Sociology 220 - THE SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURE

Drawing upon a variety of sociological perspectives and analytical methods, this course considers the place of culture in social life and examines its socially constituted character. Culture, treated as a set of distinctive practices, as symbolic representation, and as a domain of creative expression, will be viewed contextually, in specific social, historical, and institutional locations. The course will consider such matters as the relationship between culture and social inequality, culture and social change, the commoditization of cultural goods, global cultural markets, and the complex processes by which cultural forms are used, appropriated, and transformed by social groups. Enrollment limited to 35.