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 ...
More
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 ...
More
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 ...
More
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 ...
More
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 ...
More
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 ...
More
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.
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 ...
More
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.
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 ...
More
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 ...
More
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.
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 ...
More
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.
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 ...
More
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.
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 ...
More
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.
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 ...
More
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.
Karen A. Cerulo
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226100326
- eISBN:
- 9780226100296
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226100296.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
This chapter discusses the coverage of this volume which is about envisioning the worst. Building on theories and ideas forwarded by both cultural and cognitive sociologists, this chapter argues that ...
More
This chapter discusses the coverage of this volume which is about envisioning the worst. Building on theories and ideas forwarded by both cultural and cognitive sociologists, this chapter argues that the inability to envision and specify the worst is, in part, a sociocultural phenomenon. It explains that the worst can become a perceptual blind spot, obscured or blurred by a variety of routine and patterned sociocultural practice and this makes it hard to define. This chapter also provides a summary of the chapters in this volume.Less
This chapter discusses the coverage of this volume which is about envisioning the worst. Building on theories and ideas forwarded by both cultural and cognitive sociologists, this chapter argues that the inability to envision and specify the worst is, in part, a sociocultural phenomenon. It explains that the worst can become a perceptual blind spot, obscured or blurred by a variety of routine and patterned sociocultural practice and this makes it hard to define. This chapter also provides a summary of the chapters in this volume.
Joseph C. Ewoodzie Jr.
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781469632759
- eISBN:
- 9781469632773
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469632759.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
It focuses on a crucial span of time surprisingly under-examined in previous studies: 1975-79, a period after the rise of Kool DJ, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash and before The Sugar Hill ...
More
It focuses on a crucial span of time surprisingly under-examined in previous studies: 1975-79, a period after the rise of Kool DJ, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash and before The Sugar Hill Gang. This introductory chapter begins by pointing out three limitations in the literature on the history of hip hop: its present to past approach, its focus either on cultural influences or social-structural influences, and its mythicization of the founding fathers. The chapter shows how work on symbolic boundary formation can help to overcome these limitationsLess
It focuses on a crucial span of time surprisingly under-examined in previous studies: 1975-79, a period after the rise of Kool DJ, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash and before The Sugar Hill Gang. This introductory chapter begins by pointing out three limitations in the literature on the history of hip hop: its present to past approach, its focus either on cultural influences or social-structural influences, and its mythicization of the founding fathers. The chapter shows how work on symbolic boundary formation can help to overcome these limitations
Geneviève Zubrzycki
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226391540
- eISBN:
- 9780226391717
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226391717.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The book’s introduction presents the case and the empirical questions, discusses the theoretical framework and methodology, and specifies the book’s three main objectives: The first is theoretical ...
More
The book’s introduction presents the case and the empirical questions, discusses the theoretical framework and methodology, and specifies the book’s three main objectives: The first is theoretical and aims to interpret the role of religious and secular ideologies and practices in the making of national identity and its transformation. The second objective is empirical: it seeks to highlight the role of symbolic politics in shaping new identities and advancing institutional transformations. The third objective of Beheading the Saint is to provide a methodological blueprint for a visual and material sociology of identity transformation.Less
The book’s introduction presents the case and the empirical questions, discusses the theoretical framework and methodology, and specifies the book’s three main objectives: The first is theoretical and aims to interpret the role of religious and secular ideologies and practices in the making of national identity and its transformation. The second objective is empirical: it seeks to highlight the role of symbolic politics in shaping new identities and advancing institutional transformations. The third objective of Beheading the Saint is to provide a methodological blueprint for a visual and material sociology of identity transformation.
Olav Velthuis and Stefano Baia Curioni (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198717744
- eISBN:
- 9780191787249
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198717744.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Knowledge Management, Public Management
This book brings together recent, multidisciplinary, cutting edge research on the globalization of markets for contemporary art. Focusing on different regions including China, Russia, India, and ...
More
This book brings together recent, multidisciplinary, cutting edge research on the globalization of markets for contemporary art. Focusing on different regions including China, Russia, India, and Japan, the chapters in this book study the extent to which art markets have indeed become global. On the one hand, it focuses on organizations such as the art fairs, Internet platforms, and auction houses which have enabled global flows of contemporary art. It shows how art from places such as the Middle East has been transformed into a new asset class. On the other hand, the chapters highlight the multiple barriers which globalization has encountered in art markets. Although markets for contemporary art have indeed emerged across the globe, cross-border flows of works of art have remained comparatively insignificant. The reasons behind these barriers are explored. They include differences in taste across the globe, trade barriers in countries like India and Brazil, and vested interests of actors in local art worlds like Japan. This book recognizes the coexistence of various ecologies of contemporary art exchange and sketches the presence of resilient local networks of actors and organizations within art markets. Some chapters moreover argue that Europe and the United States continue to dominate the global market, especially when considering rankings of success and participation in the most prestigious commercial events such as Art Basel.Less
This book brings together recent, multidisciplinary, cutting edge research on the globalization of markets for contemporary art. Focusing on different regions including China, Russia, India, and Japan, the chapters in this book study the extent to which art markets have indeed become global. On the one hand, it focuses on organizations such as the art fairs, Internet platforms, and auction houses which have enabled global flows of contemporary art. It shows how art from places such as the Middle East has been transformed into a new asset class. On the other hand, the chapters highlight the multiple barriers which globalization has encountered in art markets. Although markets for contemporary art have indeed emerged across the globe, cross-border flows of works of art have remained comparatively insignificant. The reasons behind these barriers are explored. They include differences in taste across the globe, trade barriers in countries like India and Brazil, and vested interests of actors in local art worlds like Japan. This book recognizes the coexistence of various ecologies of contemporary art exchange and sketches the presence of resilient local networks of actors and organizations within art markets. Some chapters moreover argue that Europe and the United States continue to dominate the global market, especially when considering rankings of success and participation in the most prestigious commercial events such as Art Basel.
Joseph C., Jr. Ewoodzie
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781469632759
- eISBN:
- 9781469632773
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469632759.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
The origin story of hip-hop—one that involves Kool Herc DJing a house party on Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx—has become received wisdom. But Joseph C. Ewoodzie Jr. argues that the full story remains ...
More
The origin story of hip-hop—one that involves Kool Herc DJing a house party on Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx—has become received wisdom. But Joseph C. Ewoodzie Jr. argues that the full story remains to be told. In vibrant prose, he combines never-before-used archival material with searching questions about the symbolic boundaries that have divided our understanding of the music. In Break Beats in the Bronx, Ewoodzie portrays the creative process that brought about what we now know as hip-hop and shows that the art form was a result of serendipitous events, accidents, calculated successes, and failures that, almost magically, came together. In doing so, he questions the unexamined assumptions about hip-hop's beginnings, including why there are just four traditional elements—DJing, MCing, breaking, and graffiti writing—and not others, why the South Bronx and not any other borough or city is considered the cradle of the form, and which artists besides Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash founded the genre. Ewoodzie answers these and many other questions about hip-hop's beginnings. Unearthing new evidence, he shows what occurred during the crucial but surprisingly underexamined years between 1975 and 1979 and argues that it was during this period that the internal logic and conventions of the scene were formed.Less
The origin story of hip-hop—one that involves Kool Herc DJing a house party on Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx—has become received wisdom. But Joseph C. Ewoodzie Jr. argues that the full story remains to be told. In vibrant prose, he combines never-before-used archival material with searching questions about the symbolic boundaries that have divided our understanding of the music. In Break Beats in the Bronx, Ewoodzie portrays the creative process that brought about what we now know as hip-hop and shows that the art form was a result of serendipitous events, accidents, calculated successes, and failures that, almost magically, came together. In doing so, he questions the unexamined assumptions about hip-hop's beginnings, including why there are just four traditional elements—DJing, MCing, breaking, and graffiti writing—and not others, why the South Bronx and not any other borough or city is considered the cradle of the form, and which artists besides Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash founded the genre. Ewoodzie answers these and many other questions about hip-hop's beginnings. Unearthing new evidence, he shows what occurred during the crucial but surprisingly underexamined years between 1975 and 1979 and argues that it was during this period that the internal logic and conventions of the scene were formed.
Douglas Hartmann
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226374840
- eISBN:
- 9780226375038
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226375038.003.0009
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
This final chapter draws out the broader implications of this case study of midnight basketball for sport studies and sport policy, the sociology of race and the African American experience, cultural ...
More
This final chapter draws out the broader implications of this case study of midnight basketball for sport studies and sport policy, the sociology of race and the African American experience, cultural sociology, and neoliberal social policy. Particular attention is paid to deep play and the cultural politics of sport; theories of sport as intervention and development; critical race theory, racial coding and colorblindness; the centrality of sport as a social force in the contemporary world; and the transformations and limitations of social intervention and criminal justice policy under conditions of neoliberalism. Connections and intersections between and among these themes are also discussed.Less
This final chapter draws out the broader implications of this case study of midnight basketball for sport studies and sport policy, the sociology of race and the African American experience, cultural sociology, and neoliberal social policy. Particular attention is paid to deep play and the cultural politics of sport; theories of sport as intervention and development; critical race theory, racial coding and colorblindness; the centrality of sport as a social force in the contemporary world; and the transformations and limitations of social intervention and criminal justice policy under conditions of neoliberalism. Connections and intersections between and among these themes are also discussed.
Mario Diani
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199811908
- eISBN:
- 9780190239343
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199811908.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
This chapter begins by asking why social movement scholars have paid so little attention to The Civil Sphere, given the centrality Alexander attaches to social movements. It offers a judicious ...
More
This chapter begins by asking why social movement scholars have paid so little attention to The Civil Sphere, given the centrality Alexander attaches to social movements. It offers a judicious overview of Alexander’s understanding of this contested sociological subfield, including a discussion of his understanding of forms of collective behavior other than social movements. The chapter proceeds to question whether the cases used by Alexander—the civil rights movement and the women’s movement—are typical or atypical. It also ponders where “distasteful” social movements fit into the scheme. This leads to a critical assessment of Alexander’s theoretical approach, given that his cultural sociology is obviously grounded in the “cultural turn” in the discipline, an approach that does not seem entirely convincing, the chapter argues.Less
This chapter begins by asking why social movement scholars have paid so little attention to The Civil Sphere, given the centrality Alexander attaches to social movements. It offers a judicious overview of Alexander’s understanding of this contested sociological subfield, including a discussion of his understanding of forms of collective behavior other than social movements. The chapter proceeds to question whether the cases used by Alexander—the civil rights movement and the women’s movement—are typical or atypical. It also ponders where “distasteful” social movements fit into the scheme. This leads to a critical assessment of Alexander’s theoretical approach, given that his cultural sociology is obviously grounded in the “cultural turn” in the discipline, an approach that does not seem entirely convincing, the chapter argues.
