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Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion: A Critical Investigation

  • Start date: 01 March 2003
  • End date: 31 March 2006

The concept of cultural capital refers to the role that cultural tastes, knowledge, and abilities play in relation to the processes of class formation in contemporary societies. It has been influential in accounts of how the middle classes distinguish themselves from the working classes and has also played a significant role in accounts of differences within the middle classes, between professionals and managers, for example. These perspectives now also inform cultural policies concerned to mitigate the effects of social exclusion. Yet the concept has also been criticised from the perspective of alternative accounts of class-based forms of social stratification. Its ability to address the relationships between these and gender and ethnically-based forms of social stratification has also been questioned. The research for this inquiry will seek both to resolve these issues and to provide the first systematic survey of cultural tastes in the UK. It will do so via a national household-based survey of cultural tastes, knowledge, and activities correlated with a wide range of social variables (Class, education, gender, ethnicity, occupation, etc). This will be supplemented by qualitative study - through focus groups and household interviews - of the subjective aspects of the relations between culture, class, gender and ethnicity

Grant holder

Professor Frederick Bennett

Programme name

None

Co - applicants

Professor Mike Savage

Professor Elizabeth Silva

Professor Mike Savage

Professor Alan Warde

Grant amount

£428,198.88

Grant reference

R000239801

Institution

Open University

Discipline

Sociology

Grant type

Research Grant