Anni Greve

Kultursociologi og kulturstudier placerer sig i mellemrummet mellem samfundsvidenskab og humaniora og beskæftiger sig med kulturelle fænomener af enhver slags: med kunst og subkultur, med æstetik og sociale omgangsformer, med følelsernes kultur, med seksualitetens kultur, med oplevelsen af byens rum og med byudvikling, og i det hele taget med grundlæggende perspektiver på sammenhængen mellem samfund, kultur, magt og politik. Kultursociologien udgør en kernedisciplin i sociologien, og med opblomstringen af humanistiske kulturstudieuddannelser på en række danske universiteter de senere årtier er også store dele af de humanistiske fag orienteret i en kulturteoretisk og sociologisk retning. Denne bog giver en autoritativ indføring i klassiske og nyere tendenser, tænkere og teorier i kultursociologi og kulturteori i tre dele: Ny teori, som for en stor del præsenteres for første gang på dansk Klassiske og nyklassiske teorier, som på forskellige måder tegner fagets tradition Temaer og begreber, der indkredser de vigtigste områder, som kultursociologien og kulturteorien beskæftiger sig med. Bogen vil kunne fungere som en vigtig støtte i arbejdet med kultursociologiske eller kulturteoretiske originaltekster både for undervisere og studerende på de højere læreanstalter. Men den henvender sig også til den ”kulturarbejdende” eller blot kulturinteresserede læser uden for universitetet, som gerne vil have udvidet eller opdateret sin teoretiske horisont.

With the change of power in Washington, the word ‘Enlightenment’ has taken on a dramatic topicality that no one could have wished for. The wisdom of the eighteenth century could not be more relevant. This book demonstrates a relationship between hospitality towards the foreigner and the European Enlightenment – a relationship that is relevant to today’s landscape. Greve begins by unfolding the philosophy of hospitality by reading both Immanuel Kant and Jacques Derrida. Next, she tunes in on China in global history to discuss: the kind of hospitality offered to all foreigners with the Canton system of 1757; the hospitality offered to Sephardic diaspora groups involved in credit relations; and Macau, a free port city, a rehearsal space for friendship and conversation. Then, the book turns to Copenhagen during the Age of the Enlightenment to look more closely at a burgeoning layer of ‘bourgeoisie’ involved in financial speculation abroad. What significance did the circulation of merchant letters from the Pearl River Delta have for conversations in Copenhagen? It also points to the significance of ‘free’ port cities for the spirit of the Enlightenment. Finally, the book returns to contemporary China. What has the opening of China in the ‘new era’ after Mao Zedong implied? And how do we understand a desire for a ‘New Enlightenment’, first in the late 1980s in Beijing and then in the 2020s in the ‘free’ port city of Hong Kong? The volume is a valuable resource for students and scholars interested in the Enlightenment, diaspora studies, Sephardic Jews, urban studies, philosophy, sociology, and China in global history.

This book proposes that we can learn from Tokyo about the instrinsic importance of in-between realms to an international culture: the sanctuaries. It argues that certain urban societies are more robust than others because they offer socio-spatial capacities that enable the development of skills for coping with modern forms of living. It studies places that may open the way to an international culture, namely market places, venues for performing arts and religious sites, which - with particular reference to the Durkheimian tradition - are considered here in their quality as sanctuaries. From its empirical analysis of such sanctuaries in Tokyo, this book develops a more general theory about mega-cities, urban sociability and identity.

This book proposes that we can learn from Tokyo about the instrinsic importance of in-between realms to an international culture: the sanctuaries. It argues that certain urban societies are more robust than others because they offer socio-spatial capacities that enable the development of skills for coping with modern forms of living. It studies places that may open the way to an international culture, namely market places, venues for performing arts and religious sites, which - with particular reference to the Durkheimian tradition - are considered here in their quality as sanctuaries. From its empirical analysis of such sanctuaries in Tokyo, this book develops a more general theory about mega-cities, urban sociability and identity.