Abstract
This article discusses the major currents in the analysis of culture in German language sociology. First, it sheds light on the role of culture in the history of sociology. Second, it reconstructs the main fields of research in the last 20 years. The authors employ the distinction between sociology of culture and cultural sociology. With regard to the first, the article addresses new types of work in the creative sphere, the changing role of the public, as well as the relation between class and culture.With regard to the second, with its focus on social meaning, the article presents theoretical contributions as well as research from different fields in sociology, in which a cultural sociological perspective has proven to be illuminating.