15 July – registration deadline for “New perspectives and interventions: The state of play in cultural sociology and sociology of the arts”
The 15th of July is the deadline for the registration for the RN07 & RN02 Symposium in collaboration with Department of Sociology and Department of Cultural Studies at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridsky” and the Bulgarian Sociological Association:
“New perspectives and interventions: The state of play in cultural sociology and sociology of the arts”
Symposium held by the European Sociological Association Sociology of Culture (RN07) and Sociology of the Arts (RN02) networks in collaboration with the Department of Sociology and Department of Cultural Studies at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridsky” and the Bulgarian Sociological Association
31st August – 1st September 2023, Sofia
This symposium invites academics and cultural practitioners from all career stages to explore new perspectives and interventions deriving from scholarship in cultural sociology and sociology of the arts. In considering the state of play in these disciplines, the symposium will address a range of questions including (but not limited to) the following: What are key theoretical and methodological developments in cultural sociology and sociology of the arts? What do these disciplines have to say about the crises of our times? How do cultural sociologists and sociologists of art interpret the ‘culture wars’? What interventions can these disciplines make in critiquing canons and hierarchies of value? Who are the users of the knowledge generated by these disciplines? Can artists and cultural practitioners benefit from this knowledge, and vice versa – how do arts and creativity contribute to the development of new sociological insights, and, more generally, to innovation in the (social) sciences? What is the role of cultural institutions in these exchanges? What kinds of beneficial impact to wider society might derive from this research? Are bottom-up cultural policies possible? How do the tensions between culture and administration play out in the 21st Century? What challenges do postgraduate students in these disciplinary fields face in pursuing a research career? In addressing these questions, the symposium will include panels that focus in particular on the following:
· Theoretical developments in cultural sociology and sociology of the arts
· Methodological innovations
· Impact, i.e. what are the potential benefits of research in these disciplines to wider society?
· Teaching, i.e. how do we teach cultural sociology/sociology of the arts? What do we include and omit? On what basis? How do/can we teach beyond universities?
· Interdisciplinary and institutional connections, e.g. the potential of collaboration with arts practitioners and those in arts institutions – museums, festivals, galleries, etc.; with cultural institutions, government departments, policy makers, cultural producers; and with other disciplines, e.g. psychology of arts; cultural anthropology, urban sociology, architecture; with science, e.g. medicine, climate science, computer science/engineering, sociologies of art and culture as sciences
· The role of art in formulating new sociological perspectives (e.g. ‘thick description’ in literature, insights on the medicalization of life in visual art); the relationship between arts/culture and (social) science; sociological fiction and arts-based methods
· Political engagement and interventions in times of crisis, e.g. the potential contribution of cultural sociology and sociology of the arts in stimulating social change; artivism and visual activism; critical responses to class, gender and racial inequalities; authoritarian populism and ‘culture wars’; austerity; the climate crisis; pandemics; conflict and war.
Organising Committee:
Prof. Rumiana Stoilova, President of BSA
Assoc. Prof. Svetlana Hristova, Member of the BSA Board and Research Network 07 “Sociology of Culture”
Prof. Boyan Znepolski, Head of the Department of Sociology, Sofia University “Kliment Ohridski”
Assist. Prof. Mila Mineva, Member of the BSA Board and Department of Sociology, Sofia University “Kliment Ohridski”
Prof. Daniela Koleva, Head of the Department of Cultural Studies, Sofia University “Kliment Ohridski”
Assoc. Prof. Kiril Vassilev, Department of Cultural Studies, Sofia University “Kliment Ohridski”
Assoc. Prof. Kaloyan Haralampiev, Deputy Dean, Faculty of Philosophy, Sofia University “Kliment Ohridski”
Assist. Prof. Georgi Medarov, Member of the BSA Board
Prof. Simon Stewart, Co-Chair of ESA Research Network 07 “Sociology of Culture”
Dr. Rita Ribeiro, Co-Chair of ECA Research Network 07 “Sociology of Culture”
Dr. Chris Matthew, Chair of ECA Research Network 02 “Sociology of Art”
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