The Shape Of Culture: A Study Of Contemporary Cultural Patterns In The United States (american Sociological Association Rose Monographs)

This book systematically examines prevailing cultural patterns in contemporary American society. Using information on several thousands of cultural organizations, including opera and chamber music companies as well as cinemas and live rock concerts, Professor Blau examines the geography of culture, the changing demands for culture, the interdependencies among cultural organizations of different kinds, the nature of labor markets for artists, and the effects of arts subsidies on nonprofit cultural establishments over a ten year period. This book systematically examines prevailing cultural patterns in contemporary American society. Using information on several thousands of cultural organisations, including elite ones (such as opera and chamber music companies) and popular cultural ones (such as cinemas and live rock concerts), Professor Blau examines the geography of culture, the changing demands for culture, the interdependencies among cultural organisations of different kinds, the nature of labour markets for artists, and the effects of arts subsidies on nonprofit cultural establishments over a ten year period. One of the major conclusions of the book is that the social conditions that support elite and popular culture are increasingly similar over time In this book Judith Blau conducts an empirical investigation of cultural institutions and activities in 125 cities in the United States. Her analyses reveal that cultural institutions are more evenly distributed among larger and smaller urban centers and among regions than is commonly thought. Her focus is on establishing the relationship between demographic characteristics and demand for the arts. Culture As Structure And Meaning -- The American Cultural Landscape -- Reproduction And Decline -- Co-occurrence, Tipping In, And Bridging -- Organizational Assembly And Disassembly -- Increasing Returns On Diminishing Artists -- A Little More On The Hobby Horse -- Masses And Classes -- The Transformation Of American Culture. Judith R. Blau. Includes Bibliographical References. Based on an investigation of cultural institutions and activities in 125 cities in the United States. Rather than theorizing in speculative terms, this study makes an empirical study of the development of a universal culture as a result of increasing urbanization and rising levels of education Using information on thousands of cultural organisations, cinemas and live rock concerts as well as opera and chamber music companies, this text systematically analyses the prevailing cultural patterns of contemporary American society. Wallace Stevens makes an observation here that is simultaneously perplexing and profound.