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2022/2023

Sociology of Culture

Code: 101134 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500262 Sociology OT 4 2
2504235 Science, Technology and Humanities OT 4 0

Contact

Name:
Josep Verdaguer Lozano
Email:
josep.verdaguer@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Prerequisites

Those of a subject of 4rt. year in Sociology.
 
I suggest the following readings for those who don’t come from this degree.
 
Whole books:
• P.L.Berger, Invitació a la sociologia, Barcelona: Herder, 2016
• P.L. Berger i Thomas Luckmann, La construcció social de la realitat, Barcelona: Herder, 1988.
 
 
Some fragments of the main founders of Sociology:
• Karl Marx i  Frederick Engels, La ideologia alemanya (Vol1),Barcelona: Laia, 1987, pàg 41-92 (Feurbach. Oposició entre la concepció materialista i idealista) 
• Émile Durkheim, Les formes elementals de la vida religiosa, Barcelona: ED.62/Diputació, 1987, 27-69(classificació, representació col•lectiva, natural/sobrenatural, sagrat/profà, definició de religió), 311-335 (el culte negatiu i les seves funcions) i 420-449 (conclusions).
• Émile Durkheim,  i Marcel Mauss, “ Clasificación primitiva”a Marcel Mauss Institución y Culto (Vol.II Obras)Barcelona: Barral Ed., 1971,  13-20( qüestió), 59-67(China),69-73 (conclusions) 
• Émile Durkheim, La división del trabajo social. Madrid: Akal, 1982, pàg333-358.
• Max Weber, Economia y sociedad, Mèxic: FCE, 2008, pàg 682-694 (Divisió del poder en la comunitat: classes, estaments i partits), pàg749-752 (burocràcia i educació)
 

Objectives and Contextualisation

The objective of this subject is to introduce the undergraduate student in the sociology of culture. A specialty in constant growth and transformation. There are well-informed sources and legitimized opinions that identify the sociology of culture with the study of more or less differentiated institutionalized areas (art, literature and music, mass communication, religion, science or law). But there are also those authorized ones who say that the study of culture is not a different area of social life than an aspect present in any social phenomenon (ideology, attitude, mentality, discourse ...). In this initiation program we take both positions. In the first part of the course, after introducing the discussion about the idea of culture in our society, we will work on the foundations of the sociology of culture. In the second part, we will work on some of the ideas of the first, applying them to the specific field of the arts, and we will talk about culture, in a restricted way, to present sociology of production, mediation and cultural consumption. In the third and last part of the course we will emphasize the study of popular culture as a mechanism of communion. In all three parts, the objective is to treat culture in relation to the construction, reproduction or challenge of social structures and existing subjectivities.

 

Competences

    Sociology
  • Applying the concepts and approaches of the sociological theory, specially the explanations of social inequalities between classes, between genders and between ethnic groups, to the implementation of public policies and to the resolution of conflict situations.
  • Demonstrating a comprehension of the approaches of the sociological theory in its different aspects, interpretations and historical context.
  • Describing social phenomena in a theoretically relevant way, bearing in mind the complexity of the involved factors, its causes and its effects.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Developing self-learning strategies.
  • Effectively communicating the basic analysis of social phenomena in an elementary level of English.
  • Generating innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.
  • Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • Searching for documentary sources starting from concepts.
  • Students must be capable of assessing the quality of their own work.
  • Students must be capable of managing their own time, planning their own study, managing the relationship with their tutor or adviser, as well as setting and meeting deadlines for a work project.
    Science, Technology and Humanities
  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Analyse the relationships between nature and culture using concepts from anthropology, philosophy and history.
  • Innovate in the methods and processes of this area of knowledge in response to the needs and wishes of society.
  • Make critical use of digital tools and interpret specific documentary sources.
  • Produce written papers and give effective oral presentations, adopting the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Recognise the political, social and cultural dimension of science and technology development in the different historical periods.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Compare the different theoretical approaches to culture.
  2. Comparing the different theoretical approaches about culture.
  3. Comparing the reading of cultural phenomena from several ideologies of the social reality of Spain and Catalonia.
  4. Defining the sociological concepts that interpret the cultural phenomena.
  5. Defining the underlying social phenomena of cultural policies and conflicts.
  6. Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  7. Developing self-learning strategies.
  8. Effectively communicating the basic analysis of social phenomena in an elementary level of English.
  9. Explain the social interpretations of culture in accordance with these approaches.
  10. Explaining the social interpretations of culture according to these approaches.
  11. Express the debates around these approaches, with regard to culture.
  12. Expressing the debates regarding these approaches, that refer to culture.
  13. Generating innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.
  14. Give an oral presentation in an academic or work-related context.
  15. Plan strategies for analysing processes of social change, based on the interpretation of documentary, oral and material sources.
  16. Relate theoretical approaches to the debates on social order and on action.
  17. Relating the debates regarding these approaches, that refer to culture, with the historical context in which they emerged.
  18. Relating the theoretical approaches with debates about social order and action.
  19. Respect diversity in ideas, people and situations.
  20. Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  21. Searching for documentary sources starting from concepts.
  22. Show familiarity with the basic conceptual tools of sociology, anthropology, economics and political science.
  23. Students must be capable of assessing the quality of their own work.
  24. Students must be capable of managing their own time, planning their own study, managing the relationship with their tutor or adviser, as well as setting and meeting deadlines for a work project.
  25. Synthesise, analyse and explain complex qualitative and quantitative information on cultures, geographic spaces, social groups, legal frameworks and different historical periods.

Content

B 1. The concept of culture in society and sociology. Culture and society. Sociological theories and sociology of culture. Interpretation of cultures.

B 2. The study of Culture (giving special relevance to the arts) from the sociology of culture. The social construction of Culture and Arts. Sociology of cultural consumption. Sociology of cultural production. Market, administration and cultural policies

B 3. Popular cultures and communion. Isolation, hybridity, integration, resistance, transformation.

The calendar detailed with the content of the different sessions will be presented on the day of presentation of the subject. It will be uploaded to the Virtual Campus, where students will also be able to access the detailed description of the exercises and practices, the various teaching materials, and any necessary information for the proper follow-up of the subject.

 

Methodology

Conferences

Practical exercises in the classroom.

Individual meetings and small group seminars.

Reading texts and working with audiovisual material.

Forum of questions.

Elaboration of teamwork.

Exhibition of teamwork.

Writing of working papers on readings

 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lessons, text commentary and class expositions. 35 1.4 23, 21, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 6, 10, 12, 13, 24, 17, 18, 20
Type: Supervised      
Individual meetings or in small groups to resolve doubts, prepare questions and monitor the preparation of teamwork and two papers. 5 0.2 23, 2, 4, 6, 10, 12, 24, 17, 18
Type: Autonomous      
Study, reading texts, weekly preparation of questions and elaboration of two papers based on readings and team work and preparation of class expositions 60 2.4 23, 21, 2, 3, 8, 4, 5, 7, 6, 10, 12, 24, 17, 18, 20

Assessment

The subject consists of the following evaluation activities:

1) Elaboration of three original papers (1000 words each). 25% of the final grade. To be evaluated in these papers is necessary to attend classes regularly (75%).

2) Preparation of a teamwork and exposition to class group. Group. 25% of the final grade.

3) Weekly questions. Individual. 25% of the final grade. To be evaluated in this section, you must have attended classes regularly (75%) and be present in the sessions directly related to the questions presented.

4) Written exam, at the end of the course. In order to make the average it will be necessary a grade equal or superior than 4. Individual. 25% of the final grade.

.
Other considerations:

  • The student will be entitled to the revaluation of the subject if he or she has been evaluated of the set of activities the weight of which equals a minimum of 2/3 of the total grade of the subject. To have access to revaluation, the previous grades average should be minimum 3,5. The activities that are excluded from the revaluation process are 2) and 3).
  • The student who performs any irregularity (copy, plagiarism, identity theft...) that can lead to a significant variation of the qualification of an evaluation act, will be qualified with 0 this act of evaluation. In case there are several irregularities, the final grade of the subject will be 0. In order not to fall into plagiarism, consult https://www.uab.cat/doc/GuiaCitesiPlagiEstudiants
  • In accordance with article 117.2 of the UAB Academic Regulations, the assessment of repeat students may consist of a single synthesis test. Repeating students who wish to take advantage of this possibility must contact the teacherat the beginning of the course.
  • Online adaptations if necessary (Covid-19)

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Preparation and presentation of a teamwork 25% 20 0.8 14, 23, 21, 2, 1, 3, 8, 4, 5, 7, 6, 10, 9, 12, 11, 13, 24, 17, 18, 16, 20, 19, 15, 25, 22
Three papers 25% 15 0.6 23, 21, 2, 1, 3, 8, 4, 5, 7, 6, 10, 9, 12, 11, 13, 24, 17, 18, 16, 20, 19, 25, 22
Weekly questions 25% 12 0.48 23, 21, 2, 1, 8, 4, 5, 7, 6, 10, 9, 12, 11, 24, 17, 18, 16, 20, 19, 25, 22
Written exam 25% 3 0.12 2, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 6, 10, 9, 12, 11, 24, 17, 18, 16, 20, 19, 25, 22

Bibliography

Basic bibliography:
 
Specific bibliography for each Block of this subject (usually fragments of books, mostly those of the General Bibliography) will be provided in class and on  Virtual Campus.
 
General Bibliography:
  • Adorno, Theodor W., Sociológica, Madrid, Taurus, 1989.
  • Alexander, Jeffrey C. (Ed.) Culture and Society, Cambridge: Cambridge University P., 1990
  • Altamirano (Ed.) Términos críticos de la sociología de la cultura, Buenos Aires: Paidós, 2002
  • Ang, Ien, Living Room Wars: Rethinking Media Audiences for a Postmodern World, Londres: Rotledge, 1996
  • Ang, Ien, Watching "Dallas": Soap Opera and the Melodramatic Imagination, Londres: Routledge, 1999.
  • Ang, Ien,Kay Anderson, Elaine Lally (Eds.)The Art of Engagement: Culture, Collaboration, Innovation, Crawley, Perth: UWA Publishing, 2013
  • Arendt, Hannah, La crisi de la cultura , Barcelona: Pòrtic, 1989.
  • Bailey, Peter, Popular Culture and Performance in the Victorian City, Cambridge University Press, 2003
  • Bakhtín, Mijail, La cultura popular en la Edad Media y el Renacimiento: el contexto de François Rabelais, Barcelona, Barral Editores, 1974.
  • Barthes, Roland, Mitologías, Madrid: Siglo XXI,2005
  • Baudrillard, Jean, Cultura y simulacro, Barcelona: Kairós, 2005
  • Beezer, Anne i Martin Barker I (Eds.) , Introduccion a los Estudios Culturales. Barcelona: Bosch, 1994
  • Becker, Howard S. Los mundos del arte, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, 2008
  • Bell, Daniel, Las contradicciones culturales del capitalismo, Madrid: Alianza, 1992.
  • Bell, Daniel i altres, Industria cultural y sociedad de masas, Caracas: Monte Ávila, 1992
  • Benjamin, Walter, L'obra d'art a l'època de la seva reproductibilitat tècnica: tres estudisde sociologia de l'art, Barcelona: Edicions 62,1993
  • Berger, John, Maneres de mirar, Barcelona: Edicions de 1984, 2011
  • Berger Peter L., Luckmann, Thomas. 1966. La construcció social de la realitat. Barcelona: Herder, 1988,
  • Bernstein, Basil . Clases, código y control. Madrid:Akal, 1989
  • Bloom,Harold, El canon occidental, Barcelona, Anagrama, 1995
  • Bourdieu, Pierre, ¿Qué significa hablar?, Madrid, Akal, 2001
  • Bourdieu, Pierre. Sociología y cultura. México: Grijalbo .
  • Bourdieu, Pierre, La distinción: criterio y bases sociales del gusto,Madrid: Taurus, 1998
  • Bourdieu, Pierre, La miseria del mundo, Madrid: Akal, 1999
  • Bourdieu, Pierre, Las reglas del arte, Barcelona: Anagrama, 1995
  • Butler, Judith P, Cossos que encara importen. Barcelona: CCCB, 2017
  • Butler, Judith P. Deshacer el género, Barcelona: Paidós Ibérica, 2012
  • Bynum, Caroline Walker, Metamorphosis and identity, New York : Zone Books, 2005
  • Carey, John, ¿Para qué sirve el arte?, Barcelona: Random Hause Mondadori, 2007
  • Dirks, Nicholas B. I altres (Eds.) Culture, Power, History, Princeton: Princeton University P., 1994
  • Douglas, Mary, Pureza y peligro : análisis de los conceptos de contaminación y tabú, Madrid;: SigloXXI, 2000
  • Douglas, Mary, Estilos de pensar, Barcelona: Gedisa, 2010.
  • Douglas, Mary i B.J. Isherwood, El mundo de los bienes, Mèxic: Grijalbo, 1990,
  • During, Simon (Ed.), The cultural Studies Reader, Londres, Nova York, Roudledge, 1993
  • Durkheim, Émile. Les formes elementals de la vida religiosa, Barcelona: ED.62/Diputació, 1987, Durkheim,Émile . La división del trabajo social. Madrid: Akal, 1982
  • Eco, Humberto, Apocalípticose integrados, Barcelona : Ediciones de Bolsillo, 2004
  • Eisenstein, Elizabeth L. Larevolución de la imprenta en la Edad Moderna Europea, Akal, Madrid, 1994
  • Elias,Norbert, El proceso de civilización,Mèxic: FCE, 1993
  • Entwistle, Joanne, El cuerpo y la moda :una visión sociológica Barcelona: Ediciones Paidós Ibérica, 2002
  • Erikson, Bonnie . "Culture, Class, and Connections." a American Journal of Sociology, 102, 1996, pp. 217-251.
  • Foucault, Michel, Las palabras y las cosas, Madrid: SigloXXI, 2009
  • Foulcault, Michel, Tecnologías del yo, Barcelona Paidós, 1990
  • Geertz, Clifford. La interpretación de las culturas, Barcelona: Gedisa, 2001
  • Michael Bull-Les Back (Eds.) The Auditory Culture Reader. New York: Berg: 2003.
  • Goffman, Erving , Ritual de la interacción. Ensayos sobre el comportamiento cara a cara, Buenos Aires: Tiempo Contemporáneo, 1970
  • Grignon, C. i Passeron, J.C. Lo culto y lo popular, Madrid: La Piqueta, 1992
  • Hall, Stuart I Tony Jefferson, Rituales de resistencia. Subculturas Juveniles en la Gran Bretaña de posguerra. Madrid: Traficantes de Sueños, 2014
  • Hall, Stuart (ed.), Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Londres: Sage Publications, 1997. https://elibro.net/es/lc/uab/titulos/80227
  • Haraway, Donna J.. Ciencia, cyborgs y mujeres: la reinvención de la naturaleza, Madrid: Cátedra, 1995
  • Hebdige, Dick, Subcultura, El significado del estilo, Barcelona: Paidós, 2009
  • Heinich Nathalie, Schaeffer J.M. Art, création, fiction, entre sociologie et philosophie. Paris: J. Chambon, 2004,
  • Edelman B., Heinich, N. L’Art en conflits. L’oeuvre de l’esprit entre droit et sociologie. Paris : La Découverte , 2002
  • Heinich Nathalie. La Sociologie de l’art. Paris : La Découverte, 2001.
  • Heinich Nathalie. Ce que l'art fait a la sociologie. Paris : Les Éditions de Minuit, 1998,
  • Heinich Nathalie. Le Triple jeu de l'art contemporain. Sociologie des arts plastiques, Paris : Les Éditions de Minuit, 1998,
  • Heinich Nathalie. Etre artiste. Les transformations du statut des peintres et dessculpteurs. Paris : Klincksieck, 1996
  • Hochschild, Arlie. Mercantilización de la vida intima, Madrid:Katz Editores, 2008.
  • Hoggart, Richard, La cultura obrera en la sociedad de masas, Avellaneda (Argentina): Siglo XXI, 2013.
  • hooks, bell, Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, Boston, South End Press, 1981.
  • hooks, bell, Black Looks: Race and Representation, South End Press, Boston, 1992.
  • Horkheimer, M. I Adorno, T. Dialéctica de la ilustración, Madrid: Trotta, 1994
  • Kristeva, Julia, Séméiotiké = semiótica, Madrid, Fundamentos, 1981(2 vol.)
  • Lamont, Michèle i Marcel Fournier i Cultivating Differences: Symbolic Boundaries and the Making of Inequality. Chicago: The University of Chicago P., 1992.
  • Lamont , Michèle,. l992. Money, Morals, and Manners: The Culture of the French an American Upper-Middle Class. Chicago: Univ. Chicago Press, 1992.
  • Lamont , Michèle, 2000.The Dignity of Working Men: Morality and the Boundaries of Race,Class, and Immigration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press, New York: Russell Sage Found, 2000.
  • Lamont, Michèle i Laurent Thèvenot (Eds.). Rethinking Comparative Cultural Sociology. Repertoires of Evaluation in France and the United States. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2000
  • Long, Elisabeth, From Sociology to Cultural Studies, Oxford: Blackwell, 1997
  • MacDonal, Dwight .Masscult and Midcult a Partisan Review, 4, 1960 (fragments)Editat en espanyol a AA.VV. La industria de la cultura, Madrid: Alberto Corazón, 1969.
  • Marx, Karl i Frederick Engels, La ideologia alemanya (Vol1),Barcelona: Laia, 1987
  • Mattelart, Michèle. Mujeres e industrias culturales. Barcelona : Anagrama , 1982.
  • Mattelart, Armand i Mattelart, Michelle: “La recepción: el retorno al sujeto". En Diálogos de la Comunicación, 30. Junio, 1991. http://www.portalcomunicacion.com/mattelart/esp/rec.html
  • Mauss, Marcel,  Obras Completas, Barcelona: Barral Ed., 1971.
  • McRobbie, Angela, Feminism and youth culture: From “Jackie” to “Just Seventeen” London: Macmillan, 1991
  • McRobbie,Angela ,The Uses of Cultural Studies,London:Sage, 2005
  • Modleski, Tania, Loving with a Vengeance: Mass-produced Fantasies for Women(1982), Londres: Routledge, 2008.
  • Modleski, Tania, The Women Who Knew Too Much. Hitchcock and Feminist Theory, Londres: Routledge, 1988.
  • Modleski, Tania, Old Wives' Tales and Other Women's Stories, New York University Press, 1998
  • Moulin Raymonde (Ed.) Sociologie de l ́Art. Paris : Ministère de la culture et de la communication, La documentation française, 1986
  • Moulin, Raymonde, L'artiste, l'institution et le marché, París: Flammarion, 1992
  • Moulin, Raymonde, De la valeur de l'art, París: Flammarion, 1995
  • Mukerji, Chandra i Michael Schudson, Rethinking Popular Culture, Bekeley i Los Angeles: University of California P., 1991
  • Preciados, Beatriz, Manifiesto contrasexual, Barcelona: Anagrama, 2016
  • Preciados, Beatriz, Pornotopía. Arquitectura y sexualidad en«Playboy» durante la guerra fría, Barcelona: Editorial Anagrama, 2010
  • Peterson, Richard i Roger Kern, "Changing Highbrow Taste: From Snob to Omnivore." American Sociological Review. 61, 1996, pp.900-907.
  • Radway, Janice, Reading the romance, University North Carolina, 1984
  • Rose, Tricia, Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America, Wesleyan UniversityPress, Middletown, 1994
  • Rundell, John i Stephen Mennell, Clasical readings in culture and civilization, Londres i Nova York, Routledge, 1998
  • Said, Edward. Orientalisme: identitat, negació i violència, Vic: EUMO, 1991
  • Sasson, Donald, Cultura, elpatrimonio común de los europeos, Barcelona, Crítica, 2006
  • Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky, Epistemología del armario, Barcelona, Tempestad, 1998
  • Sennett, Richard, El artesano, Barcelona: Anagrama, 2009.
  • Shiner, Larry, La invención del arte, Barcelona: Paidós, 2004
  • Simmel, Georg , Sociologia (Vol.2) Barcelona: Ed.62/Diputació, 1988.
  • Simmel, Georg . Sobre la aventura, Barcelona: PENÍNSULA, 1988.
  • Sontag, Susan, Contra la interpretación, Barcelona, Seix Barral, 1969
  • Storey,John (Ed.), Cultural theory and popular culture, Essex: Pearson, 2006
  • Storey, John, Teoría cultural y cultura popular, Barcelona: OCTAEDRO, 2002.
  • Swidler, Ann, Talk of Love, University of Chicago Press, 2001.
  • Thompson, Edward P., La formación de la clase obrera en Inglaterra 1780-1832, Madrid: Capitan Swing, 2012
  • Thompson, Edward P., Miseria de la teoría, Barcelona, Crítica, 1981
  • Veblen , Thorstein, Teoría de la clase ociosa, Mèxic: FCE, https://elibro.net/es/lc/uab/titulos/72032
  • Weber, Max . L’ètica protestant i l’esperit del capitalisme.Barcelona: ED.62/Diputació, 1984 ,
  • Weber, Max. Economia y sociedad, Mèxic: FCE, 2008,
  • Weeks, Jeffrey, El malestar de la sexualidad , Madrid: Talasa Ediciones, S.L., 1992
  • Williams, Raymond Palabras Clave, Buenos Aires: Nueva Visión, 2003
  • Williams, Raymond, Cultura i societat (1780-1950), Barcelona: Laia, 1974
  • Williams, Raymond, Marxismo y literatura,Barcelona: Península, 1998
  • Williamson, Judith, Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising. Londres: Marion Boyars, 1978
  • Willis, Paul, Aprendiendo a trabajar. Cómo los chicos de la clase obrera consiguen trabajos de clase obrera, Madrid: Akal, 2017
  • Wilson, Elizabeth, Feminism and Fashion . Adorned in Dreams , Londres: Virago Press, 1985
  • Woollacott, Janet i Tony Bennett, Bond and Beyond: The Political Career of a Popular Hero, Londres: Rouletge, 1987
  • Zerubavel, Eviatar “The Social Division of the World,” a Social Mindscapes: An Invitation to Cognitive Sociology. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press., Pp. 53-67
  • Zizek, Slavoj, Bienvenidos al desierto de lo real, Madrid: Akal, 2005.
  • Zolberg, Vera and Joni Cherbo (Eds.), Outsider Art and Insider Artists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997
  • Zolberg, Vera, La sociología de la cultura y las artes, Madrid: Fundación SGAE, 2002

Software

Office or equivalent