VU sociologists analyze American music forms and their changes over time

Vanderbilt sociologists Jennifer Lena and Richard Peterson analyzed 60 samples of American music and found that each one –over time — took on forms that were roughly comparable during developmental sequences. The professors call these four distinct genre types Avant-garde, Scene-based, Industry-based and Traditionalist. “Classification as Culture: Types and Trajectories of Music Genres” has been published in the American Sociological Review.

Contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, (615) 322-NEWS
annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu