Cultural Capital Research Articles

Novi Sad cultural stations as healthy buildings for wellbeing concept

Abstract Creating spaces for all citizens through the cultural stations project within the Novi Sad - European Capital of Culture 2022 has set an example of applying the concept of well-being which involves integrating various elements that support physical, mental, and social health. Cultural stations project in the city of Novi Sad is a concept supporting cultural programming, healthy food options, mental health support, accessibility and inclusivity, as well as community engagement. Social interaction in urban areas is vital for mental and emotional well-being, fostering a sense of belonging and community, diverse cultural programming that appeals to different groups, cultural activities such as art exhibitions, performances, workshops, and community events provide opportunities for creativity, learning, and social engagement, enhancing overall well-being. Access to cultural stations, spending time there has been linked to reduced stress, improved mood, and increased feelings of well-being within 7 neighborhoods of Novi Sad. This includes providing barrier-free access, accommodations for individuals with disabilities, and programming that is inclusive and welcoming to everyone. Participation of the local community in the design, programming, and management of cultural stations is also important. By integrating these principles into the design, programming, and management of cultural stations, Novi Sad creates vibrant, inclusive, and healthy spaces that contribute to the overall well-being of its residents and visitors. Cultural stations are located in different parts of the city in order to provide accessibility to all citizens. Their arrangement is in accordance with the recommendations of green construction and restoration, and the interior and surroundings foster respect for nature and nature-based solutions. Also, they are developing different content in line with culture, but also science, health and smart solutions as a tool for well-being.

Ideological rug-pulling: race, reds, and red herrings in Jordan Peele’s Us

ABSTRACT Viewers of Jordan Peele’s 2019 Us are likely to approach the film expecting it to be about race. Undercutting current cultural orthodoxy about which marker of identity has priority, the story reveals itself instead to be about class, as doppelgängers emerge from underground to free themselves from the affluent originals allegorically oppressing them in a capitalist culture. In what Vera Tobin calls a “narrative rug-pull,” the revelation of the main character’s real identity invites viewers to reinterpret what they have seen and to rethink what their loyalties were and should be. Us thereby performs a rug-pull of a specifically ideological variety, as, prior to the reveal, viewers only make the specific interpretive assumptions they do because of deeper ideological ones. Where Tobin writes against the notion that cognitive biases are necessarily bad, since they can be deployed for aesthetic pleasure, I argue further that they can be weaponized in narrative to artfully combat ideological bias. There is untapped potential for rug-pulling to be used in ideology critique, though I end with some pessimistic caveats about the possibility of doing so in a capitalist culture.

Reshaping Sports Journalism Through Innovation: An Analysis of L’Équipe Explore’s Strategies, Practices and Output

ABSTRACT Sports journalism practice faces important challenges deriving from the multiplication of platforms, the acceleration of workflows, the emergence of new entrants and the audiences’ shifting consumption habits. In a bid to overcome those challenges and advance innovation across the board, the French newspaper L’Équipe established a specific unit for that purpose: Explore. By focusing on this case study, this research has examined the formats, output and practices deployed by Explore and evaluated its impact within L’Équipe’s offer. The study is informed by content analysis performed on the projects (N = 201) published by Explore over a 32-month timeframe (May 2021–December 2023), ethnographic work and eight semi-structured interviews with its employees. Findings reveal that Explore stands out as a leading “media lab” in sports journalism. Through a broad range of formats and a multifaceted agenda, Explore occupies a unique position in terms of delivering cultural capital. Explore embraces alternative production modes that invest in freedom and research while rejecting hyper-accelerated cycles and clickbait-oriented approaches. Such proposition has resonated with audiences and positioned Explore as a cornerstone of L’Équipe’s commercial strategy. Solutions articulated by Explore contribute to the broader discussion of how sports journalism practice can be reshaped in the digital age.

Promising the earth: Forms of capital promised and pursued in Australian-Chinese research collaborations

Science is a space of both collaboration and competition, illustrated by international research collaboration (IRC) and its advantages for individual countries, institutions and scientists. IRC also brings together countries positioned unequally in global epistemic hierarchies. Little is known about how scientists navigate these tensions within IRC. We explore this through a study of Australian–Chinese IRC, drawing on interviews with Australian scientists and Bourdieu's theoretical framework. We identify specific capitals that are sought and promised in Australian–Chinese IRC, namely, scientific, economic and ‘environmental’ capital, with successful collaboration depending also on social and cultural capital. Differences in how Australia and China are positioned in global academic and scientific fields, and differences between national scientific fields, mean that collaboration facilitates access to forms of capital unobtainable in scientists’ home settings. Because the benefits of IRC are fundamentally relational and promissory, these will change alongside the global hierarchies that are, themselves, being reshaped by IRC.

Advancing Global Climate and Biodiversity Goals Through Regenerative Tourism

Tourism has a particular responsibility to contribute to climate and biodiversity goals because of its intense use of long-range transport and its strong dependence on natural capital as an asset. Tourism is a major contributor to the global economy, but also to greenhouse gas emissions. The severe impacts of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the tourism sector triggered a search for enhanced resilience, replacing the past paradigm of “boosterism”, and the dominant paradigm of “sustainable tourism”. Sustainable tourism is no longer sufficient, and a shift towards a new paradigm of regenerative tourism is needed to address the environmental and societal challenges faced by the tourism industry. Here, the evidence pointing at the rise of regenerative tourism as a new paradigm is reviewed, the differential goals of regenerative, relative to sustainable tourism, are defined and actions along five domains of action are identified that can help tourism destinations embrace the transition toward the regenerative tourism paradigm. Regenerative tourism seeks to enhance the natural, cultural and social capital of destinations while creating net positive benefits for people and the planet. It emphasizes collaboration with local communities and an ambitious and holistic approach to sustainability, going beyond reducing negative impacts to creating positive ones. Regenerative tourism aligns the industry, the Paris Agreement, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, while advancing the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. The transition to regenerative tourism requires investments in technology and innovation, transparent collaboration, and a holistic focus on well-being for both people and the planet.

The influence of the cultural capital transformation of Wushu Intangible Cultural Heritage on status acquisition: the case of Sichuan Province

ABSTRACT The promulgation and implementation of a protection system for Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) has provided a new legal path for transforming cultural capital and solidifying the modern values of Chinese folk martial arts. However, different folk martial arts have formed differentiated evaluations and social statuses by transmitting and reproducing cultural capital across generations. Through the field investigation of Sichuan Wushu Intangible Cultural Heritage (WICH) projects, this study discusses the relationship between the status and influence of WICH and the operation of cultural capital. The findings demonstrate that the WICH inheritance group continues to pass down and transform embodied cultural capital through the inheritance relationship network while constructing and expanding the project’s objective cultural capital. In doing so, they maintain and strengthen the project’s established reputation and social status. Therefore, cultural capital and the path of capital reproduction of folk martial arts formed in the traditional inheritance field affect the acquisition of WICH status. A comprehensive clarification of the positive role of cultural capital in the acquisition of WICH status can provide a reference for the modern transformation and continuation of the value system of WICH projects at different levels.

‘Unbecoming’ a Professional: The Role of Memory during Field Transitions in Japan and the USA

AbstractExisting scholarship documents how, in becoming a professional, such as a partner in a professional services firm (PSF), one's habitus comes into alignment with field expectations. Less understood, however, is what happens to habitus and, relatedly, to professionals' accumulated cultural, social, and economic capitals, as individuals ‘unbecome’ a professional and transition away from the field. We examine this overlooked phenomenon via individual and focus group interviews with partners retired from PSFs in Japan and the USA. We find that, in unbecoming a professional, aspects of ex‐partners' habitus may be misaligned with the field they operate in, prompting a hysteresis effect. The lack of fit of habitus with one's current circumstances is induced by ex‐partners' nostalgia regarding accumulated capitals, that is, wistful memories capable of structuring present and future actions. By demonstrating how nostalgia informs ex‐partners' experience of the hysteresis effect, this paper contributes to understandings of the importance of memory when detaching from one's profession. Furthermore, given that our investigation is carried out across two distinct cultural settings, we also theorize how country‐specific historical work arrangements may condition memory in professionals' unbecoming from PSFs.

Andrey Kryachkov. The man who created the city

Andrey Dmitrievich Kryachkov is an outstanding architect, the founder of the Siberian architectural school, whose creative path is closely connected with the foundation of the future administrative and cultural capital of Siberia. The author of most of the iconic historical architectural objects of modern Novosibirsk, Kryachkov largely predetermined the aesthetic code of the young Siberian city at that time, combining traditions and innovations in regional architecture of the first half of the 20th century. The architecture of Kryachkov in the modern appearance of Novosibirsk continues to play a significant city-forming aesthetic role.

Investments of High School EFL Teachers: Negotiating Professional Identities, Forms of Capital, and Societal Ideologies

ABSTRACT This 1.5-year longitudinal case study explores the investments of four high school EFL teachers, which have been scarcely researched, in China. A qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews, observations, and relevant artefacts, was adopted. The findings reveal that the investments of English teachers were inextricably intertwined with teachers’ professional identities, forms of capital, and societal ideologies. First, in contrast to previous findings, student-assigned identities on English teachers stimulated teachers’ investments in pedagogical practice and educational reforms. Second, teachers’ cultural capital was valued differently by society, institutions, students, and teachers themselves, and it played a critical role in teachers’ investments. Third, an unprecedented finding is that teachers’ enhanced social capital could hinder and undermine teachers’ investments and their desired identities. Fourth, being constrained by prevailing ideologies, English teachers were capable of making investments in reshaping existing structures. The implications of EFL teachers’ investments for their classroom practice and professional development are discussed.

Using habitus and ethnic identity theory to investigate the decision-making of Canadian Modern Orthodox young people

ABSTRACT Students’ access to higher education is significantly shaped by the cultural and social capital they hold and aspire to gain. This study examines Canadian Modern Orthodox high school graduates pursuing higher education, exploring the factors that influence their choices. By framing Canadian Modern Orthodox Judaism as an ethnic minority identity, the research reveals how this identity shapes the decision-making process of young adults. The study integrates Bourdieu’s concept of habitus and Phinney’s theory of ethnic identity to understand how students in a close-knit community plan their futures, balancing considerations of reputation, marriage, and career. Based on eight years of teaching at a Modern Orthodox high school in Southern Ontario, the study uses institutional ethnography to identify two key pathways: Pathway 1 involves students taking a gap year in Israel, postponing their minority status on North American campuses, while Pathway 2 sees students entering directly into secular universities, where they become ethnic minorities for the first time. The paper also explores how students manage their post-secondary experiences and the impact on their cultural and social capital. Those who choose a gap year in Israel often accumulate greater cultural and social capital within their community compared to those who enter university directly.

Economic, Social, Cultural Capital of the Region of Puno, Peru

Economic, Social, Cultural Capital of the Region of Puno, Peru

Linking personal initiative and family help as well as social support: a case study of learning challenges and solutions for older adults in rural China during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic has caused serious damage to the continuous learning of older adults around the world. While the existing literature focused more on older adults' learning in developed countries, few studies explored older adults' learning in developing countries with low social and cultural capital. This study took family-school cooperation in China as the platform and explored learning challenges and solutions through unstructured interviews with 12 older adults. The study found that due to policies of working and studying from home, older adults face obstacles in accessing physical learning institutions and digital learning knowledge, skills, and psychology. I further found that the older adults were not forced to accept the challenge passively, but created a lifelong learning model with Chinese characteristics by building self-learning based on personal initiative, developing sustainable intergenerational learning rooted in Chinese family culture, and participating in online learning in schools and enterprises under the government guidance. This study provided new knowledge for understanding the learning challenges and solutions of older adults in rural China. It is emphasized that policy value and practice enlightenment were highlighted and discussed in conversations with active aging, intergenerational learning, and harmonious societies.

“And What about Pushkin?”, or Unfulfilled Attempt of Boris Porshnev to Become a Scholar of Pushkin

The article elucidates a lesser-known facet of the eminent Soviet historian Boris Fedorovich Porshnev, whose acclaim stemmed from the publication of a study on popular movements in France before the Fronde in 1948. Choosing the path to science, B. F. Porshnev, as it turns out, tried to interpret Pushkin’s legacy on the eve of the centennial anniversary of the poet's death (1937). Upon scrutinizing Boris Porshnev’s handwritten records in the context of his life, it was ascertained that the historian had laid the groundwork, amassed copious material, and had clearly intended to pen and publish an extensive treatise on the oeuvre of A.S. Pushkin. . He had outlined a prospective publication in eleven overarching principles, which he intended to expound upon. Boris Porshnev was looking for a connection between the artistic side and the socio-political views of the poet. B. F. Porshnev was interested in the “historical foundations” of Pushkin’s work and its main themes. It seems that in formulating his 11 theses and answering the question “what about Pushkin?”, he followed the already officially declared stereotypical image, the rapidly emerging canon. The authorities envisaged leveraging the cultural capital of yore, and the historian appeared to cautiously navigate this nascent trajectory. The fundamental tenets of B. F. Porshnev’s depiction of Pushkin are as follows. Pushkin is not just a contemporary figure, but also aligned with socialism. He enjoys popularity and possesses international appeal. Examination of his works is imperative. Previous interpretations of the poet were incorrect. Two themes predominate in Pushkin’s work: the people as the creator of history and revolution. Pushkin is an implacable enemy of autocracy. The romantic idealization of revolution (rebellion), designed to subvert autocracy, is supplanted by disenchantment and the conviction that a triumphant revolution is viable in the West, where it was executed by the bourgeoisie, but impossible (“reckless”) in Russia. Pushkin ascribed the failure of the Russian revolution to the resilience of autocracy and the incapacity of the fading nobility to foment a revolution. This explication of the reasons for the revolution’s failure is deemed inaccurate. The actual cause, unbeknownst to the poet, is the absence of a proletariat in Russia.

“Sometimes We Struggle, Sometimes We Push Back:” The Educational Experiences and Aspirations of Youth with Refugee Backgrounds from the Horn of Africa

This qualitative article focuses on the high school experiences and post-secondary education (PSE) plans of 57 youth with refugee backgrounds from the Horn of Africa living in Ontario. The article is guided by two conceptual frameworks. The first is an anti-oppressive approach, which helps us examine the structural barriers at school that prevent, impede, and discourage the youth from successfully transitioning to PSE. We then use Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth framework to highlight the cultural capital that the youth bring from their homes and communities to navigate the challenges at school and embark on a pathway to PSE. Our findings show that while a significant number of the youth continue to face challenges, some are pushing back on the common narrative that Black African refugees are not capable of attending PSE.

Socioeconomic position and sports in the US today: the economic and cultural capital of sports followers

PurposeThis study aims to explore the relationship between social class and sports following in the United States, addressing a gap in research that has largely overlooked spectator sports in sociocultural analyses. The paper seeks to be an expanded update on previous work focusing on how socioeconomic factors such as income and education interact with sports engagement.Design/methodology/approachEmploying 2023 national survey data from the United States, this study analyzes the following of 31 different spectator sports in relation to income and education. The methods include the use of Cramer’s V statistic to assess associations between sports following and socioeconomic variables and multiple logistic regression analysis to understand the relative predictive power of these variables on sports following.FindingsThe study reveals significant socioeconomic associations in sports consumption patterns in American society, with higher income and education levels generally predicting an increased likelihood of following a wide range of sports. Notably, international soccer leagues like the English Premier League and La Liga showed the strongest associations with higher socioeconomic status, suggesting their following might serve as particularly potent markers of sociocultural distinction.Originality/valueThis research provides a contemporary empirical update to the study of social class and spectator sports in the US, expanding the understanding of the evolving landscape of sports consumption and its socioeconomic connections. It underscores the importance of considering sports following as a vital aspect of cultural engagement, reflecting and reproducing broader socioeconomic stratifications. The findings offer new insights into how factors of social class shape sports consumption today, highlighting the role of sports in the cultural life of different social classes in the US.

Local mechanism of engagement in rural landscapes in the Nicaragua-Honduras sentinel landscape: examples of a local farmers' organisation and a multi-actor platform

Landscape approaches have been encouraged as a means of addressing the intricate challenges related to natural resource management and the well-being of land users/farmers. The study presents two mechanisms applied to territory development: first, a multi-stakeholder platform to improve governance in a natural reserve area (space/geographical dimension); second, how a local cooperative can become a learning network and address land-use and landscape management issues. The study evaluates the planning tool interventions of a local project, aiming to enhance landscape governance and value-chain collaboration in Nicaragua's biosphere reserve. We interviewed 403 residents and 29 cocoa cooperative members to evaluate their view of the tools/methodologies' effectiveness in natural resource management and cocoa farmers' resilience and well-being, respectively. Factorial analysis showed that the people of "Peñas Blanca" were aware of the multi-stakeholder platform managing the reserve. Generally, they had a positive opinion of the platform and its ability to balance economic and cultural values with conservation. The local cocoa cooperative has faced a financial and organisational crisis in recent years, with only a small number of members using the cooperative to sell their cocoa beans. This is due to decreased productivity and quality of the cocoa beans for some individual farmers, which impacts their ability to commercialise the beans with the cooperative. However, current access to social and cultural capital is supporting the resilience and adaptive capacity of the cocoa farmers in the territory. The studied cases provide evidence of the effectiveness of multi-sectoral and community-led organizations in integrating economic, ecological, and social objectives in a territory supporting landscape governance with sectoral approaches as valuable entry points.

Peculiarities of Organising Events under Martial Law Conditions

The aim of the article is to analyse the social purpose and to ground peculiarities of organising events under martial law conditions. Results. To achieve the goal of the scientific research, the comparative and systematic methods are used. They allowed to identify and substantiate the specifics of organising events in Ukraine after the Russian full-scale invasion, as well as to outline main directions of functioning and prospects for the development of events in the post-war time. The events are viewed as a symbolic capital of culture, its social marker, a universal means of realising the culture creating potential of the public, which stimulates the study of organisational features of events under martial law conditions. The article traces the relationship between social tendencies and event formats during the Russian aggression; specifies the problems that accompany the process of organising events since the beginning of the full-scale invasion; grounds their content and thematic direction; outlines the directions of functioning of events in the post-war time. Scientific novelty. It is proved that events held in Ukraine during the martial law go through a few stages of functioning: the stage of stagnation and re-profiling, which is inherent to event agencies in the first months of the war; the stage of a peculiar revival, which begins in the summer of 2022 and lasts until the end of 2023; the stage of adaptation and recovery, which begins in early 2024 and continues to nowadays. These periods differ in terms of event formats, target audience, and functional focus. Conclusions. It is proved that the specifics of event organisation under martial law conditions are relevant goals and objectives of a certain event; theming and structure of the event, innovative approaches to the format of the event and the way of its implementation. Such a vision is substantiated that in the post-war years the Ukrainian event industry will be characterised by a symbiosis of international, Ukrainian and local tendencies in the development of the event industry with an emphasis on the cultural ecosystem and public activity

The influence of Uganda women’s entrepreneurship program on livelihoods and cultural dynamics in Amolatar, Northern Uganda

This article examines the influence of women’s economic empowerment initiatives under Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP) on livelihoods and cultural dynamics in Amolatar Sub-Region, Northern Uganda. The study focused on how UWEP has contributed to improving women’s economic status and their roles within the cultural practices in the region. A Qualitative interpretive framework as well phenomenological research design was employed in this study involving in-depth and key informant interviews as well as focus group discussion with 28 participants. The study is grounded in Agency theory by Kabeer and Cultural Capital Theory by Bourdieu, which emphasise women’s participation in entrepreneurship to transform their economic lives and well-being within existing social structures. This research indicates that, UWEP greatly contributes to women’s active agency, allowing them to challenge obstacle within the communities, particularly gender inequality and social stratification. In addition, women’s participation in entrepreneurship coupled with the positive shifts in cultural attitudes in Amolatar sub-region have improved their livelihoods through self-employment. This study emphasise the significance of continuous support by Uganda government through Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development (MoGLSD) for UWEP. Constant support is important to further empower women as well as improve their economic status and well-being within their families and communities.

Cultural and Ethnic Identity in the Modern Realities of Media Development: Rating of Market Forces and Potential

The study’s relevance is determined by a sharp increase in interethnic and intercultural conflicts due to the digitalisation and mediatisation of geopolitics. Socio-communicative channels of ideological influence on ethnocultural life make it possible to actively manipulate people’s desire to preserve their ethnocultural identity, supporting extra-legal forms of institutional social management implemented through media, which requires deep investigation and comprehension. The article aims to outline the role and place of media and the media market in today’s geopolitical conflict landscape, both on a global scale and at the nation-state level, based on research on the conflict potential of media within ethnic and cultural identity patterns, their shaping and functioning. The research is founded on concepts and hypotheses developed in national-cultural identity, globalisation, and geopolitics. It is also based on methodological approaches such as civilisational, comparative, systemic, dialectical, sociocultural, and synergetic. It is shown that media products and the media market are a resource for ethnic conflict mobilisation. Social actors in mass communication strive to convince society of the benefits of their peace/conflict projects. It was revealed that contemporary communication, media and journalism studies have mostly neglected to critically assess the news media’s role in producing and distributing propaganda based on ethnic and cultural identity narratives, and the necessity of filling this research gap is emphasised. It has been demonstrated that information influences can change the main geopolitical potential of the state – the national mentality, culture and moral state of people. The media market today has become a full-fledged element of postclassical geopolitics. The question of the role of the symbolic capital of culture in the information (media) space is now acquiring not an abstract theoretical but a strategic geopolitical significance.

Psychological capital and safety in Global North-South cooperation: A field analysis of collaborative investigative journalism across the U.S.-Mexico border

This article builds on a field theoretical analysis of collaborative investigative journalism across the U.S-Mexico (Global North-South) border. The article examines contents produced in investigative collaboration between Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Mexican, and U.S. journalists, exposing human rights violations, crime, and corruption. The article elaborates on the concept of psychological capital and argues for its relevance in the study of cross-border collaborative investigative journalism. A key finding resulting from this research is that in most collaborative projects, psychological and other capital of the Central American and Mexican journalists was outweighed by the capital of the U.S. journalists. The psychological, social, and cultural capital of the Southern journalistic fields were highly relevant for the successful implementation of the examined projects, but not explicitly recognized in most reporting. The article also suggests the Southern journalists did not feel safe enough to suggest critical perspectives challenging the position of their Northern partners, who funded and supervised the collaborations. However, three projects, in which Northern and Southern journalists worked in Central America and Mexico side by side, manifested exemplary solidarity and recognition of the psychological and other capital of the Southern fields. Hence, it seems that witnessing the dangers affecting the region’s journalists firsthand can enable Northern journalists to better understand and appreciate the circumstances in which their Southern partners are living and working, reflected in more genuine appreciation of their psychological, cultural, and social capital.