Dis/Assembling Culture: Towards a Critical Sociology of Contemporary Valuation Practices

Recent developments on valuation challenge monolithic conceptualisations to value, their methodological and moral consequences.

This session aims to present current de/valuation practices related to culture. It will welcome contributions from different domains, particularly those emerging on the crossroads of the sociology of arts and culture, sociology of knowledge, as well as economic sociology.

1/ Boundary Concepts in the Study of Valuation

To illustrate the plurality of socio-moral hierarchies, boundary concepts are developed. Sociology of Valuation and Evaluation (SVE) proposes to focus on social heterarchy (Lamont et al. 2012). This concept highlights the multiplicity of hierarchies at play in complex valuation processes and within heteronomous social spaces.

2/Intermediary objects in valuation

Rather than examining binary categorizations (opposing, for example, commercial and non-commercial goods), notions such as that of ‘metaprices’ (Boltanski and Esquerre, 2017) highlight the role of intermediary objects within contemporary de/valuation practices. What other examples of intermediary objects challenge binary categorizations of culture (tangible/intangible, meritant/non-meritant, etc.)?

3/ De/valuation and research design

Furthermore, the study of valuation is being more systematically articulated to that of devaluation or disqualificaiton (Greeson, Lasen and Pyyhtinen, 2020). This idea raises important methodological questions regarding the limitations of single case studies and the importance of comparison. What do comparative approaches tell us about global value hierarchies (Herzfeld, 2025), their formation and relevance in different national contexts?

These questions are indicative. Different critical approaches to valuation will be welcome, and the articulation of the empirical and conceptual aspects of the research presented will be encouraged.