1st Edition
Cultural Capital and Creative Communication (Anti-)Modern and (Non-)Eurocentric Perspectives
Inspired by Bourdieu’s thought, this book explores the notion of cultural capital, offering insights into its various definitions, its evolution and the critical theories that engage with it.
Designed for use by students and teachers, it addresses the limitations and expansion of Bourdieu's theory of capital and power, considering the relationship between cultural, social and human capital, the distinctions between capital and capitalism, and the conflicts that exist among theories that have emerged in response to – or can be brought to bear on – Bourdieu’s work. Engaging with the thought of Max Weber, Fernand Braudel, Daniel Bell, Herbert Marcuse, Jean Baudrillard, Theodore Adorno, Max Horkheimer and Gilles Lipovetsky, Cultural Capital and Creative Communication represents the first book to develop a field of research and study that is devoted to cultural capital.
Richly illustrated with empirical examples and offering assessment exercises, it will appeal not only to scholars and students of sociology, philosophy and social theory, but also to corporate communities who seek to develop training modules on the increase of their cultural capital.
Introduction; 1. Propaedeutic Aspects: Cultural Capital and Its Familiarity With the Legitimate Culture Within a Society; 2. Capital and Capitalism: Before and After Cultural Determinations; 3. Eurocentric Attitudes Towards Modernity and Capital(ism); 4. The Role of Arts in Supporting the Development of Cultural Capital and Creative Communication; 5. Why Is the De-Aestheticization of Art a Phenomenon Specific to Artistic Capitalism?; 6. Final Evaluation
Biography
Oana Şerban teaches Modern Philosophy and Aesthetics at the University of Bucharest, Romania, as titular professor of the Department of Practical Philosophy and History of Philosophy and of the UNESCO Chair in Interculturality, Good Governance and Sustainable Development. She is the Executive Director of CCIIF – The Research Center for the History and Circulation of Philosophical Ideas (UB). She has authored Artistic Capitalism (2016) and After Thomas Kuhn. The Structure of Aesthetic Revolutions (2022) and co-edited different volumes of philosophy, culture and aesthetics. Around 30 academic articles and studies reflect her interest in the following main areas of expertise: Aesthetics, Modern and Political Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Biopolitics, History of Art, Cultural Heritage. Currently, she is exploring the biopolitical potential of modern art, in her latest study, published in the volume Philosophy and Film: Bridging Divides (ed. Christina Rawls, Diana Neiva, Steven Gouveia) (Routledge, 2019).
"A unique and precious mingling of disciplines, nourished by multilingual sources, this manual will help students and professionals in culture management to better comprehend what cultural capital and cultural capitalism are. Based upon a critical analysis, it restitutes synthetically the main social and aesthetic revolutions of the last century."
François Ruegg, Professor Emeritus, Universities of Fribourg and Bucharest
"This exciting new course book on Cultural Capital and Creative Communication is a timely and useful addition to the field for scholars and students alike. Oana Șerban provides a wide-ranging and stimulating epistemic overview of the interrelated concepts of cultural capital, capital, and art, focusing on the work of key thinkers evolving in the political, intellectual and artistic context of 20th century Europe."
Alex Frame, Associate Professor, University of Burgundy
"This welcome book, authored by Oana Şerban, has the merit of being both a manual in the usual sense of the term, that of a useful pedagogical tool for students to approach an extremely complex field of our cultural reality (and not only), but also a scientific, passionate investigation of the current state of the art in this domain. The openings, temptations and risks of the theoretical approach that will inevitably captivate the reader appear as soon as we notice that we deal with a book that evaluates the dynamics of cultural capital, and the manner particularly dramatic and actual of entangling with the economic and the cultural spheres in all layers of our society and life. About the balance, more or less successful, but inevitable today, between cultural capital and the culture of capital, you will find more in the pages of this volume."
Viorel Vizureanu, Professor, University of Bucharest
"… provides valuable and relevant insights on the matter of inequalities, social expression in art, and on consumerism for any reader."
Andreea Ioana Vlad, The Journal of Philosophical Economics
