The empirical study of careers in literature and the arts

Abstract

In the last few decades, scholars from a variety of disciplines -(art) history, literary studies, sociology, mass communication studies, psychology, and cultural economics -have contributed to our understanding of production and profession in literature and the arts. Their studies cover different periods and societies and address a broad range of topics which, in one way or another, relate to the work and careers of those involved in the production and distribution of culture. As space is limited, this rich line of research will be reviewed only in part in this article.Primarily, the focus will be on careers in literature and the visual arts, although occasionally attention will also be paid to other (both artistic and non-artistic) occupations, because such comparisons have yielded useful insights in the past.Secondly, this article focuses on writers and artists; other professionals in the field of art and literature, including publishers, editors, agents, dealers, critics, and reviewers will be discussed mainly in terms of how they affect the work and careers of writers and artists. We have restricted our focus in this way for reasons of brevity, but also because there is a relative absence of systematic, empirical research into such 'para-artistic' occupations and their practitioners, especially for the postwar period.Thirdly, this contribution will deal with the work of writers and other artists in a thematic fashion, rather than focusing on the gamut of theoretical perspectives and approaches in this area. The following sections shed light on the changing support structures on which writers and artists have depended for their livelihood and to gain other types of recognition for their work (section 2), the various ways in which mediators shape individual works and whole careers (section 3), the characteristics of artistic occupations and their implications (section 4), and the recruitment and career development of artists (section 5). The article concludes with some comments on the state-of-the-art of research on artistic work and careers.Of course, the above topics and questions were not picked at random. They stem from several theoretical perspectives and research traditions that were developed by empirically oriented sociologists of literature and the arts from the 1970s onwards, including the production-of-culture perspective (Peterson 1994); the empirical study of literature and literary systems theory (Schmidt 1980(Schmidt ,1993(Schmidt and 1998; art world research (Becker 1982;Gilmore 1990); and field theory, also referred to as the institutional analysis of the field of cultural (literary) production (Bourdieu 1993;Van Rees 1983). Although these approaches have different points of departure, employ different concepts and methodologies, and focus on different aspects of the production of art and literature, there are no clear-cut divisions between them. Many individual researchers and studies, with good reason, can be and have been considered to be representative of more than one approach. It lies out...

More than just a product: Strengthening literature in sociological analysis

“…The research of literary production takes into account the perspectives of diverse actors and entities in the literary field, such as publishers (Childress, ; Franssen, ; Gonsalves, ; Kirkosová, ; Pareschi, ), authors (Dubois & François, ; Janssen, ; Sapiro, ; Verboord, ), consecrating authorities, gatekeepers, and status‐enhancers (Childress, Rawlings, & Moeran, ; English, ; Leypoldt, ; Sapiro, ; Verboord, ), as well as individual books (Childress, ; Pouly, ). It also examines institutions within the literary field such as literary events and festivals (Driscoll & Squires, ; Weber, ), and institutions allowing for translations between different national literary fields, and between local and global levels (Helgesson & Vermeulen, ; Kershaw, ; Munday, ; Sapiro, , , ).…”

Kunst und Preise

“…Diese Qualität ist jedoch kein dem Kunstwerk intrinsisch innewohnendes Kriterium, sondern basiert auf der Abgabe von Urteilen durch die Betrachter des Kunstwerks (Bourdieu 1999;Zolberg 1990;Janssen 2001). Diese Qualität ist jedoch kein dem Kunstwerk intrinsisch innewohnendes Kriterium, sondern basiert auf der Abgabe von Urteilen durch die Betrachter des Kunstwerks (Bourdieu 1999;Zolberg 1990;Janssen 2001).…”

“…Becker 1982: 226-271), deutlich häufiger studiert haben, ob an Kunsthochschu-len oder vergleichbaren Einrichtungen, besser in soziale Netzwerke mit anderen Künstlern eingebunden sind und auch über bessere Kontakte zu Galerien verfügen (Gerhards und Anheier 1987;Griff 1968;Giuffre 1999, Janssen 2001. Für unsere Fragestellung ist z.B.…”

Building on Progress: Expanding the Research Infrastructure for the Social, Economic, and Behavioral Sciences

“…They are, first, concerned with the socialization, recruitment, and training of artists, as well as the social inequalities connected with artistic career paths that vary in terms of social class background, general and artistic education, gender, ethnicity, earnings, and social security (Menger 1999;Caves 2000, chap. 4;Janssen 2001;Haak 2008). Second, inter-and intra-individual variations in living and working conditions are supposed to have an impact on artistic output, creativity, and aesthetic development.…”