A great deal has changed in the ten years since the first edition of this book was published; an area of rather esoteric interest has become one of the major public battlefields of political and academic debate. Rejecting both the art historian's essentialism and the sociologist's reductionism, Janet Wolff argues in this new edition that the concept of the aesthetic must be rescued as much from those who would equate artistic value with political worth as from the total aesthetic relativists who are rendered incapable of judging artistic value.

Aesthetics and the Sociology of Art (Controversies in Sociology)

Janet Wolff

History

Routledge

<p>A great deal has changed in the ten years since the first edition of this book was published; an area of rather esoteric interest has become one of the major public battlefields of political and academic debate. Rejecting both the art historian's essentialism and the sociologist's reductionism, Janet Wolff argues in this new edition that the concept of the aesthetic must be rescued as much from those who would equate artistic value with political worth as from the total aesthetic relativists who are rendered incapable of judging artistic value.</p>

Aesthetics and the Sociology of Art

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

<p>This book has been a standard text for cultural studies and the sociology of art since its first appearance in 1981. It provides a clear and useful overview of theories and studies which contribute to the project of a sociology of art, ranging from sociology to art history, literary theory, feminism and media studies. The author also bridges the gap between European approaches and the American production of culture approach, and addresses the key questions of the role of the reader/viewer, the nature of authorship, and the possibility of cultural politics. The new edition contains an Afterword by the author.</p>

The Social Production of Art (Communications and Culture)

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Resident Alien: Feminist Cultural Criticism

Literature & Fiction

Polity Press

In this book Janet Wolff examines the ways in which travel is used as a metaphor in cultural theory, and the use of dance (another form of "mobility") as an image of liberation, particularly in relation to women. The topic of marginality is addressed - Walter Benjamin's marginality to the academy, the marginality of Gwen John and Rainer Maria Rilke in Paris in the 1900s - and the more general question of whether exile or distance provides a better vantage-point for cultural criticism than centrality and stability. Wolff seeks to break down the boundaries between academic and personal writing. The question of memoir and cultural theory is addressed with regard to Walter Benjamin, and several of the essays explore the particular meeting point of memory, personal experience, and cultural/sociological analysis. With its linked themes of exile, memoir and movement, the book has a wide range of focus: opera, rock 'n' roll, a Schubert quartet, feminist literary criticism, Gwen John's interiors, and Victorian lady travellers. Janet Wolff's book is an important contribution to cultural theory and feminist analysis.

Resident Alien: Travel, Memoir, Gender

The Sociology of literature: Theoretical approaches (Sociological review monograph)

University of Keele

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Books by Janet Wolff