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The Life of Texts ch. 8 summary
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This is a summary of The Life of Texts chapter 8, divided into clear sections. The most important terms are all included in this summary.
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Chapter 8: Between Elite and Mass Culture8.1 Introduction: Canon and Canon Debates
Literary canons are the reflection of a culture’s values: what we deed beautiful, important &
necessary
Canon often does not represent minority groups well
Canon wars in the 1980’s & 1990’s
A canon is a heritage that changes, grows, moves & expands with the times
8.2 Mass Culture and Artistic Culture
Critical theory is a combination of sociological & philosophical perspectives intended to dig
behind the surface of modern capitalist society to reveal its cultural power dynamics, and to
improve these societies with comprehensive analyses
Mass media can be a manipulative threat to autonomous thinking
Commodification: the reduction of cultural products to technologically (re)producible goods
Culture industry vs. artistic culture
8.3 Symbolic Capital and Cultural Elitism
Symbolic capital: a form of power and profit that denies being economic capital because on
the surface it lacks a profit motivation
Cultural recognition depends on skilful symbolic ‘banking’: publishers invest in a name that
they have launched & established and critics either confirm or try to undermine it
Habitus: the frameworks & structures that determine individual ways of thinking & acting
Taste can be seen as a social skill that is leveraged as a means of marking out one’s difference
from the masses
The distinction between ‘high’ arts & mass culture is ultimately a class distinction disguised
as a matter of quality
8.4 Folk Culture and Elite Culture Intertwined
In the Middle Ages & Early Modern Period, folk culture was the embodiment of ‘low’ culture
– not in the sense of a culture imposed on the masses, but a popular culture that arose from
the people
Ecclesiastical culture adopted style figures from folkloristic traditions folk culture was
eventually eradicated & replaced by Christian practices & symbols
The distinction between ‘high’ and ‘low’ cultures is historically fluid & subject to change
8.5 Canon-makers & Canon-breakers
Canon-making is not only determined by literary qualities but also governed by political &
sociocultural mechanisms
Progressive/inclusive vs. conservative/exclusive
Exclusionary mechanism: a process that makes it impossible for marginal groups to break
through into the dominant or legitimate culture
Slowly, literary canons are becoming more inclusive & start to take other cultures into
account as well
8.6 There is Art in Mass Media
Audiences assign meanings to characters or storylines that often counter or contradict mass
mediated indoctrination; these meanings correspond to their respective, sociocultural
positions
8.7 In Conclusion
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