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the arts as a critical component for community ‘action research’). She favours a neutral
well-being and economic vitality in contempo- stance that confronts the apparent incom-
rary society (Florida, 2002). In addition to mensurability between the nomothetic bent
drawing on toolkits developed by sociologists, of sociology (with its search for patterns and
sociologists of the arts also sometimes engage laws) and the ostensibly ideographic charac-
with scholarly debates rooted in other fields, ter of singularities associated with distinctive
among them: musicology, art history, literary artistic events. Heinich argues that singulari-
theory, film studies, cultural studies, political ties in the arts, such as the practice of break-
science, economics, arts management, museol- ing with past artistic traditions by innovators
ogy, philosophy and aesthetics (Bennett, 2000 in the contemporary visual arts, may be con-
[1995]; Clifford, 1998; Levine, 1980; Lopes, sidered features of patterns of behaviour
2002; Nochlin, 1973 [1971]). associated with social recognition processes
Some scholars working in humanistic tra- in contemporary art (Heinich, 1998b, 1998c,
ditions maintain that art expresses aesthetic 2000). Other sociologists have developed
values and is created by exceptional geniuses different theories and methodological strate-
who are somehow ‘outside’ of society. As gies that take aesthetics into account in
Vera Zolberg, a founding member of the varied ways. For example, Tia DeNora
sociology of art research committee of the (2003) has proposed a way of studying musi-
International Sociological Association, cal events that embraces the complex inter-
observed, proponents of these ‘internal’ play between characteristics of music and the
approaches in the humanities have opposed meaning-making processes of listeners
the ‘external’ approaches favoured in sociol- who are considered active agents in an inter-
ogy (Zolberg, 1990). Their arguments are pretative approach she has called ‘music
similar to those expressed by historians and sociology’. Zolberg (2005) and Jacobs and
philosophers of science and technology who Hanrahan (2005) have argued that aesthetic
reject sociological approaches. But few soci- sensibilities have emerged as a central theme
ologists of the arts advocate the extreme in scholarly work in the sociology of culture,
forms of relativism and social constructivism and that this ‘aesthetic turn’ in scholarly
associated with the ‘strong programme’ for research provides new avenues for re-invig-
social studies of science (Barnes and Bloor, orating ways of thinking about agency and
1982; Mukerji, 1994). Sociologists of the structure.
arts do, however, differ among themselves Models of agency adopted by sociologists
about whether and how to take aesthetics or of the arts vary, with profound consequences
specific characteristics of artworks and for research design. Vocabulary varies too.
artists into account in their research Specific terms may be selected or avoided in
(Heinich, 2002; Hennion, 2002; Léontsini, order to evoke different approaches: for
2002; Zolberg, 2005). example ‘arts consumption’ and ‘reception’
How can sociologists make meaningful imply different views of cognition and
statements about patterns in the arts while praxis. ‘Consumption’ is often used in arts
recognizing the distinctive qualities or ‘sin- management studies by advocates of quanti-
gularity’ of artworks or artists? Nathalie tative methods focused on predicting behav-
Heinich created an insightful, somewhat iour or organizational analysis, while
irreverent typology of positions adopted by ‘reception’ is more commonly used in inter-
researchers in reflections on ‘what art does to pretative work that seeks to understand lived
sociology’ (1998a). She identified various experience and meaning-making. However,
stances adopted by researchers, including more than one theoretical framework and
anti-reductivist (emphasizing aesthetic quali- methodological approach may be associated
ties of the art), critical, descriptive, pluralist, with the exactly the same term. For example
relativist and committed stances (akin to the term ‘production of art’ (as opposed to