La carrière du spectateur

This paper puts the analysis of cultural practices in a temporal perspective. Its aim is to locate the key moments of the members of the audience’s life, when they turn towards one path or the other, beyond the mechanisms of cultural legitimacy or social reproduction. It relies on several qualitative and quantitative surveys on outings to live shows (theatre, music and dance). Whether it be the first time or continous practices, theses studies outline « careers as an audience » in which the steps of the life course and social intercourse are the main sources of variation and invention of times of reception. This relationship aspect of cultural socialization leads us to consider these practices not only as consumption but as acts of reception, negotiated in a social space that’s both cultural and generational, diverse and changing.