"At last, this important book is available in translation. It is an essential component of Bourdieu's œuvre, and of his contribution to our knowledge and understanding of the social basis of High Culture. It also provides theorists of the arts with that rare but necessary critical tool: factual information about the world of the museum." <i>Janet Wolff</i> <p> "This is vintage Bourdieu, showing how class generates culture, which in turn reinforces class." <i>Museum Anthropology</i></p>
In this classic study, Bourdieu, Darbel and Schnapper address such questions on the basis of a wide-ranging survey of museum visitors throughout Europe. By examining the social conditions of museum practices, they show that cultivated taste is not a natural gift but a socially inculcated disposition which is distributed unevenly, and which predisposes some to distinguish themselves through their love of art, while others are deprived of this privilege.
Preface.
1. Signs of the Times.
2. The Research Process.
3. The Social Conditions of Cultural Practice.
4. Cultural Works and Cultivated Disposition.
5. The Rules of Cultural Diffusion.
6. Conclusion.
Appendices.
1. Timetable of Research.
2. The Questionnaires and the Sampling Method.
3. The Public of French Museums.
4. Verificatory Surveys.
5. Analysis of 250 Semi-directed Interviews.
6. The Public of European Museums.
Notes.
Selected Bibliography.
Index.
In this classic study, Bourdieu, Darbel and Schnapper address such questions on the basis of a wide-ranging survey of museum visitors throughout Europe. By examining the social conditions of museum practices, they show that cultivated taste is not a natural gift but a socially inculcated disposition which is distributed unevenly, and which predisposes some to distinguish themselves through their love of art, while others are deprived of this privilege.