996004 Production of Culture (S) (SoSe 2009)

Sociology and history have scrutinised culture focusing on meaning and/or reception. The seminar introduces the key notions from the production of culture perspective looking at actors and networks, markets, organisational structures, creative processes, discourses and intermediaries. The aim of the seminar is to offer the approach as a tool useful for historians and sociologists alike for empirical research in areas such as music, media, design, fashion, advertising, art etc.

The first two days of the seminar will be organised as a comprehensive introduction to the production of culture approach, based on readings from the key literature. Participants should read Howard Becker, Art Worlds, Berkeley 2008 (first ed. 1984) and Richard A. Peterson, N. Anand, The Production of Culture, in: Annual Review of Sociology 30 (2004), 311-34. (Both texts are placed in a “Handapparat” in the Library for Sociology. The themes and scope for the following two sessions will be decided at the first seminar on the basis of suggestions made by the moderators.

For more information about the production of culture perspective please consult the research programme of the new junior research group for Interdisciplinary Studies in the Production of Culture at the Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology: http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/bghs/programm/ISPC.pdf.

For participating, please send an e-mail with your name and affiliation and indicate whether you are a Phd or a master student to klaus.nathaus@uni-bielefeld.de and ls.ikl@cbs.dk.