إنتاج النخب الثقافية: كيف ساهمت الجامعات في صياغة الذوق العام عبر الزمن

Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationship between the production of cultural elites and the role of universities in shaping public taste across different historical periods, with a particular focus on the transformations that have affected this role in the modern era. The study is based on the central assumption that universities have not merely functioned as traditional educational institutions, but have also constituted key spaces for knowledge production and elite formation, thereby influencing the cultural and social structures of societies. To achieve this, the research adopts a historical-analytical approach to trace the evolution of the role of universities from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance and Enlightenment, up to the contemporary digital age.

The study explores the concept of the cultural elite as a group endowed with both cognitive and symbolic capital, playing a significant role in shaping public opinion and public taste. It also examines the concept of public taste as the outcome of complex interactions among educational, media, and social institutions. Furthermore, the research analyzes the mechanisms through which universities produce elites—such as curricula, scientific research, and cultural activities—and their role in establishing specific cultural norms within society.

The study concludes that universities have historically played a central role in shaping public taste. However, this role has experienced a relative decline in the context of globalization and the digital revolution, due to the emergence of new actors outside the traditional academic framework. Nevertheless, universities continue to retain their significance as institutions capable of producing critical knowledge and guiding cultural awareness, provided that they adapt their tools and methodologies to contemporary transformations.