As The Capital Of Culture

"Cultural capital", which is put forward by French sociologist -- Pierre Bourdieu, is a very important concept when people criticize the modern capitalism system. It is also the essential part of cultural sociology, in which Bourdieu takes culture as capital in studying culture. Nowadays culture and capital are closely related even blending together; therefore,"culture as capital"attracts more and more attention. Meanwhile, Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital becomes the focus in the academic world. He studies cultural operational system from a micro-viewpoint, which is a point in methods of studying culture in China. His ideas enrich the meaning and deepen the understanding of culture itself; meanwhile, they widen the research field of culture. Moreover, his theory makes the dynamic process of cultural existing and developing known, which draws people's attention to those non-material factors except for economy, material and the like. Therefore, a study on Bourdieu's cultural capital is necessary both practically and theoretically.Taking relations and complexity into consideration, Bourdieu makes an all-dimensional and multistoried study on cultural capital, which makes his theory complex in nature. This thesis aims to make an all-dimensional and multistoried analysis and to find out its practical and theoretical significance. At the same time, being placed in the development of history, the limitless of the theory is indicated objectively from the viewpoint of historical materialism, which is significant to applying the theory of cultural capital in the background of socialism. This thesis consists of the following five chapters: Chapter One introduces the background of Bourdieu's theory of"cultural capital"; Chapter Two is about the content of"cultural capital"; Chapter Three puts forward the dynamic operational system of"cultural capital"; Chapter Four analyzes the function of"cultural capital", focusing on the ideological function and hierarchical differences; Chapter Five is the significance of"cultural capital"in the modern society, including both the advantages and disadvantages.