Acquiring Cultural Capital - Case Study Example

Acquiring Cultural Capital Roll No: Teacher: 25th October 2008 Table of Contents Acquiring Cultural Capital 3Introduction 3 Cultural Capital 4 Cultural Capital and Development of Taste 6 Conclusion 9 References 11 Acquiring Cultural Capital Introduction Culture affects the lives of people to a great extent. Cultural capital is considered as the experience that a person gets with the passage of time and with experiences of life in order to succeed in his/her life (Kingston 2001). The terms cultural capital was employed for the first time by Bourdieu and he used cultural capital as a term in order to describe the diversities in instructive outcomes (Dumais 2002). Cultural capital and taste development are interrelated. This paper contains the description of cultural capital as well as its contribution in the development of taste. Taste is related to linking and disliking that people develop in relation to cultural capital. In this paper, the answer to the question, what is cultural capital, will be given and afterwards the answer to the question, how does cultural capital operate in relation to the particular development of taste, will be given. In the end, the topic, acquiring cultural capital will be concluded. Cultural Capital Culture capital is related to social development. Parents accommodate their children with cultural capital to give them experience and knowledge related to culture, so that they may succeed in their lives (Dumais 2002). Cultural capital is a concept that is regarded as highly influential by societies and people. It has been suggested that culture in relation to practices and temperaments affect on individual and social lives in terms of profit (Frow 1995). People can make use of culture to dominate or monopolize and it can be transferred from one generation to the other (Dumais 2002). According to Bourdieu, cultural capital can be described in three states which are embodied state, objectified state and institutionalized state (Bourdieu 1984). Cultural capital in form of embodied state is present in an individual, which he/she has gained himself/herself by means of experience and obtained by means of bequest. Both inherited and attained cultural capital in an individual can be considered in embodied state (Bourdieu 1984). People do not get cultural capital in inheritance genetically but by their development with the passage of time, through experiences and with the help of their parents and elders, who help them in attainment of cultural capital (Frith 1996a). Cultural capital in form of objectified state is present in someone by means of his/her possessed objects. Cultural capital in objectified form can be transferred physically from one person to another or from one place to another as an economic capital that means that cultural capital in its objectified state can be sold (Bourdieu 1984). Parents or elders of a person can provide their cultural belongings to their youngsters physically. In institutionalized state, cultural capital is present in form of is attained by means of qualification or achievement in terms of education. Cultural capital in its institutionalized state is the educational or other accomplishments of a person that can be capitalized. For every level of achievement, there is diversified conversion of cultural capital into financial capital (Bourdieu 1984). This means that a person gains financial success by means of his/her accomplishments and achievements. Cultural capital is closely related to taste that people have in their lives for certain things. According to Bourdieu, cultural capital plays an important role in identification of disparity and discrimination that exists in a society (Frith 1996a). It is somehow related to social existence. Bourdieu informs that cultural capital and economic capital both affect the class system of a society (Bourdieu 1984). Classes are also created because of these two kinds of capitals: cultural and economic. People develop their tastes on the basis of their classes that are created because of cultural capital (Frow 1995). Therefore, it can be said that taste development can be linked to cultural capital. Every class of the society has its own tastes. Aesthetic sense and taste development differs with the classes. Different kinds of artistic pleasures, music and other tastes are kept by people belonging to different classes (Kingston 2001). Bourdieu in his work, “Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste” informs about various classes in America like different kinds of music (Bourdieu 1984). Example can be given such as elites like opera and classical music, middle classes like Broadway show tunes and lower classes show likeness for country music and rock (Frow 1995). Cultural capital is closely linked to dispositions, expertise of people, habits and practices and tastes that people keep (Dumais 2002). Cultural capital plays an effective role in developing taste for various aspects of life. Taste also differs with the age. Younger people tend to have different tastes as compared to older ones. With the passage of time, tastes also change. Cultural Capital and Development of Taste G. Hawkins describes taste as “a particular physical sense in everyday occurrence” (Hawkins 2003, 340). Many sentences are listened or spoken by different people in our daily lives such as anyone having a good or bad taste. Tastes are evaluated on the basis of music, literature, fashion, art, architecture, TV programs, social gatherings, paintings and pictures and many more other objects and aspects that are present in society. Everyone evaluates the taste of any other person on the basis of his/her own likings, what appears good to one person belongs to good taste and whatever appears bad, is added to bad taste. Tastes are also associated to different classes. People relate some likings and disliking to certain classes. Tastes are also regarded as different such as highbrow taste or lowbrow taste and good taste or bad taste (Hawkins 2003). Tasteless is also employed to identify a person’s devoid of any linking related to something. Culture also affects the generation of tastes (Hawkins 2003). People belonging to a culture have different tastes towards certain things as compared to people related to other cultures (Kingston 2001). Taste is regarded as a capability to judge and appraise art without the involvement of emotions and rationale (Hawkins 2003). Hume, Kant and many other philosophers gave considerable importance to taste (Hawkins 2003). Taste is usually related to art and its forms. Previously taste was regarded as an aspect that was kept only by the elites. With the passage of time, taste shifted from one class to other and now every class has a certain taste for different objects, aspects and forms (Hawkins 2003). Bourdieu informed that taste is not natural. According to Bourdieu, taste development is a fully sociable matter and is developed culturally or by the impact of culture (Bourdieu 1984). Development of taste is closely associated to the cultural capital. The theories concerning cultural capital presented by various authors indicate that taste development depends on cultural capital as well as economic capital (Frith 1996b). Cultural capital and economic capital are informed to be closely associated but are somehow different. It is informed by Bourdieu that upper classes of the society consider their taste as supreme and for them, those who keep the taste according to their liking keep good taste and others have bad taste (Bourdieu 1984). According to Bourdieu, upper class people mobilize their taste on the basis of their cultural capital (Bourdieu 1984). The information, expertise and experience that people get by means of high society cultural codes keeps under the title cultural capital (Hawkins 2003). Cultural capital is the competence and knowledge that people get with the passage of time because of embodied, objectified or institutionalized state (Hawkins 2003). A person can acquire cultural capital by means of educational support, family support and social support in which, he/she is given a certain taste or aesthetic sense (Hawkins 2003). Taste is closely associated to cultural capital and is developed by the support of cultural capital (Frow 1995). Youth can be seen as a representative of the theory of cultural capital and development of taste. Youth shows the adoption of popular taste and likings for specific aspects and objects by means of cultural utilization (Hawkins 2003). Fashions, music, art and many other aspects and objects that are related to culture are presented and showed by means of cultural markets. Cultural markets are also employed to promote a specific form of culture in order to make it popular (Hawkins 2003). People develop their taste on the basis of cultural capital and cultural markets play a significant part in allowing the youth specifically and other people as well to adopt a taste by making it popular through cultural marketing (Collins 2002). A popular taste becomes fashion and people adopt it as a fashion. Cultural capital is highlighted by means of cultural markets that display the properties of a specific culture (Kingston 2001). Youth shows a taste for popular culture such as for a specific kind of music that is popular, for a specific kind of art that is popular, for a specific kind of sport that is popular, for a specific kind of clothes that are popular and for specific kind of literature that is popular and much more (Collins 2002). The aspects that are prominent in the society are called popular culture and all the people who want to be known as having good taste, try to adopt the prominent aspects. Youth is the target of cultural markets as youth adopts everything that is a part of popular culture (Collins 2002). Every society has a culture that goes through changes with the passage of time (Kingston 2001). Youth adopts the changes and their tastes are commoditized by the markets. Industry that deals with taste and fashion of youth is able to generate capital on the basis of the marketing and selling of popular taste (Collins 2002). Tastes are subject to change with changing fashions (Frith 1996b). As compared to tastes of older people, youth is seen having different tastes that are from the popular cultures of a society. Youth is seen as moving with the fashion market. They like to wear a color that is in or we can say that is in fashion, they like to make use of certain accessories that are considered in fashion and much more (Collins 2002). Good taste or what is regarded as good taste is popularized by means of media. After its being popularized, the taste becomes popular culture and is adopted by the youth. For understanding of youth’s value to taste and popular culture, youth’s attraction towards adoption of a certain fiction can be considered as exemplary. Harry Potter is considered as a form of popular culture, all the series of Harry Potter gained a marvelous reception form the youth because of its being popular. Media played an effective part in popularizing a specific taste of youth. A special kind of music such as rap gained its reputation as a popular culture because of its cultural markets that were ready to promote it as a popular culture. There are many other forms of popular culture that is not literary or classical but are popular because of its acceptance by the youth of a country (Collins 2002). Therefore cultural capital is closely related to the development of taste in youth and according to youth, the change is popular culture and taste is quite persuasive. Conclusion In this paper, the cultural capital and development of taste in relation to cultural capital is discussed. It is quite clear that cultural capital play a significant role in the development of a taste. Cultural capital is the knowledge and experience that people gain through life experience and with the passage. This gained knowledge is fruitful for people in terms of attainment of success and accomplishment. People can monopolize themselves on the basis of cultural capital. Different people belonging to different classes show liking and taste towards different forms of life. Youth also shows a different taste. The tastes of youth change with the popular culture. Youth adopts a taste that is current and up to date. The cultural markets help in consideration of an aspect, an object or a form as a popular culture. Cultural markets also promote a culture to make it popular and commoditize it to gain capital. Youth plays an effective role in development of popular culture because it is the youth, which adopts popular culture as categorize it as its taste. References Bourdieu, P 1984, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, Richard Nice (tr.), Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, New York. Collins, J 2002, “High Pop: An Introduction”, High Pop – Making Culture into Popular Entertainment, Blackwell, London, 1-31. Dumais, S 2002, “Cultural Capital, Gender, and School Success: the role of habitus”, Sociology of Education 75(1), 44-68. Frith, S 1996a, “Common Sense and the Language of Criticism”, Performing Rites, Oxford University Press, London, 63-74. Frith, S 1996b, “The Value Problem in Cultural Studies”, Performing Rites, Oxford University Press, London, 3-20. Frow, John 1995, “Economies of Value”, Cultural Studies and Cultural Value, Oxford University Press, London, 131-169. Hart, B. and Risley, T. R 1995, Meaningful differences in the everyday experiences of young American children. Brookes Publishing, Baltimore. (Hart and Risley 1995) Hawkins, G 2003, “Taste” T. Bennett, M. Morris and L. Grossberg, Eds, New Keywords, Blackwell, London, 340-342. Kingston, P 2001, “The Unfulfilled Promise of Cultural Capital Theory”, Sociology of Education, Extra Issue, 88-99. Read More