Aesthetics and Media Culture

The working group deals with sociological, political and social-philosophical questions in the area of aesthetics and media culture. In addition to the historical genesis of a marketized culture and its social and political impacts, current developments in the field of social and so-called participatory media culture (the Internet, pop culture, reality TV, etc.) are also discussed. Art and culture are considered not only as aesthetic and communicative forms of expression and relationship, but also with regard to their contribution to democratization and the expansion of cultural participation. The subject of the working group is the question of the extent to which culture is associated in a paradoxical way with a growing reification and marketization in the cultural sphere and with new forms of criticism and political practice. These questions are discussed with reference both to the classical cultural criticism of Critical Theory and to more recent research contributions.