Zolberg V. Constructing a Sociology of the Arts

Cambridge University Press, 1990. — 252 c. — ISBN: 978-0-521-35146-1 (Hardback); ISBN: 978-0-521-35959-7 (Paperback).In this book, the author examines the diverse theoretical approaches to the study of the arts and develops a sociological approach that acknowledges the importance of aesthetic imperatives and the individual creative process while also assessing the institutional, economic, and political influences on the creation of art. The author focuses on the ways in which people become artists, the institutions in which their careers unfold, the public they need to please, and the institutional and political pressures with which they must contend.What is art? What is the sociology of art?
Why sociologists have neglected the arts and why this is changing
Studying the art object sociologically
The art object as social process
Are artists born or made?
How the arts change and why
Where does the sociology of art stand, and where is it going?