The Whatness of Basiji's Cultural Capital

The theory of cultural capital is a developed and novel way of looking at the concept of capital, which forces it out of economical and commercial constraints, extending it to other forms in social and cultural areas. It was initially introduced by Pierre Bourdieu in 1964. However, the way it was evolved has to be sought in the backgrounds of classical sociology as well as in the thoughts of thinkers like Marx, Durkheim, Weber, and Simmel. Various definitions have been offered by scholars, each of whom has made a reference to this issue from a different angle. From Bourdieu’s viewpoint, cultural capital involves three dimentions, namely, embodied, objectified, and institutionalized. The whatness of cultural capital, and the way its components and parameters are determined as appropriate and in accordancewith any society, is a criteria for measuring the quality of culture in that society, which can be used as a base for identifying the way it can be promoted. So, addressing what Basij’s cultural capital is, is a step that cab be taken to measure, extend and promote Basijis’ cultural capital in the society. The study of the whatness of Basijis’ cultural capital should become indigenous taking into account the arguments in the sociology of culture, as well as by focusing on the origins and features of Basiji culture and thinking in terms of its dimensions and parameters. Taking the same viewpoint, one can conclude that Basijis’ cultural capital involves spiritual and material dimensions, each of which covers its own respective components and parameters. This will help define Basijis’ cultural capital.