Interpretations of the terms Culture and Cultural Capital are shaped by our origins, ethnicity, educational background, value systems, and other factors. What ‘culture’ and ‘cultural capital’ mean to an expert in cultural studies, compared to one working in the field of equality and diversity, teaching in creative subjects, working with international students or in a particular area of industry, may vary in critical ways.

Culture and cultural capital, in all their diverse interpretations, significantly influence student learning and achievement; sharing our views of them is essential to our ability to offer a curriculum that recognises contribution and engagement from diverse students with complex histories.

The conference will be a space to consider and debate the following questions:

• What do the words culture and cultural capital mean to you and your students?
• What kinds of cultural capital do our students come here with? How is it valued, recognised and supported - or excluded in any way?
• Who defines cultural capital, and should that remain constant, or change? How do we enrich and expand our, and student, engagement with all kinds of cultural capital - and to what end?
• What cultural capital do students gain on their courses and what discipline or industry factors are at play, while with us and after they leave? Who are the consumers and producers of culture?
• How is the power base in terms of production of cultural capital shifting through the proliferation and adoption of new technologies and tools such as Open Educational Resources (OERs)?
• How do these technologies and tools impact on production and consumption?
• What are the norms, standards, values and assumptions that surround concepts of culture and cultural capital in education and industry?