What can Sociology add to our understanding of art? This volume brings together a range of respected scholars in the field who demonstrate the many ways in which sociology can add to our understanding of artistic issues.

PART 1: THEORY PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.- What is the 'Sociology of Art'?; D.Inglis and J.Hughson.- When Does Art Become Art? Assessing Pierre Bourdieu's Theory of Artistic Fields; J.Jane.- Feminist Art and Feminist Sociology: New Departures; A.Howson.- A New Paradigm for a Sociology of Aesthetics; R.Witkin.- Invisible Aesthetics and the Social Work of Community Culture; P.Willis.- Cultural Studies and the Sociology of Culture; J.Wolff.- The Sociology of Art: Cynical or Celebratory?; D. Inglis.- PART 2: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE: CASE STUDIES IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF ART.- Framing Old Age: Sociological Perspectives on the Art of the Past; M.Hepworth.- The Rise and Fall of the Art House Movie; A.Tudor.- Opera, Modernity and Cultural Fields; A.Swingewood.- 'World Music' and the Globalisation of Sound; R.Robertson and D.Inglis.- 'High Arts' and the Market: An Uneasy Partnership in the Transnational World of Ballet; H.Wulff.- Reconstructing the Centre: Sociological Approaches to the Rebuilding of Berlin; J.Stewart.

'Inglis and Hughson are to be congratulated for producing such an exciting, innovative and rigorous collection of original papers on the sociology of art, which is long overdue in this area of study.' - Professor Helen Thomas, Research Director at London College of Fashion, UK

Good mix of highly regarded contributors such as Janet Wolff and newer names Comprehensive illustration of the large diversity of debate in this field Looks at a wide range of artistic forms, including painting, film, music and architecture