Cultural classifications and social divisions: A symmetrical approach

This paper presents the outline of a symmetrical approach for investigating linkages between cultural classifications and various types of social divisions based on class, gender, age, etc. Central to this approach is the argument that cultural classifications and social divisions are co-constructed in ways that involve both discursive/symbolic and behavioural/material dimensions. After outlining this theoretical framework, we explore its usefulness firstly by examining discursive representations of cultural categories such as highbrows and omnivores and secondly by analysing patterns of cultural consumption in Québec from 1979 to 2004. Exploring the links between discursive construction of cultural categories and social divisions, we identify various classification struggles waged around cultural eclecticism.