Cultural Capital in Cornwall: Heritage and the Visitor. (1st May 2008)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Busby, Graham; Meethan, Kevin
• Is Part Of: Cornish studies. Volume 16:Number 1(2008)
• Page Start: 146
• Page End: 166
• Publication Date: 2008-05-01
• DOI: 10.1386/corn.16.1.146_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2053-9363

Abstract

'Cultural capital', broadly understood, has two forms: 'personal' and 'destination-based'. The term itself appears to have been first used by Bourdieu and Passeron in 1973, although it did not become familiar to a wide audience until the publication in 1979 of Bourdieu's seminal work Distinction (English translation 1984). Bourdieu and Richards suggest that the concept refers to an individual's ability to 'understand' what they are looking at, based largely on their level of education, which will predispose them to value and interpret certain forms of culture above others. This is 'personal' cultural capital. In recent years, 'cultural capital' has also been employed as a term to refer to the potential economic value which may be derived from the inventory of cultural 'assets' at a given destination. This is 'destination-based' cultural capital. In this article we addresses the particular case of Cornwall, presenting examples of both 'destination-based' and 'personal' forms of cultural capital, and then consider where the nexus between the two might exist.