Georg Simmel’s social thought in the contexts of contemporary theory and sociology of culture

Abstract

_{Georg Simmel’s reflections on culture are very often invoked in the contemporary social sciences and humanities. Many of his thoughts are considered to be exceptionally innovative, and even prophetic towards analyses that have been developing since the end of the 20th century. Taking this into consideration, in this article I compare Simmel’s works with contemporary papers on the theory and sociology of culture. In the first part of the article, I draw attention to the way in which Simmel’s reflections on such topics as: the relationship between objective and subjective culture and transcendence as an immanent feature of an individual resemble current debates devoted to the relationship between structure and agency. In the second part, I refer to Simmel’s analyses of the fragmentation and individualization of culture and the growing importance of consumerism in social life. I emphasise that they may be used as an analytic frame for reflections on contemporary culture. In the closing part, I include – along with the summary – more general reflections on the importance of Simmel’s thoughts in coping with the challenges facing the theory and sociology of culture in the 21st century.}