Research On The Theory And Practice Of Cultural Capital

In the late 60s and early 70s of the 20th century, French scholar Pierre ? Bourdieu enriched the concept of capital and put forward a systematic theory of cultural capital, which had aroused a lot of academic attentions and researches.With the advent of Knowledge-based economy era, the trends of cultural, economic globalization and informatization are being strengthened and the market economy is being promoted and developed, all of which have led to the great transformation in human lifestyles, thinking patterns and modes of production in terms of production, circulation and organization structure. As cultural capital comes out from a recessive to a dominant state, culture and economy have gradually blended with and infiltrated with each other. In pace with the more discretionary time and disposable income, the requirements for cultural consumption and products have been picking up. The development of modern scientific technology, the emergence of mass communication and cultural market have resulted in a series of transformations of cultural production activities, together with the introduction of market has turned culture into production component, a kind of production force. Benefits can be gained from the capital that transformed by cultural force, which has some leverage over the economy promotion. Therefore, from the point of view of cultural capital, we not only carefully examine the role played by cultural force in the physical production and general process, but also look through intellectual production, characteristics of cultural production and special process as well.Under the background of current knowledge-based economy, cultural economy and market economy, the study will focus on the operational mechanism and the related laws of cultural capital in the process of cultural production activities within the framework of Marx's theory of artistic production and Bourdieu's cultural capital theory. Taking the case of Guangxi Normal University Press as an example, this thesis attempts to achieve a satisfying combination of theory and application via analyzing its development model and operation strategies in cultural capital activities.First of all, the contents concerning cultural capital theory are discussed. Representing the wealth accumulation of cultural significance and cultural value, cultural capital is a special form that associates with culture and cultural activities. To some content, cultural capital is a kind of "soft capital." Having the classification of explicit and implicit cultural capitals, cultural capital just like a new cultural economic form is the outcome of cultural and economic force after the occurrence of agriculture and industry economy in human society. As the source of wealth accumulation, capital consisting of technology, knowledge and quality those cultural components can not prevent from the influence produced by culture. Similarly, as a special form of capital, cultural capital has the same characteristics with culture in terms of appreciation, expansion and the universal laws. "Cultural production" and "cultural management" can be carried out with the impact of culture. The three organic components of cultural capital are cultural competence, cultural products and cultural system, which give the impetus to the development of production and reproduction of cultural capital. In addition, by dint of investigation of cultural capital'connotations and components, the author sums up the four properties of cultural capital as following: symbolique, appreciation, convertibility and fluidity.Secondly, the study makes an analysis of the theoretical basis of cultural capital: Marx's theory of art production and Bourdieu's cultural capital theory. Marx's theory sheds light on the re-understanding of relationship between culture and economy, the important theoretical value and significance contained in recognition of cultural production and asset under the context of market economy. Applying the capital theory to the practice of cultural production, Bourdieu's cultural capital theory elaborates the various structural elements and productive components, and endows culture with other new properties, which provide new horizons and theoretical resources for cultural studies. Thus, we can unfold the strategies, inner logic and development law in the operation of cultural activities, which are the strong theoretical support and theoretical foundation for the further researches.In the third part, the author mainly probes into the operation laws of cultural capital from three perspectives: field, operation mechanism and operation principles. The operation of cultural capital is a process of an unceasing promotion of series of material and spiritual wealth, such as cultural products, values, thoughts and etc. Playing an active role in activities of cultural production and market including production, circulation, exchange and consumption, cultural capital can be promoted by cultural acquisition, production right, mass communication, and market four mechanisms, and symbolic conversion and economic replacement two principles. On the one hand, the operation of culture capital promotes the cultural descending,innovation and development; on the other hand,it is in favor of the increase of proportion in economy aggregate. When it comes to the property of cultural appreciation, neither magnifying its economic appreciation nor underestimating its significance in cultural appreciation is advisable. Instead, both two appreciation properties of cultural capital and the operation principles will promote the reproduction and sustainable development of cultural capital. To further verify cultural capital theory and its operation laws, the author takes Guangxi Normal University Press as a case study to make a detailed examination on its reform in history, present status, development mode, and operation strategies based on cultural capital. It is well known that there is a "phenomenon of Guangxi Normal University Press", which is embodied by its development mode "self-fission, content developing" that reinvigorates its stock assets, fully integrates its cultural resources, effectively implements its talent strategy, takes the initiate to expand book market, and creates humane brands.The last part mainly discusses the theoretical and practical significance of cultural capital theory. This theory not only expands the connotation of art production theory and lays a solid foundation for innovation in literature criticism, but also promotes the development of cultural industry practice, the integration of cultural resources, the pattern of economic growth, the cultural competitiveness, as well as the enhancement of a nation's comprehensive strength. Meanwhile, the cultural capital can be propitious to enhance the development of cultural industry by perfecting the cultural industry chain and improving the value of cultural industry.