sociology, critical race studies, and international perspectives on the Black middle class. The book also reflects on the theme of the book series: racism, resistance, and social change, where I argue that a growth in a Black middle class does not mean there is growing racial equality in Britain.Less
This chapter brings the book to a conclusion. I review the contributions this book makes to studies of the Black middle class, critical race theory, cultural sociology, and race and class more broadly. I also examine how my research can open up new studies in cultural sociology, critical race studies, and international perspectives on the Black middle class. The book also reflects on the theme of the book series: racism, resistance, and social change, where I argue that a growth in a Black middle class does not mean there is growing racial equality in Britain.
Phaedra Daipha
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226298542
- eISBN:
- 9780226298719
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226298719.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Science, Technology and Environment
This book draws on a two-year ethnography of forecasting operations at the National Weather Service (NWS) to theorize decision-making in action. Contrary to popular wisdom, weather forecasters are ...
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This book draws on a two-year ethnography of forecasting operations at the National Weather Service (NWS) to theorize decision-making in action. Contrary to popular wisdom, weather forecasters are considerably better than most other so-called expert decision-makers at mastering uncertainty. Following them in their quest for ground truth, therefore, promises to hold the key to the analytically elusive process of diagnosis and prognosis as it actually happens. That is the ultimate objective of this book—by systematically excavating how weather forecasters achieve a provisional coherence in the face of deep uncertainty, how they harness diverse information to project themselves into the future, it endeavors to develop a better conceptual framework for studying uncertainty management in action. Accordingly, the six empirically substantive chapters of the book illuminate key aspects of the process of meteorological decision-making at the NWS: the institutionalized socio-technical environment in which forecasters operate, the forecast production routine; the distillation of atmospheric complexity; the negotiation of accuracy and timeliness in the face of hazardous weather and after a missed forecast; the organization of future anticipation at different time horizons; the tradeoffs of offering expert advice to multiple audiences. The proposed conceptual framework provides the analytic tools to maintain sustained attention to the stable cultural and broader social field of decision-making practice but without losing sight of the situationally-driven micro-context of action and interaction. It reinstates decision-makers as makers of decisions, creatively implementing institutional goals in locally rational ways in order to fashion a workable solution to the decision-making task at hand.Less
This book draws on a two-year ethnography of forecasting operations at the National Weather Service (NWS) to theorize decision-making in action. Contrary to popular wisdom, weather forecasters are considerably better than most other so-called expert decision-makers at mastering uncertainty. Following them in their quest for ground truth, therefore, promises to hold the key to the analytically elusive process of diagnosis and prognosis as it actually happens. That is the ultimate objective of this book—by systematically excavating how weather forecasters achieve a provisional coherence in the face of deep uncertainty, how they harness diverse information to project themselves into the future, it endeavors to develop a better conceptual framework for studying uncertainty management in action. Accordingly, the six empirically substantive chapters of the book illuminate key aspects of the process of meteorological decision-making at the NWS: the institutionalized socio-technical environment in which forecasters operate, the forecast production routine; the distillation of atmospheric complexity; the negotiation of accuracy and timeliness in the face of hazardous weather and after a missed forecast; the organization of future anticipation at different time horizons; the tradeoffs of offering expert advice to multiple audiences. The proposed conceptual framework provides the analytic tools to maintain sustained attention to the stable cultural and broader social field of decision-making practice but without losing sight of the situationally-driven micro-context of action and interaction. It reinstates decision-makers as makers of decisions, creatively implementing institutional goals in locally rational ways in order to fashion a workable solution to the decision-making task at hand.
Ronald N. Jacobs
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199797929
- eISBN:
- 9780199944170
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199797929.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
Chapter 1 argues that opinion and news commentary are neglected topics in research literatures about media, democracy and the public sphere. It offers the idea of the space of opinion as a way of ...
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Chapter 1 argues that opinion and news commentary are neglected topics in research literatures about media, democracy and the public sphere. It offers the idea of the space of opinion as a way of conceptualizing the role of opinion in contemporary democracies. The space of opinion is defined as a distinct social space with its own history and cultural logic, located at the chaotic intersection of the journalistic, the political and the academic fields. The chapter concludes with a description of research design, including details about sampling and data collection strategies from six major opinion formats in print and television: The New York Times, USA Today, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Face the Nation, Crossfire, and Hannity & Colmes.Less
Chapter 1 argues that opinion and news commentary are neglected topics in research literatures about media, democracy and the public sphere. It offers the idea of the space of opinion as a way of conceptualizing the role of opinion in contemporary democracies. The space of opinion is defined as a distinct social space with its own history and cultural logic, located at the chaotic intersection of the journalistic, the political and the academic fields. The chapter concludes with a description of research design, including details about sampling and data collection strategies from six major opinion formats in print and television: The New York Times, USA Today, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Face the Nation, Crossfire, and Hannity & Colmes.
Roger Chartier
- Published in print:
- 1989
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520064287
- eISBN:
- 9780520908925
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520064287.003.0007
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Theory and Practice
This chapter presents a good introduction to Roger Chartier's, The Cultural Uses of Print in Early Modern France. Fernando de Rojas' prologue clearly indicates the central tension of every history of ...
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This chapter presents a good introduction to Roger Chartier's, The Cultural Uses of Print in Early Modern France. Fernando de Rojas' prologue clearly indicates the central tension of every history of reading—and this is why he is worthy of consideration. Reading is a creative practice, which invents singular meanings and significations that are not reducible to the intentions of authors of texts or producers of books. Rojas also implies that the history of genres, both textual and typographical, could provide the underpinnings for the history of discourse as formulated by Michel Foucault. Printing lowers the cost of the book's manufacture and shortens the time of production. Cultural history might find a new niche at the crossroads of textual criticism, the history of the book, and cultural sociology.Less
This chapter presents a good introduction to Roger Chartier's, The Cultural Uses of Print in Early Modern France. Fernando de Rojas' prologue clearly indicates the central tension of every history of reading—and this is why he is worthy of consideration. Reading is a creative practice, which invents singular meanings and significations that are not reducible to the intentions of authors of texts or producers of books. Rojas also implies that the history of genres, both textual and typographical, could provide the underpinnings for the history of discourse as formulated by Michel Foucault. Printing lowers the cost of the book's manufacture and shortens the time of production. Cultural history might find a new niche at the crossroads of textual criticism, the history of the book, and cultural sociology.
Peter Kivisto and Giuseppe Sciortino
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199811908
- eISBN:
- 9780190239343
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199811908.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
This introduction provides an overview of the central issues contained in previously published reviews. It sets the stage for the civil sphere project in terms of the evolution of Alexander’s larger ...
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This introduction provides an overview of the central issues contained in previously published reviews. It sets the stage for the civil sphere project in terms of the evolution of Alexander’s larger theoretical concerns. It presents a critical review of previously published critiques of Alexander’s understanding of civil society. It then presents an overview of his intellectual career from neo-functionalism to cultural sociology, with a focus on the significance of symbolic structures in helping to promote social solidarity. Finally, the introduction offers brief summaries and analysis of the six commentaries and Alexander’s rejoinder.Less
This introduction provides an overview of the central issues contained in previously published reviews. It sets the stage for the civil sphere project in terms of the evolution of Alexander’s larger theoretical concerns. It presents a critical review of previously published critiques of Alexander’s understanding of civil society. It then presents an overview of his intellectual career from neo-functionalism to cultural sociology, with a focus on the significance of symbolic structures in helping to promote social solidarity. Finally, the introduction offers brief summaries and analysis of the six commentaries and Alexander’s rejoinder.
Daniel Nehring, Gerardo Gómez Michel, and Magdalena López
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781529200997
- eISBN:
- 9781529201345
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781529200997.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
The introduction explores the cultural dynamics of neoliberalism and anti-neoliberal resistance in Latin America. While Latin American neoliberalisms and the regions transition – perhaps temporary – ...
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The introduction explores the cultural dynamics of neoliberalism and anti-neoliberal resistance in Latin America. While Latin American neoliberalisms and the regions transition – perhaps temporary – to post-neoliberalism have been extensively debated (Dávila 2012, Flores-Macias 2012, Goodale and Postero 2013), extant research has largely focused on relevant political and socio-economic processes. The cultural dynamics of neoliberalism, anti-neoliberalism and post-neoliberalism, in terms of the discursive construction of neoliberal common sense and the organisation of everyday beliefs, norms, values and systems of meaning, have received far less attention. The introductory chapter then sketches the subject matter of the following case studies. Together, the studies in this volume seek to address this gap. They pursue three objectives. First, they seek to explore how neoliberal narratives of self and social relationships have transformed everyday life in contemporary Latin America. Second, they examine how these narratives are being contested and supplanted by a diversity of alternative modes of experience and practices in a diversity of settings, in the context of anti-neoliberal and post-neoliberal socio-political programmes. In this context, the studies in this book address the questions to what extent contemporary Latin America might in fact be described as post-neoliberal, given the crisis of political challenges to neoliberalism in societies such as Venezuela, Argentina or Bolivia. Third, the following chapters interrogate the discourses and cultural practices through which a societal consensus for the pursuit of neoliberal politics may be established, defended and contested.Less
The introduction explores the cultural dynamics of neoliberalism and anti-neoliberal resistance in Latin America. While Latin American neoliberalisms and the regions transition – perhaps temporary – to post-neoliberalism have been extensively debated (Dávila 2012, Flores-Macias 2012, Goodale and Postero 2013), extant research has largely focused on relevant political and socio-economic processes. The cultural dynamics of neoliberalism, anti-neoliberalism and post-neoliberalism, in terms of the discursive construction of neoliberal common sense and the organisation of everyday beliefs, norms, values and systems of meaning, have received far less attention. The introductory chapter then sketches the subject matter of the following case studies. Together, the studies in this volume seek to address this gap. They pursue three objectives. First, they seek to explore how neoliberal narratives of self and social relationships have transformed everyday life in contemporary Latin America. Second, they examine how these narratives are being contested and supplanted by a diversity of alternative modes of experience and practices in a diversity of settings, in the context of anti-neoliberal and post-neoliberal socio-political programmes. In this context, the studies in this book address the questions to what extent contemporary Latin America might in fact be described as post-neoliberal, given the crisis of political challenges to neoliberalism in societies such as Venezuela, Argentina or Bolivia. Third, the following chapters interrogate the discourses and cultural practices through which a societal consensus for the pursuit of neoliberal politics may be established, defended and contested.
Ali Meghji
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781526143075
- eISBN:
- 9781526150424
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526143082.00007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
In this chapter I argue there are three modes of Black middle class identity, which individuals towards each identity mode adopting specific cultural repertoires. Firstly is the identity mode ...
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In this chapter I argue there are three modes of Black middle class identity, which individuals towards each identity mode adopting specific cultural repertoires. Firstly is the identity mode labelled strategic assimilation. Here, individuals adopt repertoires of code switching and cultural equity; they switch identities when around the White middle class, and strive to consume dominant cultural capital to achieve a cultural equity with White middle class people. Secondly, there are those towards the ethnoracial autonomous identity mode. They reject the strategy of code switching through their repertoire of browning, and through their repertoire of Afro-centrism they prioritise consuming cultural forms which give positive representations of Black diasporic histories, knowledges, and identities. Lastly are those towards the class-minded identity mode. They adopt repertoires of post-racialism – arguing that we are ‘beyond racism’ – and de-racialisation, seeing themselves as ‘middle class’ rather than Black.Less
In this chapter I argue there are three modes of Black middle class identity, which individuals towards each identity mode adopting specific cultural repertoires. Firstly is the identity mode labelled strategic assimilation. Here, individuals adopt repertoires of code switching and cultural equity; they switch identities when around the White middle class, and strive to consume dominant cultural capital to achieve a cultural equity with White middle class people. Secondly, there are those towards the ethnoracial autonomous identity mode. They reject the strategy of code switching through their repertoire of browning, and through their repertoire of Afro-centrism they prioritise consuming cultural forms which give positive representations of Black diasporic histories, knowledges, and identities. Lastly are those towards the class-minded identity mode. They adopt repertoires of post-racialism – arguing that we are ‘beyond racism’ – and de-racialisation, seeing themselves as ‘middle class’ rather than Black.
Bryan S. Turner
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199811908
- eISBN:
- 9780190239343
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199811908.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
The chapter’s analysis begins with its contention that one cannot understand the civil sphere without first understanding Alexander’s version of cultural sociology and of the significance he attaches ...
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The chapter’s analysis begins with its contention that one cannot understand the civil sphere without first understanding Alexander’s version of cultural sociology and of the significance he attaches to performance and political rituals. The chapter considers the two to be inextricably linked. In its analysis, the chapter stresses the centrality of performativity. This leads to identifying what it views as the three central shortcomings of the civil sphere project. First, it states Alexander exhibits a distinctly American optimism that does not resonate with the situation in Europe. Second, by focusing on dramatic political rituals, Alexander gives insufficient attention to public reasoning. Finally, he does not think the civil sphere is adequately defined.Less
The chapter’s analysis begins with its contention that one cannot understand the civil sphere without first understanding Alexander’s version of cultural sociology and of the significance he attaches to performance and political rituals. The chapter considers the two to be inextricably linked. In its analysis, the chapter stresses the centrality of performativity. This leads to identifying what it views as the three central shortcomings of the civil sphere project. First, it states Alexander exhibits a distinctly American optimism that does not resonate with the situation in Europe. Second, by focusing on dramatic political rituals, Alexander gives insufficient attention to public reasoning. Finally, he does not think the civil sphere is adequately defined.
Violaine Roussel
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780226486802
- eISBN:
- 9780226487137
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226487137.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
This book takes the reader behind the scenes in Hollywood into the unknown world of talent agencies. Based on unprecedented fieldwork (122 interviews, as well as in situ observations at agencies), it ...
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This book takes the reader behind the scenes in Hollywood into the unknown world of talent agencies. Based on unprecedented fieldwork (122 interviews, as well as in situ observations at agencies), it explores the day-to-day activity of talent agents and unveils how they contribute to shaping artistic careers and projects. The agencies are central spaces for professional socialization in Hollywood. It’s in this organizational setting that agents learn how to build and maintain strong ties with key counterparts, first and foremost artists and production professionals. The book examines what "having relationships" really means for these professionals. It looks at the ties that the agents create with their clients – in the form of enchanted bonds that are at the same time power relations. It challenges existing approaches to Hollywood networks by analyzing how specialized professional circles form across organizational boundaries and tie together talent representatives, artists, and production professionals over long periods of time. These interconnections are crucial for understanding how movies, and entertainment products in general, are made in Hollywood: it’s in such circles that artistic worth (quality) and economic value (price) are inseparably evaluated and attributed to people and projects. This study explores this intertwining of creative and economic power. It shows how “talent” or “influence” is recognized to Hollywood players. It therefore sheds new light on the production of popular culture, as well as on today’s transformation of Hollywood and the inseparable redefinition of entertainment.Less
This book takes the reader behind the scenes in Hollywood into the unknown world of talent agencies. Based on unprecedented fieldwork (122 interviews, as well as in situ observations at agencies), it explores the day-to-day activity of talent agents and unveils how they contribute to shaping artistic careers and projects. The agencies are central spaces for professional socialization in Hollywood. It’s in this organizational setting that agents learn how to build and maintain strong ties with key counterparts, first and foremost artists and production professionals. The book examines what "having relationships" really means for these professionals. It looks at the ties that the agents create with their clients – in the form of enchanted bonds that are at the same time power relations. It challenges existing approaches to Hollywood networks by analyzing how specialized professional circles form across organizational boundaries and tie together talent representatives, artists, and production professionals over long periods of time. These interconnections are crucial for understanding how movies, and entertainment products in general, are made in Hollywood: it’s in such circles that artistic worth (quality) and economic value (price) are inseparably evaluated and attributed to people and projects. This study explores this intertwining of creative and economic power. It shows how “talent” or “influence” is recognized to Hollywood players. It therefore sheds new light on the production of popular culture, as well as on today’s transformation of Hollywood and the inseparable redefinition of entertainment.
Thomas DeGloma and Max Papadantonakis
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190608484
- eISBN:
- 9780190608521
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190608484.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Methodology and Statistics
This chapter outlines a comparative framework for ethnographic analysis that combines contributions from formal sociology, symbolic interaction, and the strong program in cultural sociology. Building ...
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This chapter outlines a comparative framework for ethnographic analysis that combines contributions from formal sociology, symbolic interaction, and the strong program in cultural sociology. Building on the methodological perspective that Eviatar Zerubavel has termed “social pattern analysis,” the authors show how underlying formal properties, including patterns of social interaction, foundational narrative structures, and formulaic modes of performance, tie otherwise quite disparate cases together. Moreover, actors in different contexts merge these social forms with widespread cultural codes, resulting in patterned structures of meaning. Otherwise different cases thus emerge as variant manifestations of a common social theme. Using such social themes as analytic lenses offers great promise for theory construction and serves as a guide for expanding empirical inquiry to a greater range of contexts and cases. Drawing on research pertaining to various topics, the chapter shows how using a thematic lens provides a compelling foundation for comparative multicase analysis while honing the interpretive and descriptive strengths traditionally associated with ethnography on the underlying properties and processes that tie such cases together.Less
This chapter outlines a comparative framework for ethnographic analysis that combines contributions from formal sociology, symbolic interaction, and the strong program in cultural sociology. Building on the methodological perspective that Eviatar Zerubavel has termed “social pattern analysis,” the authors show how underlying formal properties, including patterns of social interaction, foundational narrative structures, and formulaic modes of performance, tie otherwise quite disparate cases together. Moreover, actors in different contexts merge these social forms with widespread cultural codes, resulting in patterned structures of meaning. Otherwise different cases thus emerge as variant manifestations of a common social theme. Using such social themes as analytic lenses offers great promise for theory construction and serves as a guide for expanding empirical inquiry to a greater range of contexts and cases. Drawing on research pertaining to various topics, the chapter shows how using a thematic lens provides a compelling foundation for comparative multicase analysis while honing the interpretive and descriptive strengths traditionally associated with ethnography on the underlying properties and processes that tie such cases together.