July 12, 7:30 pm
The starting point for the majority of work in the sociology of art is the observation that the artistic tastes of different social groups are divergent. The most influential viewpoint propounds that taste is an instrument used by the elite to draw a line between themselves and the non-elite: the acquisition what is considered “good taste” demands training, the opportunity for indolence and sometimes considerable financial outlay, in return for which this attainment acts as a free pass to the upper echelons of society. In recent decades this view has been challenged from many sides: on the one hand, it has been established that the spread of mass culture has led to a blurring of the lines between “good” and “bad”, and on the other — that contemporary societies are so individualistic and diffuse that it is impossible to isolate within them either stable tastes or even groups to which such tastes could be ascribed. Finally, critics in Russia have affirmed that the wave of economic crises that have hit the intelligentsia has led to a loss in the prestige of haute couture and, as a result, generations of youth who are indifferent to “eternal cultural values”. We will try to sort out how much of this is true for Russia, relying on data collected on the literary preferences and social attributes of 80 000 members of St Petersburg’s libraries.
Mikhail Sokolov is a sociologist and a Doctor of Social Science. He is professor of political science and sociology at the European University in St Petersburg. His main scholarly interests are in the sociology of science (including the sociology of sociology) and cultural research.
This lecture is organized in collaboration with the Higher School of Economics in St Petersburg.
Admission is free of charge. The number of participants is limited. Please register in advance.
The Higher School of Economics has prepared a series of multidisciplinary lectures that seek to offer the general public a fresh perspective on the social phenomena and processes that we encounter every day. Leading Russian and international social scientists will use non-intuitive examples and innovative methods to show the audience just how the world in which we are living is changing before our very eyes. The speakers will present new readings on everyday phenomena, sharing recent research findings from the last 2-3 years, as well as their own personal methodologies. Each lecture offers its own introduction to the social sciences. The course is divided into three thematic blocks: Everyday Life, Culture and Big Data and New Technologies.
