Iconic Power
Materiality and Meaning in Social Life
Editors: Alexander, J., Bartmanski, D., Giesen, B., Bartma?ski, D. (Eds.)
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- About this book
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A collection of original articles that explore social aspects of the phenomenon of icon. Having experienced the benefits and realized the limitations of so called 'linguistic turn', sociology has recently acknowledged a need to further expand its horizons.
- About the authors
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Jeffrey C. Alexander, Yale University, USA Dominik Bartma?ski, Yale University, USA Gottfried Boehm, Basel University, Switzerland Hans Belting, Northwestern University, USA Fuyuki Kurasawa, York University, Canada Wendy Bowler, LaTrobe University, Australia Werner Binder, Masaryk University, Czech Republic Philip Smith, Yale University, USA Ian Woodward, Griffith University, Australia David Ellison, Griffith University, Australia Daniel uber, University of Lucerne, Switzerland Slobodan Karamani?, Ljubljana Graduate School of the Humanities, Slovenia Valentin Rauer, Goethe University Frankfurt Main, Germany Bernhard Giesen, Universität Konstanz, Germany Julia Sonnevend, Columbia University, USA Piotr Sztompka, Jagiellonian University, Poland
- Reviews
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'Iconic Power is the strongest theoretical statement to yet come out of the 'Strong Program' in Cultural Sociology. Arguably, more than any other trope, including those of ritual and performance, the concept of 'iconicity' promises to break free of the economistic, linguistic and other kinds of reductionisms that plague the cultural sciences. This fine volume contains both theoretical expositions on how pictorial icons do their cultural work, as well as applied analyses of phenomena such as 9/11, images of famines, Woodstock and Bayreuth as 'iconic' events, expensive Australian red wines and the political iconography of Post-Communist Eastern Europe. If cultural sociology is to have a vibrant future and not repeat the mistakes of the past then in Iconic Power: Materiality and Meaning in Social Life practitioners have a handbook on how to approach the distinctive character of the visual and other non-discursive symbols.' - Eduardo de la Fuente, Sociology, Flinders University; author of Twentieth Century Music and the Question of Modernity
'Ranging in its coverage from the events of 9/11 to images of HIV, and from the revolutions of 1989 to cult wines, this book systematically unpacks the tremendous importance of icons in social life. Both a striking contribution to visual sociology, and a powerful manifesto for new directions in cultural sociology, Iconic Power is fascinating reading for everyone interested in the seductive potency of iconography.' - David Inglis, Head of Department, Department of Sociology, University of Aberdeen
- Table of contents (16 chapters)
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Introduction: Materiality and Meaning in Social Life: Toward an Iconic Turn in Cultural Sociology
Pages 1-12
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Representation, Presentation, Presence: Tracing the Homo Pictor
Pages 15-23
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Iconic Power and Performance: The Role of the Critic
Pages 25-35
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Iconspicuous Revolutions of 1989: Culture and Contingency in the Making of Political Icons
Pages 39-65
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The Making of Humanitarian Visual Icons: On the 1921–1923 Russian Famine as Foundational Event
Pages 67-84
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Table of contents (16 chapters)
Bibliographic Information
- Bibliographic Information
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- Book Title
- Iconic Power
- Book Subtitle
- Materiality and Meaning in Social Life
- Editors
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- J. Alexander
- D. Bartmanski
- B. Giesen
- Dominik Bartma?ski
- Series Title
- Cultural Sociology
- Copyright
- 2012
- Publisher
- Palgrave Macmillan US
- Copyright Holder
- Jeffrey C. Alexander, Dominik Bartma?ski, and Bernhard Giesen
- eBook ISBN
- 978-1-137-01286-9
- DOI
- 10.1057/9781137012869
- Hardcover ISBN
- 978-0-230-34005-3
- Softcover ISBN
- 978-1-137-37596-4
- Edition Number
- 1
- Number of Pages
- IX, 262
- Number of Illustrations
- 10 b/w illustrations
- Topics
