Toward a Theory of Cultural Engagement: Gender, Culture, and Music

• In Event: 365 - Section on Sociology of Culture Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 13. Taste and Classification

Abstract

This paper serves as a preliminary outline of a new model of cultural engagement through which we might better understand the processes through which individuals engage with cultural artifacts in collective, ritualized processes; further, this paper outlines the ways in which a more explicit consideration of gender might strengthen contemporary cultural theories about how individuals think about and produce art, particularly music, as well as how it informs individuals' access to various forms of authentic membership in art-based scenes. The initial formulation of this theory primarily builds upon the work of Habermas (1973), Bourdieu (1984), Swidler (2000), Lena (2010), and Benzecry (2011). This framework is part of an ongoing research project into the ways in which individuals in the "doom/sludge" heavy music scene(s) understand themselves in relation to the music they enjoy and, moreover, how they understand and experience the live performances of this unique subgenre of heavy metal music.

Author

• Benjamin Lee Hutcherson, University of Colorado