Guide in PDF format

Sociology of Culture

Code: 104999
Credits: 6

2026/2027

Degree programme	Type	Course
Audiovisual Communication	FB	2

Contact lecturer

Name :: Avi Astor
Email :: avi.astor@uab.cat

Group languages

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

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course

Objectives

The main objectives of this course are:

a) To learn to think sociologically about culture broadly conceived

b) To understand the main theoretical perspectives for examining processes of cultural acquisition and the role of culture in the social construction of reality

c) To acquire tools for analyzing cultural phenomena empirically, putting them into context, and understanding their meaning

Learning outcomes

CM19 (To turn audiovisual products into tools for social transformation through the positive representation of historically marginalised groups and the ideas of inclusiveness and equality.) To turn audiovisual products into tools for social transformation through the positive representation of historically marginalised groups and the ideas of inclusiveness and equality.
KM24 (To define the basic concepts of sociological thought on culture.) To define the basic concepts of sociological thought on culture.
KM25 (To select the knowledge of social structure necessary for creating contemporary audiovisual products.) To select the knowledge of social structure necessary for creating contemporary audiovisual products.
SM26 (To determine which audiovisual products have the potential to create a fan base.) To determine which audiovisual products have the potential to create a fan base.
SM27 (To explain the social effects of entertainment through audiovisual consumption.) To explain the social effects of entertainment through audiovisual consumption.

Part A. Sociological perspectives on culture: a theoretical, methodological and conceptual introduction

a.1. What do we mean when we talk about culture? Conceptual clarifications

a.2. Cultural sociology vs sociology of culture

a.3. Marxist and neo-Marxist (e.g., the Frankfurt School) perspectives on culture

a.3. Durkheim and neo-Durkheimian perspectives on culture

Part B.Interrogating culture from different angles

c.1. Embodying culture? Reflections on culture, body, and the self

c.2. Culture and the everyday: love, food and leisure

c.3. Inequalities and culture: class, gender, and race

c.4. Sensing culture: taste, emotions and symbolic boundaries

c.5. The production of culture: fields, scenes and actors

c.6. Culture and the making of the community: religions, nations and memory

c.7. Globalization and cultural transformation

The course program will be available on the first day of class. Students will find all information on the Virtual Campus: a description of activities, teaching materials, and any necessary information for completing the course.

The content of the subject will be sensitive to aspects related to the gender perspective and the use of inclusive language.

Learning activities and methodology

Title	Hours	ECTS
Exams	6	0.24
Tutorials scheduled with the professor	3	0.12
Lectures	52	2.08
Oral group presentations	15	0.6
Readings	36	1.44

The course is organized around five types of activities:

a) Lectures that outline the main approach to the subject

b) Workshops where readings are discussed and / or joint work is carried out around specific issues

c) Office hours

d) Activities / assignments

e) In-class exams

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
Assignments, activities, and class participation	20%	18	0.72	CM19, KM25, SM26
Mid-term exam	40%	10	0.4	KM24, SM27
Final exam	40%	10	0.4	KM24, SM27

Students will be evaluated on the basis of:

1) Assignments, activities and participation (20%): Various assignments and activities will be carried out throughout the semester. Attendance and participation are also evaluated.

2) A mid-term exam consisting of short essays that cover the subject matter of the course (40%).

3) A final exam consisting of short essays that cover the subject matter of the course (40%).

In addition, it is important to consider the following issues:

- Students who have neither completed the course assignments nor taken the exams will receive a grade of “not evaluable.”

- If a student does not pass, there is the possibility of a 'retake' exam. To participate in the retake exam, students must have been previously assessed in a set of activities whose evaluation comprises a minimum of two thirds of the total grade of the course. Students must also have obtained a minimum grade of 3,5 as an average for all the evaluated activities for the course in order to take the 'retake' exam. If a student takes the retake exam, the maximum possible grade for the course is a 5,0.

Single evaluation

For those who choose to undergo a single assessment, it will consist of a comprehensive exam of greater length comprising essays on material from the entire class. The revision of the final grade follows the same procedure as for the continuous evaluation, and the retake exam will be the same (a minimum of 3,5 is necessary to be able to take the retake exam).

Artificial Intelligence policy

For this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively in support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction or translations. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. A lack of transparency in the use of AI for class activities will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a partial or total reduction in the grade of the activity, or to greater sanctions in serious cases.

Plagiarism and other irregularities

Plagiarism is to use the work of others as if it were your own. When using books, articles, websites or any other material, it is mandatory to reference the original work, clearly indicatingwithin the text which references correspond to which phrases or sentences. When quoting a text word by word, it is essential to put the fragment quoted in quotation marks. Plagiarism is a serious infraction, equivalent to copying on an exam. In accordance with academic regulations, any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade of an evaluated activity will result in a grade of 0. In the event that several irregularities occur in evaluated activities for the same course, the final grade for this course will be 0.

For more information on plagiarism, see the guide on "How to cite and how to avoid plagiarism": <https://www.uab.cat/doc/GuiaCitesiPlagiEstudiants>. See also: <https://www.uab.cat/web/study-and-research/how-to-cite-and-create-your-bibliography-1345738248581.html>.

Bibliography

Al-Gharbi, Musa. 2024. We Have Never Been Woke. Princeton University Press.

Austin, John Langshaw. 1975. How to Do Things with Words. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Berger, Peter L. and Thomas Luckmann. 1966. The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. New York: Anchor Books.

Bourdieu, Pierre. 1991. Language and Symbolic Power. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Brubaker, Rogers. 2013. “Language, religion and the politics of difference.” Nations and Nationalism 19(1):1-20. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-8129.2012.00562.x

Butler, Judith. 2013. Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative. New York: Routledge.

Butler, Judith. 2007. El género en disputa. Barcelona: Paídos.

Cerulo, Karen A. 2018. “Scents and Sensibility: Olfaction, Sense-Making, and Meaning Attribution.” American Sociological Review 83:361–89.

Durkheim, Emile. 1968 [1912]. Las formas elementales de la vida religiosa. Buenos Aires: Schapire.

Eliasoph, Nina and Paul Lichterman. 2003. “Culture in Interaction.” American Journal of Sociology 108:735–94.

Foucault, Michel. 2002. Vigilar y castigar. Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI Editores.

Geertz, Clifford. 1973. “Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture 1973.” In The Interpretation of Cultures, 3–33. New York: Basic Books.

Goffman, E., 2009. Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Simon and Schuster.

Goffman, E., 1998. Estigma: Identidad deteriorada. Buenos Aires: Amorrortu Editores.

Goffman, Erving. 1959. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday.

Lamont, Michèle. 1992. Money, Morals, and Manners: The Culture of the French and American Upper-Middle Class. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Lamont, Michèle. 2021. The Dignity of Working Men. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Lamont, M., Moraes Silva, G., Mizrachi, N., Guetzkow, J. and Welburn, J., 2016. Getting respect: Responding to stigma and discrimination in the United States, Brazil, and Israel. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Lizardo, Omar. 2017. “Improving Cultural Analysis: Considering Personal Culture in Its Declarative and Nondeclarative Modes.” American Sociological Review 82:88–115. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0003122416675175?journalCode=asra

Marx, Karl. 2014. La ideologia alemana. Akal.

Oshotse, Abraham, Yael Berda, and Amir Goldberg. 2024. “Cultural Tariffing: Appropriation and the Right to Cross Cultural Boundaries.” American Sociological Review 89(2):346–90.

Rivera, Lauren A. 2012. “Hiring as Cultural Matching: The Case of Elite Professional Service Firms.” American Sociological Review 77:999–1022.

Roy, Olivier. 2010. La santa ignorancia. Barcelona: Península.

Sabido Ramos, Olga (2019). Los sentidos del cuerpo: el giro sensorial en la investigación social y los estudios de género. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México / CIEG.

Schudson, Michael. 1989. “How Culture Works: Perspectives from Media Studies on the Efficacy of Symbols.” Theory and Society 18:153–80.

Sewell, William Hamilton. 2005. Logics of History: Social Theory and Social Transformation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Swidler, Ann. 2001. Talk of Love: How Culture Matters. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Vaisey, Stephen. 2009. “Motivation and Justification: A Dual‐Process Model of Culture in Action.” American Journal of Sociology 114:1675–1715.

Weber, Max. 1991 [1905). La ética protestante y el espíritu de capitalismo. Puebla: Premia Editora.

Zerubavel, Eviatar. 2015. Hidden in Plain Sight: The Social Structure of Irrelevance. Oxford University Press.

Zubov, Shoshana. 2020. La era del capitalismo de la vigilancia. Paidós.

Software

This subject does not require use of specific software.

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	4	Spanish	second semester	morning-mixed