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2011/2 Provisional Module Catalogue - UNDER CONSTRUCTION & SUBJECT TO CHANGE
 Module Code: SOC2004 Module Title: SOCIOLOGY OF ART
Module Provider: Sociology Short Name: SOC216
Level: HE2 Module Co-ordinator: ALEXANDER VD Dr (Sociology)
Number of credits: 20 Number of ECTS credits: 10
 
Module Availability
Year
Assessment Pattern
Two essays (25% each) and one exam (50%)
Module Overview

The aim of this module is to introduce a sociological understanding of the fine and popular arts (including painting, theatre, film, television, classical and popular music, literature and pulp fiction). 

 

 

The module introduces you to a sociological understanding of the fine and popular arts, focusing on four broad issues:

 

 

1.    Whether cultural products "reflect" society, and whether they "shape" society. 

 

2.    What social factors affect artistic conventions and genres and the ways cultural industries affect the cultural products they produce.

 

3.    How people receive and use cultural products.

 

4.    How cultural hierarchies are formed and how they work.

 

Prerequisites/Co-requisites
Module Aims

The aim of this module is to introduce a sociological understanding of the fine and popular arts (including painting, theatre, film, television, classical and popular music, literature and pulp fiction). 

 

 

 

 

The module introduces you to a sociological understanding of the fine and popular arts, focusing on four broad issues:

 

 

 

 

1.    Whether cultural products "reflect" society, and whether they "shape" society. 

 

 

2.    What social factors affect artistic conventions and genres and the ways cultural industries affect the cultural products they produce.

 

 

3.    How people receive and use cultural products.

 

 

4.    How cultural hierarchies are formed and how they work.

 

 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the module, students should have a broad understanding of sociological approaches to understanding art objects, especially:

1.       The distribution of art objects through business firms, voluntary organizations, and social networks

 

2.       The consumption and use of art objects

 

3.       The nature of artistic careers and the function of cultural organizations

 

4.       Be able to think critically about theoretical material and be able to apply sociological theory to case studies in the arts.

 

 

Module Content
Methods of Teaching/Learning

Lectures/classes

Selected Texts/Journals

Essential References:

 

Alexander, V. (2003)  Sociology of Art, Blackwells

 

 

Recommended References:

 

Becker, H. S. (1982), Art Worlds. University of California Press.

 

O'Sullivan, T. et al. (1998), Studying the Media, 2nd edition.  Arnold .

 

Lamont, M. & M. Fournier (1992), Cultivating Differences.  Chicago .

 

Radway, J. A.(1984), Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy and Popular Literature. University of North Carolina Press.

 

White, H. C. and C. A. White (1965), Canvases and Careers: Institutional Change in the French Painting World. University of Chicago Press.

 

 

Last Updated

September 2010