THE SOCIOLOGY OF ARCHITECTURE

A central objective of "The Sociology of Architecture" is to position architecture as a research agenda for sociologists and others interested in the relationship between power, culture and collective identities. Adopting a critical approach to such questions, this book frames architecture as a field of symbolic and material conflict over collective identities. These arguments are developed with reference to some notable architectural projects past and present in the European and North American contexts. The powerful have historically sought to give material, built form to their power. Viewed from the vantage point of sociology, architecture is thus one aspect of the cultural sphere that contributes to the construction and maintenance of collective identities, and a way in which those with power both legitimate and mark their position in the world. Because of this backdrop, architecture is far from an autonomous or apolitical endeavour. Drawing on sociological theories to assist an understanding of how political power operates in the cultural sphere, "The Sociology of Architecture" suggests that major architectural projects can act as tangible, concrete expressions of the ultimately contested nature of collective identities, and that as such provide a focus for questioning the processes through which identities are constructed and maintained by politically powerful actors through the cultural sphere.