Collection of key works in an important and distinctively American sociological tradition.This exciting new volume brings together seminal work by leading figures in what is emerging as a new and important intellectual tradition, relating them to other work in Sociology and different disciplines.The book is divided into sections on Culture as Text and Code, The Production and Reception of Culture, and Culture in Action, each containing edited theoretical and empirical contributions which address the key debates in cultural sociology: the autonomy of culture, power and culture, structure and agency,the concept of meaning.This exciting new volume brings together seminal work by leading figures in what is emerging as a new and important intellectual tradition, relating them to other work in Sociology and different disciplines.The book is divided into sections on Culture as Text and Code, The Production and Reception of Culture, and Culture in Action, each containing edited theoretical and empirical contributions which address the key debates in cultural sociology: the autonomy of culture, power and culture, structure and agency,the concept of meaning.This exciting new volume brings together seminal work by leading figures in what is emerging as a new and important intellectual tradition, relating them to other work in sociology and different disciplines. The book is divided into sections on Culture as Text and Code, The Production and Reception of Culture, and Culture in Action, each containing edited theoretical and empirical contributions that address the key debates in cultural sociology: the autonomy of culture, power and culture, structure and agency, and the concept of meaning.Notes on contributors; Preface; The new American cultural sociology: an introduction Philip Smith; Part I. Culture as Text and Code: Introduction; 1. Textuality and the postmodern turn in sociological theory Richard Harvey Brown; 2. The computer as sacred and profane Jeffrey C. Alexander; 3lS=