The sociological imagination and the artistic imagination have been
historically intertwined, at once reciprocal and conflicting,
complementary and tensional. This connection is nowhere more apparent
than in the work of Zygmunt Bauman. His conception and practice of
sociology were always infused with a literary and artistic sensibility.
He wrote extensively on the relationship between sociology and the arts,
and especially on sociology and literature; he frequently drew on
literary writers in his exploration and elucidation of sociological
problems; and he was an avid and passionate consumer and practitioner of
art, especially film and photography.
This volume brings together hitherto unknown or rare pieces by Bauman on
the themes of culture and art, including previously unpublished material
from the Bauman Archive at the University of Leeds. A substantial
introduction by the editors provides readers with a lucid guide through
this material and develops connections to Bauman's other works.
The first volume in a series of books that will make available the
lesser-known writings of one of the most influential social thinkers of
our time, Culture and Art will be of interest to students and scholars
across the arts, humanities and social sciences, and to a wider
readership.
