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The Outside Interests of the Cultural Elite

The Outside Interests of the Cultural Elite. Dave Griffiths University Of Manchester/CRESC. Elite studies. History of the social elite largely history of their financial structures Elite controls more than economic climate Similar groups sitting in all top public positions

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The Outside Interests of the Cultural Elite

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  1. The Outside Interests of the Cultural Elite Dave Griffiths University Of Manchester/CRESC

  2. Elite studies • History of the social elite largely history of their financial structures • Elite controls more than economic climate • Similar groups sitting in all top public positions • Cultural positions are hives of elite activity • Influence of cultural producers places them at centre of bourgeois power

  3. Types of capital • Social Capital – associations and networks with individuals and institutions • Cultural Capital – knowledge of cultural practices and norms • Economic Capital – ownership of cash, property or other economical position • Symbolic Capital – reputation, skills and expertise respected by others

  4. Cultural capital • Different capitals unlock different doors • Cultural capital is difficult to attain • US emerging elites buy positions on cultural boards to gain cultural capital (Ostrower: 1995) • In the UK, cultural boards are public boards, so acceptance cannot be bought

  5. Dataset • Department of Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS) executive quangos • 45 agencies employing 15,000 individuals and spending £1.2 billion a year (2005/06) • Address all forms of UK culture from museums and galleries, regional cultural agencies, public access to literature and music, sports, films, architecture and heritage – even drinking and gambling

  6. Sample • 767 individuals • 63% male, average age 58 • Over 11,000 pieces of information • Collected from April 2006 to January 2007 Press releases, websites, annual reports, registers of members’ interests, Who’s Who, Debrett’s People of Today …

  7. DCMS network

  8. Charities network

  9. Private member clubs

  10. Quango directorships

  11. Embeddedness values Closeness Centrality (how many steps a board is from all others) multiplied by Betweenness Centrality (how many other shortest paths pass through it) Produces an embeddedness value of between 0 and 1. These values have been averaged out for each type of quango, and multiplied by 1,000 for display purposes. Outliers, or those with no betweenness, have a value of 0.

  12. Organisational differences • Regional organisations utilise social capital to generate cultural capital • National organisations utilise cultural capital to generate social capital • London museums utilise cultural capital to generate social and cultural capital

  13. Culture West Midlands’ social capital • Local Government Association • mac (2) • Millennium Point Trust • Motionhouse Dance Theatre • Music Educational Council • National Association of Youth Orchestras • National Trust • New Victoria Theatre • Sound Futures • Symphony Hall Birmingham • Total Theatre Network • Tourism West Midlands • Trans Europe Halles • Warwick Arts Centre • West Midlands Historic Environment Forum • West Midlands Life • Albion Emsemble • aliss • Artix Arts Centre – Bromsgrove • Association of European Conservatoires • Belmont Arts Centre – Shropshire • Birmingham Arts Marketing (2) • Birmingham Association of Youth Clubs • Birmingham Conservatories • Birmingham Educational Arts Forum • Birmingham Hippodrome • Birmingham Royal Ballet • Black Country Touring • British Double Reed Society • Connexions • John Fenny Charitable Trust • Herefordshire Cultural Consortium

  14. AERC’s social capital • Alcohol Concern • Centre for Information on Beverage Alcohol • Chinese National Healthy Eating Living Centre • Diaego Foundation • International Agency on Tobacco and Health • International Cochrane Collaboration • Royal Colleges of the Physician of the UK (Public Health Faculty) • Motivational Interviewing Trainers International • National Heart Forum • Portland Group • TACADE

  15. Natural History Museum’s social capital • MacMillan Trust Observatory • MCC • National Botanical Garden of Wales • New West End Company • River and Rowing Museum – Henley-on-Thames • Royal Albert Hall • Royal Botanical Garden – Edinburgh • Royal Sun Alliance West End Board • Royal United Services Institute • St Andrews Prize • St-Martins-in-the-Field • Shaw Trust • UK-China 21st Century Group • Wellcome Trust • West End Commission • Wildscreen Trust • Windsor Leadership Trust • WorkAid Ltd • 21st Century Tiger • British Ecological Society (2) • Buckinghamshire Foundation • Campaign for Science and Engineering • Central & Cecil Housing Trust • Darwin Trust • Dolphin Square Charitable Trust • Earth Centre • Environmental Advice Centre • EURISY • Friends of Arundel Cricket Club • Gardens Pension Trustees Limited • Helmholtz Gemeinschaft – Germany • Intellectual Property Bar Association • International Fellowship Committee • Italgas Prize for Energy and Environment • IUCN Species Survival Commission • Kennedy Memorial Fund • London First

  16. Conclusions • Social position is important for London’s museums • Social positions are important for national bodies • Social capital is important for regional bodies • National institutions are not overly ‘national’ • Are UK museums less democratic than their US counterparts? david.griffiths@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk

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