ABSTRACT
Introduction to Sociology textbooks generally survey three bodies of sociological theory: functionalist, conflict and interactionist theories. Much of functionalist research examines the relationship between social class membership and the arts/music. The focus on economic and political conflict tends to ignore certain topics near and dear to humanistic scholars who prefer to explore the sociological significance of music as a source of meaning for everyday life, and as a mechanism for group solidarity. Symbolic interactionist theory is the primary analytical framework in Sociology of Everyday Life (EDL), and the other theories all result from or are closely related to interactionism. A melding of EDL perspectives with the progressive features of conflict theory produces a style of EDL sociology that is very influential in understanding popular music: Social Constructionism (SC). SC prefers to study popular music as a meaningful set of practices, performances, and texts in the social world.
