Capital Volume and Highbrow Arts Participation: How Economic and Cultural Capital Affect Taste Boundaries

• In Event: 365 - Section on Sociology of Culture Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 13. Taste and Classification

Abstract

Class and culture are two important concepts responsible for the creation of taste boundaries between groups, and thus an analysis of taste needs the consideration of class and culture together. In particular, the influence of cultural capital and economic capital needs to be better understood in the creation of taste boundaries. Using data in the United States (Survey of Public Participation in the Arts [1982-2008]), this research integrates the two concepts into the analysis of taste and examines the association of the two concepts with highbrow arts participation over time. Overall, the ability of economic and cultural capital to explain highbrow arts participation has decreased over time, but cultural capital remains a stronger predictor. While other demographic variables (i.e. marital status, age, gender, race, employment, metropolitan status, and household size) are all related to highbrow arts participation, education (cultural capital) and income (economic capital) dominate the differentiation of the taste boundaries of people in the United States.

Authors

• Susan A. Dumais, City University of New York-Lehman College

• Durmus A. Yuksek, Louisiana State University and Turkish Military Academy

• Yoshinori Kamo, Louisiana State University