藝術傾向精神性、靈性的訴求，社會科學則致力為神秘的事物除魅。 談及藝術與美的課題之社會理論當中，確實存在著許多爭議，這些論爭不僅來自於社會科學與人文學科之間的歧異，也來自於社會理論彼此之間的歧異。然而美學與藝術理論當中，卻不乏存在著具有社會學意涵的觀點。同樣地，社會理論中某些關鍵論爭（arguments），也和藝術在社會中的地位及美學的社會學意義有關。Art and Social Theory: Sociological Arguments in Aesthetics一書對藝術社會學研究作了綜合的概述，其作者英國社會學家Austin Harrington強調: 社會科學對於藝術行為、藝術表演和表現的理解，必須是由內而生的，亦即要將藝術理解成意義、價值、思想與世界觀的載體，而不僅僅是生產、消費行為的純粹物質對象。在此觀點下，藝術並非是被社會科學矮化的分析對象，而是互為平等的。甚至藝術審美的精神，也能為社會／科學進行探索時提供豐富的見解與靈感，例如 Simmel理論中的美學態度。本課程將以Harrington這本著作為主要讀本，並輔佐相關理論文獻，以探討社會學理論中與藝術及美學議題相關的論爭，這些論爭不啻藝術社會學重要的反思點，並試圖調解藝術與社會學的衝突，掌握兩者的精髓與強項，以充分瞭解藝術的特殊性與集體性。本課程重視討論的深度、獨立研究能力的培養、以及整合性的思考訓練。修課學生需積極閱讀文獻、充分參與討論、主動研究學習，以從論爭的剖析與思辯中，沈澱出自己的洞見。

Art tends to appeal to spirituality and spirituality, while social sciences strive to disenchant mysterious things. There are indeed many controversies among social theories when it comes to the subject of art and beauty. These controversies arise not only from the differences between the social sciences and the humanities, but also from the differences between social theories. However, there are many views with sociological implications in aesthetics and art theory. Likewise, some of the key arguments in social theory relate to the place of art in society and the sociological significance of aesthetics. The book Art and Social Theory: Sociological Arguments in Aesthetics provides a comprehensive overview of sociological research on art. Its author, British sociologist Austin Harrington, emphasizes: The social science understanding of artistic behavior, artistic performance and expression must be from the inside, that is, art must be understood as a carrier of meaning, value, thought and world view, rather than just a purely material object of production and consumption behavior. From this point of view, art is not an object of analysis that is dwarfed by social science, but is equal to each other. Even the spirit of artistic aesthetics can provide rich insights and inspiration for social/scientific exploration, such as the aesthetic attitude in Simmel's theory. This course will use Harrington's work as the main reading book, and will be supplemented by relevant theoretical literature to explore the debates related to art and aesthetic issues in sociological theory. These debates are important reflection points for the sociology of art, and try to mediate the conflict between art and sociology, grasp the essence and strengths of both, and fully understand the particularity and collective nature of art. This course emphasizes the depth of discussion, the cultivation of independent research abilities, and the training of integrated thinking. Students taking the course need to actively read literature, fully participate in discussions, and actively research and study, so as to precipitate their own insights from the analysis and thinking of debates.

•Harrington, A., 2004, Art and Social Theory: Sociological Arguments in Aesthetics. Cambridge ; Malden, MA : Polity Press.
•中譯本：奧斯丁・哈靈頓著 , 周計武, 周雪娉譯，2010。《藝術與社會理論 :美學中的社會學論爭》。南京市：南京大學出版社。

•Harrington, A., 2004, Art and Social Theory: Sociological Arguments in Aesthetics. Cambridge ; Malden, MA : Polity Press.
•Chinese translation: written by Austin Harrington, translated by Zhou Jiwu and Zhou Xueping, 2010. Art and Social Theory: Sociological Debates in Aesthetics. Nanjing: Nanjing University Press.