On the Relevance of Basil Bernstein's Theory of Codes To the Sociology of Art Museums

Abstract

It is argued that art museums are neither reflexes of social structures nor sealed textual spaces. In the case of art-museum research there is a need to build on the insights of discourse analysis whilst keeping faith with classical sociological emphases on social power, inequality and change. Basil Bernstein's theory of cultural codes and his concepts of classification and framing provide a basis for such an analysis. Classification and framing specify the processes by which differences and solidarities which may appear to be 'out there' in the social structure are partially and discursively constituted by the museum. The paper deploys Bernstein's concepts in conjunction with David Lockwood's distinction between social integration and system integration to build an historical typology of art museums. The approach is illustrated with an analysis of the early Tate Gallery in London.