Sociology of Culture

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course examines the phenomenon of culture from a sociological perspective, which sees culture (broadly defined as tastes, values, traditions, beliefs, habits, as well as forms of aesthetic expression) as a key factor in almost any social context. This course will place a special emphasis on a few topics in particular, such as popular culture, globalization, political culture, culture and cognition, and institutions of culture production. Each week there will be a lecture on a particular concept or approach in the sociology of culture, followed by a student-led discussion applying that approach to a variety of cases, from a (e.g. art worlds) to z (e.g. zombies). No background in sociology is required but students should be prepared to actively consume and analyze both theoretical readings and cultural data on a weekly basis.