Interpretation of the concept “cultural capital” European scientific discourse is at the end of the 20th century - the beginning of the 21st century

The purpose of the study is to understand the prerequisites for the emergence of the phenomenon of ‘cultural capital’ and clarify its content. The article traces the issue of defining the limits of application and the content side of the concept of ‘cultural capital’, which lies in the plane of general issues of cultural processes at the beginning of the 21st century. On the one hand, this problem is already quite formed as a phenomenon of socio-cultural life. On the other hand, in the theory and history of culture, in particular in cultural thought, the content and development of cultural capital has not been investigated. Accordingly, the vector of time actualises the issue of cultural capital and the generalisation of the achievements of humanity from the standpoint of new realities. Research methods. The research is based on the interdisciplinary integration of methods of modern philosophy, cultural studies and art studies, including: typological, comparative-historical, analytical and informational, to determine the characteristic features of cultural capital in the cultural and artistic sphere. The scientific novelty of the obtained results lies in the clarification of the meaning of the concept of ‘cultural capital’, its structure, which includes the subject fields of philosophy, sociology, aesthetics, art history and cultural studies; considered the mechanisms of formation and transfer of cultural capital in three states: incorporated, institutionalised and objectified; analysed modern theories of cultural capital, in particular the works of P. Bourdieu and L. Karpik. Conclusions. It has been proven that all existing forms of capital can be converted into economic capital, including monetary forms. Circulation can occur between all forms of capital, and all capital has the capacity for mutual transformation. Since the concept is interdisciplinary, it becomes particularly prominent in empirical studies, when sociologists, economists, philosophers, and art critics use different terms to refer to the same thing. Each person can measure the cultural value of various objects, and for a certain object, the assessment of its cultural value by each person coincides. If this is so, then the need to introduce the question of cultural capital into the problematic field of cultural studies, which is closely influenced by philosophical, historical, sociological and art history aspects, becomes a reality.