Georg Simmel had already observed that the sensory perception of objects, architectures, techniques, and aesthetics depends on with whom a society is invested. Nevertheless, the cultural relativity of the senses was ignored in cultural studies and the social sciences for a long time. The volume deals with this blind spot and explores the depths of the theoretical, methodological, and empirical relationships between material culture and practices of the perception. Four themes come to the foreground: aesthetics inside and outside of art, the affective power of objects, spatial atmospheres, and sensory expertise.With contributions from Regula Burri, Robert Gugutzer, Hans Peter Hahn, Jane M. Jacobs, Gabriele Klein, and Andreas Reckwitz, among others.sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, cultural geography, and media