Guide in PDF format

Important notice

The course guide is provisional.

The PDF version of the course guide may take a few days to become available in the DDD.

Sociology of Culture

Code: 101134
Credits: 6

2026/2027

Degree programme	Type	Course
Sociology	OP	4
Science, Technology and Humanities	OP	4

Contact lecturer

Name :: Esperanza Bielsa Mialet
Email :: esperanza.bielsa@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites.

Objectives

This module examines the relationship between culture and society and introduces a sociological perspective to the study of culture and art, focusing on the production and reception of works as social processes and the cultural aspects of leisure and free time. It addresses the historical formation and the nature of the field of cultural production and its dynamics of autonomy and commodification. The course also focuses on the position and role of cultural producers, from Romantic conceptions of the genius, the creator and creativity, to work in the new cultural industries. Finally, the relationship between culture and the economy becomes the object of reflection through sociological theories on the changing nature of culture in contemporary capitalism.

Learning outcomes

Students must be capable of assessing the quality of their own work.
Effectively communicating the basic analysis of social phenomena in an elementary level of English.
Students must be capable of managing their own time, planning their own study, managing the relationship with their tutor or adviser, as well as setting and meeting deadlines for a work project.
Searching for documentary sources starting from concepts.
Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
Developing self-learning strategies.
Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
Generating innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.
Defining the sociological concepts that interpret the cultural phenomena.
Comparing the different theoretical approaches about culture.
Relating the theoretical approaches with debates about social order and action.
Explaining the social interpretations of culture according to these approaches.
Expressing the debates regarding these approaches, that refer to culture.
Relating the debates regarding these approaches, that refer to culture, with the historical context in which they emerged.
Defining the underlying social phenomena of cultural policies and conflicts.
Comparing the reading of cultural phenomena from several ideologies of the social reality of Spain and Catalonia.
Respect diversity in ideas, people and situations.
Synthesise, analyse and explain complex qualitative and quantitative information on cultures, geographic spaces, social groups, legal frameworks and different historical periods.
Explain the social interpretations of culture in accordance with these approaches.
Express the debates around these approaches, with regard to culture.
Compare the different theoretical approaches to culture.
Show familiarity with the basic conceptual tools of sociology, anthropology, economics and political science.
Relate theoretical approaches to the debates on social order and on action.
Plan strategies for analysing processes of social change, based on the interpretation of documentary, oral and material sources.
Give an oral presentation in an academic or work-related context.

1. Introduction

Introduction and periodisation. Culture and society.

2. The social production of art

Becker: art worlds. Bourdieu: the cultural field. Elias: sociology of a genius.

3. The culture of modernity

Benjamin and the culture of modernity. High and low culture. Modernism and the avantgarde.

4. Sociological approximations to cultural forms

Sociology of the novel. Photography and sociology.

5. From the cultural industries to the enrichment economy

From the culture industry to the creative industries. Boltanski: culture and the transformation of capitalism.

Learning activities and methodology

Title	Hours	ECTS	Learning outcomes
Lectures and seminars	39	1.56	7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25
Individual or small group meetings to resolve doubts and supervise oral and written work	5	0.2	1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 22, 24, 25
Study, reading texts, writing of an essay	81.5	3.26	3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 21, 22, 24

Lectures.

Seminars.

Individual tutorials.

Reading, discussion and presentation of texts.

Essay writing.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title	Weight	Hours	ECTS	Learning outcomes
Writing of one essay	20%	2	0.08	1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21
Oral presentation on a text	15%	10	0.4	2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 25
Seminar diary	15%	10	0.4	1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 16, 17, 20
Written examination	50%	2.5	0.1	3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

The module will be assessed as follows:

1) Seminar presentation on a text. The organization and assessment criteria will be explained in class and publicized through the virtual campus. Individual. 15% of the final mark.

2) Elaboration of a seminar diary. 15% of the final mark.

3) Writing of one essay. Individual. 20% of the final mark.

4) Written examination. Individual. 50% of the final mark.

To calculate the final mark, a minimum mark of 3 in each assessment component is required.

Please consider the following:

a) The nature of the module and the method of assessment make regular attendance of lectures and seminars essential.

b) The smooth functioning of the course will depend on students presenting their work and delivering their written presentations on the set date.

c) The mark of 'Not evaluable ' means not having been assessed in one or in any of the three components mentioned above.

d) Students that obtain a rating equal to or above 3.5 and lower than 5 are entitled to participate in a retake exam, to be held shortly after the publication of the marks. Students who take this exam and pass, will get a grade of 5. If the student does not pass the retake, the grade will remain unchanged.

Single evaluation

Single evaluation will take place through a written examination at the end of the course. It will be necessary to answer the six exam questions (in the modality of continuous evaluation only two of the six questions need to be answered). 100% of the final mark. The retake exam follows the same system as in the case of continuous evaluation.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is using the work of others as if it were your own. All written work must be your own work. Whenever you make use of books, articles, internet pages or any other material, you must make this clear by the appropriate use of references and, where a passage is cited word by word, by the use of quotation marks. Plagiarism is aserious offence andis regarded in the same light as cheating on examinations. Plagiarism will result in a mark of 0 for the essay and failing the module.

In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not allowed in any of its phases. Any assignment that includes fragments generated with AI will be considered an act of academic dishonesty and may result in a partial or total penalty in the grade for the activity, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.

Bibliography

Basic bibliography

The basic bibliography of the course will be made available through the virtual campus.

Complementary bibliography

Introductions and general works

Back, L. et al. (2012) Cultural Sociology. An Introduction. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

Harrington, A. (2004) Art and Social Theory. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Heinich, N. (2003) La sociología del arte. Traducción de P. Mahler. Buenos Aires: Nueva Visión.

Inglis, D. (2005) Culture and Everyday Life. London and New York: Routledge.

Rius Ulldemolins, J. and Pecourt Gracia, J. (2021) Sociología de la cultura en la era digital. Publicacions de la Universitat de València.

Sapiro, G. (2016) La sociología de la literatura. Traducción de L. Fólica. Buenos Aires: Fondo de Cultura Económica.

Williams, R. (1982) The Sociology of Culture. New York: Schocken Books.

Wolff, J. (1993) The Social Production of Art. Second edition. London: Macmillan.

The following collective works might be useful for contributions on concrete topics and offer a good map of the scope of the sociology of culture, literature and art:

Grindstaff, L., Lo, M.-C.M. and Hall, J.R. (eds) (2019) Routledge Handbook of Cultural Sociology. Second edition. London and New York: Routledge.

Hanquinet, L. and Savage, M. (eds) (2015) Routledge International Handbook of the Sociology of Art and Culture. London and New York: Routledge.

Inglis, D. and Almila, A.-M. (eds) (2016) The Sage Handbook of Cultural Sociology. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi: Sage.

Cultural production and reception

Adorno, T.W. (1991) Notes to Literature. Vol. 1. Translated by S.W. Nicholsen. New York: Columbia University Press.

Adorno, T.W. (1976) Introduction to the Sociology of Music. Translated by E.B. Ashton. New York: The Seabury Press.

Adorno, T.W. (2008) Crítica de la cultura y sociedad I. Madrid: Akal.

Becker, H.S. (1974) ‘Photography and Sociology’, Studies in the Anthropology of Visual Communication, 1(1), pp. 3–26.

Becker, H.S. (1982) Art Worlds. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Benjamin, W. (2007) Illuminations. Translated by H. Zohn. New York: Schocken Books.

Bielsa, E. and Aguilera, A. (2024) Benjamin y la traducción. Barcelona: Ediciones del subsuelo.

Bourdieu, P. (1986) Distinction. A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. Translated by R. Nice. London: Routledge.

Bourdieu, P. (1990) Photography: A Middle-brow Art. Cambridge: Polity.

Bourdieu, P. (1990) Sociología y cultura. Traducción de M. Pou. Ciudad de México: Grijalbo.

Bourdieu, P. (1993) The Field of Cultural Production. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Bourdieu, P. (1996) The Rules of Art, Genesis and Structure of the Literary Field.

Casanova, P. (2004) The World Republic of Letters. Translated by M.B. DeBevoise. Cambridge Mass. and London: Harvard University Press.

Freund, G. (1980) Photography and Society. London: Fraser.

Moulin, R. (2012) El mercado del arte. Traducción de M.-J. Cardinal. Buenos Aires: La marca editora.

Freund, G. (1980) Photography and Society. London: Fraser.

Williams, R. (1977) Marxism and Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Williams, R. (2005) Culture and Materialism. London and New York: Verso.

The artist and society

Abbing, H. (2002) Why Are Artists Poor? Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

Baudelaire, C. (1964) The Painter of Modern Life and Other Essays. Translated by J. Mayne. London: Phaidon Press.

Benjamin, W. (2006) The Writer of Modern Life. Essays on Charles Baudelaire. Cambridge, Mass. and London: Belknap Press.

Bürger, P. (1987) Teoría de la vanguardia. Traducción de J. García. Barcelona: Península.

Clark, T.J. (1999) The Painting of Modern Life. Revised. Princeton N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Elias, N. (1993) Mozart. Portrait of a Genius. Cambridge: Polity.

Menger, P.-M. (2014) The Economics of Creativity. Traducción de S. Rendall et al. Cambridge Mass. and London: Harvard University Press.

Sholette, G. (2011) Dark Matter: Art and Politics in the Age of Enterprise Culture. London and New York: Pluto Press.

Sholette, G. (2017) Delirium and Resistance. London: Pluto Press.

Stallabrass, J. (2004) Art Incorporated. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

Williams, R. (2007) The Politics of Modernism: Against the New Conformists. London: Verso.

Tourism, leisure and free time

Casellas, A. (2006) ‘Las limitaciones del «modelo Barcelona». Una lectura desde Urban Regime Analysis’, Documents d’Anàlisi Geogràfica, (48), pp. 61–81.

Casellas, A. (2016) ‘Urban development, power coalitions and citizens participation in Barcelona: A narrative from a critical geography approach’, Boletin de la Asociacion de Geógrafos Españoles, 70 (April 2016).

Degen, M. and García, M. (2012) ‘The Transformation of the “Barcelona Model”: An Analysis of Culture, Urban Regeneration and Governance’, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 36(5), pp. 1022–1038.

Delgado, M. (2017) La ciudad mentirosa. Madrid: Catarata.

Marshall, T. (ed.) (2004) Transforming Barcelona. London and New York: Routledge.

Rius Ulldemolins, J. (2014) ‘Culture and authenticity in urban regeneration processes: Place branding in central Barcelona’, Urban Studies, 51(14), pp. 3026–3045.

MacCannell, D. (1999) The Tourist. A New Theory of the Leisure Class. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.

Papastergiadis, N. (2020) Museums of the Commons. London and New York: Routledge.

Zukin, S. (2010) Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

From the cultural industries to the enrichment economy

Bell, D. (1996) The Cultural contradictions of capitalism. 20th anniversary edition. New York: Basic Books.

Bielsa, E. (2021) ‘Ignored works’, Thesis Eleven, 166(1), pp. 40–53.

Boltanski, L. and Chiapello, E. (2005) The New Spirit of Capitalism. London and New York: Verso.

Boltanski, L. and Esquerre, A. (2020) Enrichment. Translated by C. Porter. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Lipovetsky, G. y Serroy, J. (2015) La estetización del mundo. Translated by A.-P. Moya. Barcelona: Anagrama.

McGuigan, J. (2009) Cool Capitalism. London and New York: Pluto Press.

McRobbie, A. (2016) Be Creative: Making a living in the new culture industries. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Reckwitz, A. (2020) The Society of Singularities. Traducción de V.A. Pakis. Cambridge: Polity.

Reckwitz, A. (2023) La invención de la creatividad: sobre el proceso de estetización social. Traducción de C. Sánchez. Madrid: La Catarata.

Software

None.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching	Group	Language	Semester	Shift
(TE) Theory	51	Catalan	second semester	afternoon
(PAUL) Classroom practices	51	Catalan	second semester	afternoon