The Mark of Time

The metamorphoses of cultural capital in a neoliberal and multicultural era: Towards a comparative approach

“…The thesis of horizontal eclecticism and the predominance of age is invalidated: it is only in music and television that age prevails over class, which comes first in the most legitimate fields of art and literature, as well as in heritage. Moreover, even in the music field, by taking into account the degree of involvement in different musical cultures, this research ‘qualifies the contention of the eclecticism thesis regarding a flattening out of genre tastes across social positions given the strong role played by age, level of education and class position in differentiating levels of participation in different kinds of musical event’ (Bennett, Dibley, et al, 2021, p. 60).…”

“…The in-depth inquiry by Bennett, Carter et al (2021) and Bennett, Dibley et al (2021) into the lifestyles and cultural practices in Australia is a major contribution to the ongoing discussions sparked by the publication and translation of Bourdieu's Distinction (1984 [1979]) (see, especially, Coulangeon and Duval, 2014). Combining a quantitative and qualitative (interview-based) approach, this survey makes a rigorous and heuristic use of Bourdieu's concepts and methodology to understand the social structure of taste and cultural practices in Australia today.…”

‘You Don’t go to These Kinds of Concerts for Fun’: The Fluid and Emergent Performance of Taste in Contemporary Art Music

“…As Bellavance notes in his analysis of Canadian cultural tastes, however, the discriminating role once played by the high/low axis of cultural distinction is increasingly blurred. In the particular Australian context examined here, Bennett et al (2020b) argue that classical music's apex position with respect to cultural legitimacy has been diminishing since the 1970s. This shift can be observed alongside increasing calls for the democratisation of cultural policy more broadly (Holden, 2006) and, specifically, in initiatives to increase the diversity of musical genres which have access to state funding in Australia (Homan, 2016).…”

“…As Bellavance notes in his analysis of Canadian cultural tastes, however, the discriminating role once played by the high/low axis of cultural distinction is increasingly blurred. In the particular Australian context examined here, Bennett et al (2020b) argue that classical music’s apex position with respect to cultural legitimacy has been diminishing since the 1970s.…”

“…The ambiguous position occupied by contemporary art music in Australia's cultural hierarchies also contributes to a need for audiences to be able to adopt a diversity of approaches to form attachments to the music. Whereas classical music in Australia once held a monopoly on legitimacy, any boundaries between high and low are increasingly blurred, and fail to act as the markers of social distinction they once did (Bennett et al, 2020b). Whereas Lloyd enacts a version of taste which appeals to and affirms his own aesthetic position in the field, he simultaneously acknowledges the need to provide a mode of engaging with contemporary art music which has universal appeal.…”