28 - 31 August 2013
Torino, Italy

RN07 – Sociology of Culture

Coordinators:
Hubert Knoblauch Hubert.Knoblauch@TU-Berlin.de Technical University Berlin, Germany
Mark D. Jacobs mjacobs@gmu.edu George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia

The “cultural turn” had a profound general impact on the general sociological research agenda and to the content of academic sociological curricula. The main aim of the research network “Sociology of Culture” is to provide a forum for discussion and exchange for sociologists of culture who are either based in Europe or whose research is devoted to one or more aspects of “culture in Europe”.

“Crisis, Critique, and Change” is the topic of the Torino conference. It addresses recent societal developments, which affect culture and are affected by culture, too. Culture – the symbolic context in which choices are made, actions acquire meanings, and meanings are transmitted, communicated and shared – is also the form in which economic problems or financial disasters are expressed, criticized and opposed. In the call for papers we are asking for contributions to issues concerning the general topic of the conference as well as to issues, which are concerning the discussions within the sociology of culture, its theoretical and its empirical dynamics.

Questions, both theoretically and empirically addressed by the sessions are:

  • Is there a “culture of crisis”? How is culture affected by the crisis, and how does the crisis change culture?
  • What is the culture of economics, and, probably more specifically, the culture of financial markets?
  • What is the critical contribution of the sociology of culture? And is there a “culture of critics”? How can we conceive of power in relation to culture.
  • Cultural change is a continuous topic for the sociology of culture. What are indications of and major lines for cultural change?
  • More specifically with respect to change, we should ask for the increasing role of communication and the communication media. How do new media and the communication they mediate constitute virtual agoras, and with what consequences for citizenship? How can cultural sociology engage cultural globalization, cosmopolitanism, and transnationalism, and with what reciprocal effects?
  • In the face of all changes, we have to consider the counter tendencies: How is tradition, heritage, cultural memory constructed and maintained. What are the plurality of roles and definitions of cultural heritage in globalized societies? How is cultural heritage sustainable?
  • What are recent developments in the methodology of cultural analysis. How can we address the increasingly important visual and audiovisual media?

Abstracts will be reviewed by peers according to the following criteria:

  1. Whether the paper will make an original, understandable, and meaningful contribution to sociology of culture debates.
  2. What research or evidence the paper is based on.
  3. Which existing theories and concepts the paper is in discussion with.

For the website of the research network Sociology of Culture please visit:

www.europeansociology.org

We welcome all papers in the sociology of culture more generally, and in particular on the following topics:

Sessions

Joint Sessions

  • 02_b02JS07Artistic Practices and economic constraints

    Joint session with RN02 – Sociology of the Arts

    Anna Lisa Tota tota@uniroma3.it, Università degli Studi Roma Tre Graciela Trajtemberg gtraj@mta.ac.il, The Acedemic College of Tel Aviv-Jaffo

  • 02JS07Creative Practice

    Joint session with RN02 – Sociology of the Arts

    Chairs: Graciela Trajtenberg & Anna Lisa Tota

    The concept of creativity has long been neglected by sociologists. However the sociological perspective has added a very important dimension to its study: creativity is no longer conceived as a merely individual property, disposition or capacity but rather as one that is embedded in discursive, interactional, communal and institutional practices. In this session we invite papers on the social dimensions of creative practice in all artistic fields – including popular, amateur, and outsider art.

  • del02JS07gArtistic practices and beyond

    Joint session with RN02 – Sociology of the Arts

  • 03_b02JS07Artistic Practices and the Public Sphere

    Joint session with RN02 – Sociology of the Arts

    Rudi Laermans Rudi.Laermans@soc.kuleuven.be, KU Leuven

  • 03JS07Biographical Approach to the Studies of Culture

    Joint session with RN03 – Biographical Perspectives on European Societies

    Chairs: David Inglis & Lyudmila Nurse

    This session invites applications both from sociology of culture and biographical perspectives on European Societies. The focus of the papers should be on how culture is revealed, reflected upon and analysed in biographical narratives especially in relation to cultural memories, music, food, faith and cultural studies which deploy biographical (autobiographical) methods. How might biographical methods contribute to the development of cultural theories and the sociology of culture and how they can enrich each other?

  • 04_b02JS07Artistic Practices – New Creativities

    Joint session with RN02 – Sociology of the Arts

    Michael Hutter, michael.hutter@wzb.eu, Wissenschaftszentrum, Berlin

  • 05_02JS07Artistic Practices and the Process of Creativity

    Joint session with RN02 – Sociology of the Arts

    Thomas Eberle Thomas.Eberle@unisg.ch, Universität Sankt Gallen

  • 06_b02JS07Artistic Creativity Outside the World of Arts

    Joint session with RN02 – Sociology of the Arts

    David Inglis dinglis99@gmail.com University of Exeter

  • 07_b02JS07Artistic Practices and the Conditions of Creativity

    Joint session with RN02 – Sociology of the Arts

    Hubert Knoblauch Hubert.Knoblauch@tu-berlin.de, Technische Universität Berlin

  • 08_b07JS28JS34Sport and Religion/Spirituality

    Joint session with RN28 – Society and Sports and RN34 – Sociology of Religion

    Chair: Stef Aupers <aupers@fsw.eur.nl>, Erasmus University Rotterdam; Davide Sterchele <D.Sterchele@leedsmet.ac.uk>, Leeds Metropolitan University; Hubert Knoblauch <Hubert.Knoblauch@tu-berlin.de>, Technische Universität Berlin

    Whereas the analogy between sport and religion has been criticized by many scholars mainly because of the lack (or low relevance) of the transcendent dimension in traditional sport practices, the recent sociological elaborations of the concept of spirituality seems to provide new interesting tools for interpreting the emerging forms of bodily movement. At the same time, the study of the analogies between traditional sports and institutionalized religions still generates relevant sociological insights.

    In order to contribute to these streams of analysis and to open new horizons for further studies, the ESA research networks ‘Sociology of Culture’, ‘Society and Sports’, and ‘Sociology of Religion’, invite potential contributors to submit abstracts to the joint session on ‘Sport and religion/spirituality’. The session will thus provide a forum for exchange and sharing among sociologists of culture, sport and religion, who deal with these themes from different but overlapping perspectives.

  • 09_b07JS34Cultures of Religion – Religious Cultures (1)

    Joint session with RN34 – Sociology of Religion

    Chairs: Hubert Knoblauch & Regine Herbrik RH Regine Herbrik herbrik@leuphana.de , Universität Lüneburg

    “Religious Culture is quite frequently used, particularly in the French context (“culture religieuse”) relating both, to the general as well as to the specific religious patterns of culture. It may serve well not only to address empirical questions concerning the increasing cultural significance of religion within Europe as well as globally; it may also connect recent theoretical approaches in the sociology of culture on the one hand with approaches in the sociology of religion. For the joint session we invite, therefore, contributions addressing both empirical as well as theoretical issues concerning “religious cultures”.

  • 10_b07JS34Cultures of Religion – Religious Cultures (2)

    Joint session with RN34 – Sociology of Religion

    Chairs: Hubert Knoblauch & Regine Herbrik Hubert Knoblauch Hubert.Knoblauch@tu-berlin.de, Technische Universität Berlin

    “Religious Culture is quite frequently used, particularly in the French context (“culture religieuse”) relating both, to the general as well as to the specific religious patterns of culture. It may serve well not only to address empirical questions concerning the increasing cultural significance of religion within Europe as well as globally; it may also connect recent theoretical approaches in the sociology of culture on the one hand with approaches in the sociology of religion. For the joint session we invite, therefore, contributions addressing both empirical as well as theoretical issues concerning “religious cultures”.

  • 11_07JS28Sports and Culture: Participation Alike?

    Joint session with RN28 – Society and Sports

    Chair: Koen Breedveld <k.breedveld@mulierinstituut.nl>, WHJ Mulier Instituut, the Netherlands

    Sports and culture may at first appear to be quite different practices, yet a closer look reveals that they actually have great deal in common. Both are free time activities that are heavily supported by governments (as merit goods, and because of their acclaimed external effects), both are increasingly commercialized, both correlate heavily with social status (education, income), and both experience difficulties in reaching out to new groups (youngsters, ethnic minorities, low SES). In fact, analyses show that participation in sports and culture are often correlated, and that non-participation clusters among the same groups.

    In this session, we bring research on participation in sport and in culture together. By comparing theoretical perspectives, methodologies and research outcomes, we aim to improve our understanding of differences in participation and of the underlying causes (motives, structures) and to contribute to the discourse and research on participation in sports as well as in culture.

    The session is open to all researchers, both quantitative and qualitative, drawing on large scale surveys as well as on smaller case-studies (in depth interviews, best practices). The aim is to discuss papers that are based on sound empirical research, and that are guided by clear theoretical perspectives.


Thank you very much to all participants for making esa torino an outstanding conference.