Cultural Sociology Research Articles

Glitches in the Aspirational Discourse: Between Enterprise and Compromise1

In recent years, the sociology of culture has turned its gaze to future aspirations. This gaze is in line with contemporary future‐oriented culture, which encourages young people to aspire to fulfill their dreams. A leading carrier of future orientation is the aspirational discourse, which has become prominent in the educational field and among youth. Sociological inquiry is conflicted regarding the outcomes of this discourse. While it is criticized for increasing inequality, it has also been shown that aspirations are means for higher achievements. In this article, we shift from a focus on outcomes to a focus on interpretation and ask: How do social actors make sense of aspiring selves despite social limitations and inequality? Based on a qualitative study that tracks the aspirational discourse among school educators and recent high school graduates in Israel, we introduce the concept of “glitches” as articulated detours that rise in response to a mismatch between the discourse and lived experience. We identify three main glitches: deviating from the message “the sky is the limit” by lowering the aspirational sky, pausing future orientation by taking time out and limiting individual accountability by yielding to force majeure. We discuss how each glitch serves a different role in the construction of individuals' life narratives and argue that the intermittent use of glitches enables individuals to sustain the mythical aspirational discourse, even in moments of mismatch and doubt.

Media practice and class-making: The anticipation of stigma and the cultural middle-class habitus

The relationship between media practices and social inequality has been studied within a range of sub-disciplines in media and communication studies and cultural sociology. In various, more or less direct, ways these studies point to the fact that habitus – the socially formed class specific relations to the social world – generates certain tastes, lifestyles, practices and preferences. When social groups form relatively distinct media practices, and distance themselves from the practices of other groups, they reproduce their social position, and ‘make’ their class. By analysing in-depth interviews with members of an emerging cultural middle-class, this study shows how class-making also manifests in the ways in which people expect that others would ‘look down’ on their media practices. By anticipating stigma from imagined others, the cultural middle-class stays in line with class-specific lifestyles and media practices, thus cementing their distinct character in the social space.

Overcome the fragmentation in online propaganda literature: the role of cultural and cognitive sociology.

Evidence concerning the proliferation of propaganda on social media has renewed scientific interest in persuasive communication practices, resulting in a thriving yet quite disconnected scholarship. This fragmentation poses a significant challenge, as the absence of a structured and comprehensive organization of this extensive literature hampers the interpretation of findings, thus jeopardizing the understanding of online propaganda functioning. To address this fragmentation, I propose a systematization approach that involves utilizing Druckman's Generalizing Persuasion Framework as a unified interpretative tool to organize this scholarly work. By means of this approach, it is possible to systematically identify the various strands within the field, detect their respective shortcomings, and formulate new strategies to bridge these research strands and advance our knowledge of how online propaganda operates. I conclude by arguing that these strategies should involve the sociocultural perspectives offered by cognitive and cultural sociology, as these provide important insights and research tools to disentangle and evaluate the role played by supra-individual factors in the production, distribution, consumption, and evaluation of online propaganda.

Situated formats around the science-art-technology debate: an introduction to European Digital Arts Festivals (DAF)

Digital Arts Festivals (DAF) are one of the most booming situated formats and performative experiences for debate, dissemination, exhibition and artistic practice around the science-art-technology intersection. From Ars Electronica or Transmediale and CTM in Berlin to the Spanish Sónar, L.E.V. or MIRA, more than 50 Digital Arts Festivals have appeared in Europe in the last few decades. Although the paradigm of the “festivalization of culture” has received a great deal of academic attention, DAFs have been minimally analysed. What are Digital Arts Festivals? How do they differ from other festivals? How can we define, categorize and analyse these festivals in depth in order to understand their role in cultural production and artistic creation today? In order to address these questions, this article presents the first results of an empirical study which began at the end of 2020 and is still ongoing and which concerns the paradigm of Digital Arts Festivals in Europe. Based on qualitative, multi-sited and wide-ranging research, and having generated a list of more than 50 DAFs in Europe and conducted a first round of semi-structured in-depth interviews with 10 festival directors, I introduce a starting definition of Digital Arts Festivals. Based on three case studies from Southern Europe – the Semibreve festival in Braga, the MIRA festival in Barcelona and the ROBOT festival in Bologna – I present a theoretical apparatus and an analytical approach in dialogue with the concept of festivalscape, that allows us to expand the study of Digital Arts Festivals, especially from the tools of cultural sociology.

Showcasing Case Studies of Artists and Artistic Movements That Have Sparked Transformative Social Movements in South Korea

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the showcasing case studies of artists and artistic movements that have sparked transformative social movements in South Korea.
 Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low-cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library.
 Findings: The findings revealed that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to the artists and artistic movements that have sparked transformative social movements in South Korea. Preliminary empirical review revealed that the there is a high potential of art therapy in addressing mental health challenges. It was a longitudinal study with participants in art therapy programs, pre- and post-program assessments, and qualitative interviews. Art therapy promotes self-expression, emotional healing, and personal transformation among participants.
 Recommendations: The Social Movement Theory, Cultural Sociology and Visual Sociology may be used to anchor future studies on the artists and artistic movements that have sparked transformative social movements in south Korea. The South Korean government should support and promote artists from diverse backgrounds and give them platforms to showcase their work. Integrating arts education in schools and communities allows individuals to develop critical thinking skills, empathy, and an appreciation for diverse perspectives.

Positive experiences in emotional labor: Deep acting, symbolic boundaries, and labor autonomy

One important approach to studying emotional labor is to focus on its negative impact from the perspective of organizational psychology. Less attention is paid to the positive effect. This paper adopts a cultural sociology approach to study how “maternity helpers” use boundary work, such as “deep acting” and constructing symbolic boundaries, to produce positive experiences in the process of emotional labor. In deep acting, they actively distort the boundaries of the private space, introduce a family-oriented narrative, and participate in a certain amount of “philanthropic labor”. They are also engaged in constructing symbolic boundaries by promoting themselves as “childcare experts”, in order to get the upper hand when interacting and negotiating with clients. Both boundary work strategies constitute an attempt to challenge social boundaries by constructing symbolic boundaries. This paper argues that the concept of autonomy in emotional labor should adopt a relational approach, thus accounting for the ability for the laborers to autonomously choose strategies that can produce equal and meaningful social relations, rather than merely focusing on the independent self with clear boundaries or the ability to control the labor process. Nevertheless, autonomy in emotional labor is constrained by both institutional and cultural conditions.

System-forming mission of culture: Russian civilization at the turn of the era

The article is a review of the book by M.K. Gorshkov, S.N. Komissarov and O.I. Karpukhin At the Turn of the Era: Social Dynamics of Russian Culture (Moscow: FCTAS RAS, 2022. 703 p.). The book is of great theoretical and social-political significance and outlines new horizons for the development of sociological science. The authors emphasize the strategic role of culture as the core of the Russian society and its importance for successful social modernization and economic growth. The book provides new concepts and theoretical-methodological approaches to the analysis of the social-cultural reality in post-reform Russia and defines the field of sociology of culture as the entire human world in its specific spatial-temporal coordinates, taken in dynamics that reveals the intercultural interaction between the past, present and future. Culture is presented in the book as an environment for the preservation and transmission of spiritual heritage, which contributes to the ‘immunity’ from the destabilizing information impact. The authors consider the issues of the social dynamics of the Russian culture in the late 20th - early 21st century on the data of many sociological surveys, conduct a social-cultural analysis of organizational, structural and qualitative changes in the cultural activities of the population and in the artistic-creative process, present a comprehensive picture of the social dynamics of the Russian culture at the turn of the era, including the state of the spiritual-value motivation, the social-cultural nature of transformations and their social-cultural consequences.

Comparing the sociology of culture in Bangladesh and India: Similarities and differences in Bangladeshi and Indian cultures

The sociology of culture is an important field that examines how societies create, maintain, and transform their cultural practices and beliefs. In the context of Bangladesh and India, this field is particularly relevant due to their rich and diverse cultural heritage. This paper explores the sociology of culture in these countries, focusing on cultural similarities and differences. Through a literature review of research from anthropology, sociology, history, and related fields, we will examine the historical background of cultural development in both countries, considering the impact of colonialism, nationalism, globalization, language, ethnicity, and religion. We will then present a comparative analysis of cultural practices, beliefs, and values, drawing on empirical data and case studies. This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of the sociology of culture in Bangladesh and India by shedding light on their diverse cultural heritage and exploring the ways in which cultural practices and values are shaped by historical, social, and political factors. By comparing the cultural similarities and differences between these nations, we hope to deepen our understanding of how culture is influenced by the broader social and political context.

Almost South–South solidarity: The frustration of K-pop fans (but not true fans) in South Africa

This article illuminates the contours of digitalization in a less studied light of emotion. Based primarily on interviews of South African audiences consuming Korean digital creative contents, the research illustrates their affective responses, such as empathy and collective pride but also frustration. A particular focus goes to highly educated audiences characterized by the #RhodesMustFall movement in South Africa. Grounded in a theoretical framework which combines notions of distinction in cultural sociology and South–South solidarity in international relations, this study explains how K-pop fans in South Africa become holders of highbrow empathy trapped in the loop between digital connection and physical marginalization. In the hollow loop, South African audiences are distinctively invited to become fans yet prevented from advancing their own modes of cultural appropriation. While the international visibility of Korean creative contents may bring collective pride to fans in South Africa, they struggle to find their place in return.

For a Sociology of Digital Culture.

Un thème appelé à devenir central dans le débat sociologique international concerne la transformation actuelle de la technologie en un paradigme techno-magique qui caractérise les scénarios fondamentaux de la socialité contemporaine. A cet égard, les réflexions de Vincenzo Susca sont particulièrement significatives. Elles s’appuient sur un système théorique robuste et sont marquées par un regard compréhensif, dirigé vers la cybernétisation des centres articulaires qui composent l’être humain, c’est-à-dire le corps, la pensée et la parole. Le processus de virtualisation numérique a détrôné l’individu protagoniste du modèle de l’épistémologie occidentale classique et fragilisé sa vision du monde, centrée sur l’idée de subiectum, formée à partir de la Renaissance. Les avant-gardes de la culture électronique ont réinventé des fétiches, des mythes et des rythmes qui recréent une dimension esthétique et établissent des liens collectifs dans le monde réifié de l’ère post-industrielle. Susca illustre comment une sorte de nouveau paganisme réveille légendes et idolâtries, comment il est célébré à travers de nouveaux rituels et comment il anime un nouvel esprit communautaire.

Hierarchical Metamodel of Communication in the Experience of Resacralization of Spiritual Practics

This article highlights the view of conceptual advertising as a process of Resacralization of Spiritual Practices (RSP). To analyze the empirical material, the authors propose using a Hierarchical Metamodel of Communication.
 In the context of the growth of intangible production, both the advertised product and the advertising product itself are undergoing transformation. To study the patterns of dissemination of ideas (non-material products of culture) based on a Hierarchical Metamodel of Communication, RSP is considered as a Method of Conceptual Advertising (MCA). The authors illustrate this through the values and principles of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (ROC), introducing the concept of Orthodox Resacralization of Spiritual Practices (ORSP). The paper analyzes a small amount of empirical material, — the minimum necessary to demonstrate the validity of the proposed theoretical model. The author’s interdisciplinary approach is based on subordinating qualitative methods of the sociology of culture and analytical and semiotic methods to general scientific methods of comparison and typology. As a result, the article reveals the prospects for methodological enrichment of the theory of advertising and PR, as well as the pragmatic metamodel of communication of the relational theory of communication.
 The authors propose uniting the efforts of theorists and practitioners of advertising and PR, experts in the fields of social and intercultural communication, as well as theologians and researchers of religions, to analyze the applicability of the proposed theoretical model in various cultural locations.

Cultural trauma and constitution: Precursors of political traditions and collective identities

ABSTRACT The sociology of constitutions is a rather new domain. This paper adds to the legal and political literature on national constitutions and their effects on political traditions and collective identities by using the theory of cultural trauma. Using cultural sociology's analyses of national trauma, it demonstrates that the meaning of national constitutions and their particular articles become clear when juxtaposed with the narratives of trauma that national leaders eternalised in their stories of constitution. Close scrutiny of the constitutions of the USA, France, Italy, Croatia, Poland and Ukraine shows that beneath the legal jargon and the distinct political worldviews of modern national constitutions lay constitutive national traumas. Those national traumas motivated constitutional authors to make sure that those traumas will never recur. In so doing they charted particular political destinies and created unique collective identities.

‘Pollution’ and ‘Blaming’: A Sociological Analysis of the COVID-19 Time Through Cultural Perspective

This article aims to highlight some peculiar aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to the theoretical tools of Cultural Theory and Cultural Sociology. For this purpose, first of all, I introduce the issue of the pandemic from a cultural perspective. In the second section, I analyze the phenomenon of the COVID-19 pandemic through the concept of ‘pollution’: in symbolic terms, the dimension of contagion is very close to that of ‘contamination’. From this particular theoretical perspective, however, ‘contamination’ is not understood only in its material but also in its symbolic meaning. The third section focuses on the different forms of ‘blaming’ that have been activated during the pandemic time: to protect and strengthen the social bond threatened by the anguish of contagion, different targets have been identified on which to ‘blame’ the spread of the virus. In the conclusions, I summarize the reasoning developed in the article in an overall way, trying to briefly show how Cultural Theory and Cultural Sociology can offer a useful contribution to the analysis of the pandemic catastrophe.

Charismatic Mimicry: Innovation and Imitation in the Case of Volodymyr Zelensky

Moving beyond frameworks of charisma scholarship that stress antagonism between charisma and establishment society, this article discerns and theoretically accounts for more mutualistic forms of influence between charismatic leaders and elite representatives of traditional or rational-legal institutions. Specifically, we combine contemporary work in the cultural sociology of charisma with Girard’s notion of mimesis to provide a theory of charismatic mimicry; we explain situations where, rather than opposing the charismatic leader, elites align themselves with the new sources of legitimacy being proffered by the charismatic leader. At times, these institutional elites even co-opt new charismatic protocols into their own vocabularies of leadership. We demonstrate the usefulness of our model for interpreting the case of the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and his encounters with European leaders.

Imagined futures of the automotive industry stemming from uncertainty

While the EV transition seems inevitable, the fates of autoworkers who dedicated their lives to build the American auto industry are not inevitable. Silva, Carley, and Konisky, in their work published in Energy Research & Social Science, explore the complex futures of autoworkers using tools from cultural sociology. While the EV transition seems inevitable, the fates of autoworkers who dedicated their lives to build the American auto industry are not inevitable. Silva, Carley, and Konisky, in their work published in Energy Research & Social Science, explore the complex futures of autoworkers using tools from cultural sociology.

Strategies for transnational projection through international book fairs

The following article aims to analyze the projection and representation of literary systems in some of the main international book fairs (IBF) at present, based on theoretical-methodological proposals from the Sociology of Literature and Culture (Bourdieu in ARSS 145, 3–8, 2002; Sapiro Translatio. Le marché de la traduction en France à l’heure de la mondialisation, CNRS Éditions, 2008; Even-Zohar, Polisistemas de Cultura. Laboratorio de investigación de la cultura, 2017). We begin with the hypothesis of considering IBFs as places for the acquisition of capital (literary, cultural, economic and symbolic) and for negotiating struggles for positions of greater or lesser centrality in the transnational literary field and in the world publishing market, and in terms of the image of countries, cultures, or cities. In those IBFs offering the position of Guest of Honor, this becomes a privileged opportunity—for governments, institutions and different actors involved in the book chain—for the international projection of the image of a country, culture, city or literary system. Different strategies for cultural and literary promotion in this worldwide scenario of symbolic goods will be discussed, with special attention to the case of Brazil (contrasted, partly, with that of Spain).

Rampant Abstraction as a Strategy of Singularization: Genre on Spotify

If processes of categorization are central to cultural sociology, then current developments as regards genre formation in the realm of music-streaming services call for attention. A double process of computerized genre analysis (producing a potentially infinite array of categories) and increasingly context-specific music recommendation (accommodating a vision of limitless personalization) challenges established, scene- and identity-based ideas about genre, as developed in popular-music studies. Drawing on Reckwitz’s (2020) theory of the society of singularities, this article argues for considering this double process as the intersection of the logics of, respectively, the general and the particular. These logics are mediated by a dynamic sense of abstraction, involved in processes of labelling, enabling levels of generality while manifesting a potential for concretion. The increased scope, acceleration, and dynamicity of such abstraction mark genre formation in digital times. The article makes this argument looking particularly at the case of Spotify – market leader and front runner in the noted developments – as a basis for engaging broader questions about musical genre theory in the context of digitized culture and current conditions of musical life.

Sibaliparriq Culture in the Cultural Sociology Perspective

This study aims to analyze how community solidarity is in the Sibaliparriq cultural identity in Tubo Tengah Village, and find out how Sibaliparriq culture forms both in family life and in community life. This study used a qualitative descriptive method, which seeks to provide a qualitative description of the cultural phenomena that occur in Tubo Tengah Village, with data collection techniques namely observation of research objects and interviews with informants in a structured manner, and documentation both in writing and using visual video. The data analysis technique used consists of data clarification stage, data reduction stage, data presentation stage and data verification or data conclusion. The results of research on Sibaliparriq Culture in the perspective of cultural sociology in Tubo Tengah Village show that the Sibaliparriq culture in Tubo Tengah Village has very close ties of social solidarity both in family and community life, for example, such as the establishment of intimacy in family life and among people, having concern for mutual assistance among society, people in their activities cooperate with each other regardless of differences in individual identity, live together in all activities in the environment. Meanwhile, the forms of solidarity in the Sibaliparriq Culture in Tubo Tengah Village show that the community forms the economic welfare of their respective families because they help each other in their family work, help each other and work together both within the family and within the community so as to produce an authentic cultural identity of Sibaliparriq

The resurgence of antisemitism: insights from cultural sociology

The resurgence of antisemitism: insights from cultural sociology

What is “prison culture”? Developing a theoretical and methodological foundation for understanding cultural schema in prison

AbstractWhat does it mean to say that a prison has a “culture?” Scholars have long emphasized the presence of a “prison code” and, more recently, a “racial code” as salient cultural domains in men's prisons. Yet, even though most people intuitively understand what is meant by “prison culture,” little progress has been made regarding the conceptualization and operationalization of culture as an analytical construct in prison scholarship. The current study makes two primary contributions to this literature. First, drawing on advances in anthropology, cultural sociology, and cognitive science, we incorporate the concept of cultural schema to provide a concrete analytical construct. Second, we test varying conceptualizations of cultural schema as either characterized by consensus or as overlapping relational structures. Using cultural consensus and correlational class analyses among a sample of 266 incarcerated men, we find little evidence of a culture of consensus for either the prison code or the racial code. Furthermore, we show evidence of heterogenous schema among these cultural domains. Our study is relevant to wider disciplinary work on culture as the problem of analytical precision we address is characteristic of much of the work in criminology and criminal justice that evokes culture as an explanatory device.