RN07 - Sociology of Culture
RN07 brings together an exciting mixture of a wide range of different approaches to sociological analyses of cultural practices, from almost all traditions of European Sociology. Because culture relates to almost anything that is sociologically relevant, we stress that cultural sociology is not bound to culture in terms of a thematic focus, but instead we advocate that culture should be used as a tool-box for exploring the connections between everyday life and practices of communication, signification and valuation.
The purpose of the Research Network on the Sociology of Culture is to encourage development of this perspective through the organized interchange of ideas and research. It will do so through meetings, conferences, publications, and other means considered appropriate by the Board of the Research Network. The term Culture shall be interpreted in its broadest sense to include cultural practices and products, ideas, and symbolic meanings, as these relate to action, social behavior and organization.
EUROPE AND BEYOND: BOUNDARIES, BARRIERS AND BELONGING
Cultural-Sociological Reflections on Boundaries, Barriers and Belongings
Whereas Boundaries and Barriers have been popular topics in the Sociology of Culture for decades, the concept of Belonging tends to be taken for granted as a corollary of identity and community. However, perhaps the time has come to ask ourselves why cultural processes are more often than not associated with bonding and binding and how this actually relates to bordering and bounding? What kind of Cultural Sociology might be able to engage more critically with the identity thinking that often belies notions of collective belonging? What concepts could Cultural Sociology develop in order not to become an apology of preconceived notions of “culture” (e.g. ethnicity, nation, civilization)? Alternatively, one might want to deconstruct the extent to which Cultural Sociology embraces Cosmopolitanism as its implicit standpoint from which to analyse processes of globalization and counter-globalization and the privileges this takes for granted. The RN Sociology of Culture welcomes all critical contributions that call into question established conceptions of culture, as either theoretical reflections or empirically grounded interventions. We particularly welcome contributions that explicitly engage critically with established traditions within the Sociology of Culture. Of course, we will also have open sessions for papers addressing other themes relevant to the Sociology of Culture.
Additional note: A prize will be awarded for the best paper by an early-career academic (those who are within 7 years after the award of the PhD) at this conference. People who wish to enter this contest should be members of RN07, present in one of the RN07 sessions, and submit their paper (max. 4000 words) before the 15th of July to joost.vanloon [at] ku.de. Please indicate the month and year of the award of your PhD upon submission.
Joint Sessions
JS_RN07_RN09: “The economics, politics and cultures of dark networks” (Joint session with RN09 Economic Sociology)
JS_RN07_RN15: “Globalising cultures: globalised territorialism and transnational anti-cosmopolitanism” (Joint session with RN15 Global, Transnational and Cosmopolitan Sociology)
RN07 Biennial Report for 2015-2017