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Resubmission of Middlebrow: A Transatlantic Interdisciplinary Research Network

重新提交《Middlebrow：跨大西洋跨学科研究网络》

基本信息

批准号：
AH/G001049/1
负责人：
Faye Hammill
金额：
$ 5.36万
依托单位：
University of Strathclyde
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2008
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2008 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FG001049%2F1
关键词：
Resubmission Middlebrow Transatlantic Interdisciplinary Research

项目摘要

In historical terms, 'middlebrow' refers to the extensive area of cultural production which situated itself between high modernism and popular culture, and to a set of tastes and social formations associated primarily with the middle class in the early to mid-twentieth century. In recent decades, 'middlebrow' has continued to designate, on the one hand, works of art and literature which combine sophistication with accessibility, and on the other, their educated and aspirational - rather than elite - audience. The ideological charge of this contested term (which can be pejorative or celebratory) depends largely on the standpoint of the observer, and a variety of cultural and class-based tensions can be read in the competing definitions of 'middlebrow'. The study of middlebrow culture matters because it illuminates social and cultural trends in the earlier twentieth century, and helps us understand the relationship between elite, popular and 'intermediate' cultures. It matters especially now because the emergence of middlebrow cultural products in the decades following the First World War was, primarily, a result of technical innovations in printing, distribution, recording, and broadcasting. Study of this phenomenon will advance understanding of trends in our own time, as the internet has not only resulted in a vast renaissance of textual production, but has also created new channels for the transmission of images, broadcast programmes, and films. In addition the internet has generated new audiences and interpretive communities which echo the middlebrow cultural formations of the early twentieth century. Examples include electronic book clubs, new bohemian web magazines such as thesmartset.com or feathertale.com, and diaries and blogs which recall the Mass Observation project. Hierarchies of culture, class and taste represent an increasingly important research theme in literary, historical and cultural studies, but at present, our understanding of these subjects is hampered by a lack of mechanisms for cross-disciplinary collaboration. This is a serious problem, since middlebrow culture can only be fully understood by bringing together perspectives from social and cultural history with critical analysis of literature, film, and the media. The tensions surrounding middlebrow are related to discourses of class and taste which range across the whole area of lifestyle choices and cultural consumption, from interior décor, gardens, design and fashion to preferences in music, film and books. The research field is currently unstructured, with no regular conferences or publications, no professional association, no forum for online discussion and no organised web presence. By establishing the required structure, the network will facilitate collaboration and encourage future projects. In addition, we aim to stimulate comparative transatlantic enquiry in order overcome the tendency to treat British and American middlebrow cultures as separate phenomena. As well as comparing specific manifestations of middlebrow culture, we will also seek to understand the way cultural taxonomies are actually constructed. Our presentations and publications will explore the inflection of social and cultural capital by a range of other categories, notably class, gender, and nation. We will also investigate the material and economic dimensions of middlebrow culture, and explore the nature of middlebrow audiences and their reception of different genres of film, music and literature. The history of middlebrow reading and book collecting will be explored through study of collections such as the Sybil Campbell library, established in the 1920s. Network members will be drawn from a variety of academic disciplines in the US and UK, and additional advisors to the project include archivists, journalists and publishers.

在历史上，“中产阶级”指的是文化生产的广泛领域，它位于高度现代主义和流行文化之间，也指的是一套主要与世纪早期到中期的中产阶级有关的品味和社会形态。近几十年来，“中产阶级”一方面继续指艺术和文学作品，这些作品将联合收割机的复杂性与可访问性结合在一起，另一方面，他们受过教育和有抱负的-而不是精英-观众。这个有争议的术语的意识形态指控（可能是贬义的或庆祝的）在很大程度上取决于观察者的立场，并且各种文化和阶级紧张关系可以在“中间人”的竞争定义中阅读。对中产文化的研究很重要，因为它揭示了二十世纪早期的社会和文化趋势，并帮助我们了解精英、流行和“中间”文化之间的关系。这一点在今天尤为重要，因为第一次世界大战后的几十年里，中产阶级文化产品的出现主要是印刷、发行、录音和广播技术创新的结果。对这一现象的研究将促进对我们这个时代趋势的理解，因为互联网不仅导致了文本制作的广泛复兴，而且还为图像、广播节目和电影的传播创造了新的渠道。此外，互联网还产生了新的受众和诠释社区，这与世纪初的中产阶级文化形态相呼应。例子包括电子图书俱乐部，新的波西米亚网络杂志，如thesmartset.com或feathertale.com，以及回忆群众观察项目的日记和博客。文化、阶级和品味的等级是文学、历史和文化研究中日益重要的研究主题，但目前，我们对这些主题的理解受到缺乏跨学科合作机制的阻碍。这是一个严重的问题，因为只有将社会和文化历史的观点与对文学、电影和媒体的批判性分析结合起来，才能充分理解中庸文化。围绕中产阶级的紧张关系与阶级和品味的话语有关，这些话语涉及生活方式选择和文化消费的整个领域，从室内装饰，花园，设计和时尚到音乐，电影和书籍的偏好。该研究领域目前是非结构化的，没有定期会议或出版物，没有专业协会，没有在线讨论的论坛，也没有有组织的网络存在。通过建立所需的结构，该网络将促进合作并鼓励未来的项目。此外，我们的目标是刺激比较跨大西洋调查，以克服倾向于把英国和美国的中产阶级文化作为单独的现象。除了比较中庸文化的具体表现外，我们还将寻求理解文化分类法的实际构建方式。我们的演讲和出版物将探讨社会和文化资本的一系列其他类别，特别是阶级，性别和国家的影响。我们还将调查中产文化的物质和经济层面，并探讨中产观众的性质和他们对不同类型的电影，音乐和文学的接受。中产阶级阅读和图书收藏的历史将通过研究，如西比尔坎贝尔图书馆，成立于20世纪20年代的集合探索。网络成员将来自美国和英国的各种学科，该项目的其他顾问包括档案管理员，记者和出版商。