SOCIOLOGY

Major American Theorists The origins of American sociology American sociology originates during Reconstruction , following the Civil War . As in Europe, the mid- to late-19 th century was a period of intense urbanization , but in the American case, also of immigration, mostly from Europe . Very rapid flow of ideas from Europe (although translations from German and French were not always available or accurate) Americans were trained in European universities 1858- course in “Social Problems” at Oberlin College 1873- William Graham Sumner (Herbert Spencer’s American protégé) begins teaching “social science” at Yale 1880s- “sociology” courses begin to appear 1889- first American sociology department, at the University of Kansas 1892- Sociology department founded at the University of Chicage —becomes dominant American department for 30-40 years Early American sociologists were not nostalgic (compare with Ferdinand Toennies) They were political

Final Exam Review Sheet Soc 4260 Sociology of the Arts and Popular Culture Gabe Ignatow Ignatow@pacs.unt.edu Production perspective Critical Theory Culture Industry Culture Industries Reception Studies Passive Audience “narcotized” audiences Dominant reading Oppositional reading Nationalism Reflexive interpretation “Watching Dallas ” Ien Ang Ironic stance Katz and Liebes Gatekeepers Sponsors Patrons Genres Supply-side explanations Demand-side explanations Legal changes U.S. Copyright Law Technological changes 45 rpm record Paul DiMaggio Mass culture theory Cultural conservatives Cultural radicals Cultural homogenization Free market assumption Monopoly assumption Mass culture model Niche model Entrepreneurial brokers Centralized brokers Reflection theory Origins of the novel Wendy Griswold American character and the American novel Highbrows Snobs Omnivores

The Sociology of Culture and Cultural Production Philip Smith, 167-182 Richard Peterson, Why 1955? Explaining the Advent of Rock Music (in reader) This is a different area of cultural studies from what we have seen so far in this course, although it resembles in some ways Horkheimer and Adorno’s Critical Theory , as it is focused on cultural products including mass media and popular culture—music, films, television, novels etc. We can call this perspective the production perspective Less abstract than much of the theory we have dealt with so far, less general, philosophical More concrete This is good and bad, depending on your appetite for social and cultural theory, which can be visionary, imaginative, and sometimes difficult The Production Perspective is a current approach; that is people are using it and developing it today to study things they care about The production perspective covers several fields, including communications, media stu