Bending Forward, One Step Backward: On the Sociology of Tasting Techniques

Abstract

The ‘new’ sociology of culture has provided us with valuable insights regarding the performative, corporeal, and unpredictable dimensions of art tasting, which the ‘old’, critical sociology of art failed to recognize. But how can we profit from these insights without committing the sin of the denial of the social (and social structures in particular)? This article suggests that these insights may be incorporated into the critical sociology of art once we are ready to substitute reified tasting techniques for reified tastes as our main objects of study. Relying on works in anthropology, philosophy, history and neuroscience, I urge us to put tasting techniques at the heart of our research agenda in cultural sociology. This will enable us to simultaneously give full account of the subjective, unique art-tasting experiences which are informed by specific tasting techniques, as well as of the role the same techniques play in social reproduction and social closure.

Cultures of choice: towards a sociology of choice as a cultural phenomenon

“… This shift from reified tastes to tasting processes is already apparent in the post‐Bourdieusian sociology of art (Denora ; Schwarz ). …”

‘Real Ale’ Enthusiasts, Serious Leisure and the Costs of Getting ‘Too Serious’ About Beer

“…Participants must take time to learn the 'shared standards' of beer appreciation (Lynch, 2007: 51) and learn how to successfully embody what Schwarz (2013) has referred to as the 'techniques' of taste and appreciation. Thus, while new entrants to the field could easily be identified for their relative lack of knowledge more established members stood out for having extensive knowledge of local and national breweries and more developed preferences for beer informed by understandings of quality, style, production process and provenance.…”

Out of tune. How people understand social exclusion at concerts

“…To offer insight into how people understand social exclusion in cultural settings, I rely on studies on modes of consumption (e.g., Daenekindt and Roose, 2014;Friedman et al, 2015;Jarness, 2015;Schwarz, 2013). I study attitudes towards concerts and focus on whether people consider these settings socially exclusive.…”