Kunst – soziologische Perspektiven

This introductory article focuses on the classical and newer perspectives of the sociology of the arts. It is shown that the examination of the arts is of crucial relevance both in current debates and in the history of sociology as a scientific discipline. The exploration of the arts contributes to the analysis of society in a revealing manner. We emphasize that the arts and sociology share a particular and historically variable relation. This relationship cannot be described or even broken up by simply applying existing theories and methods to the arts. This article pleads for a multi-perspective approach to the arts, which takes their specific societal position and peculiarities into account. Furthermore, we introduce the present special issue on the sociology of the arts and its various contributions