Sociologist Jennifer C. Lena's task in Entitled is to explain why American elites today retain their elevated position within the social hierarchy but are less likely to be viewed as elitists than was once the case. To this end, she explores, how, why, and to what effect such individuals have embraced “highbrow omnivorousness,” i.e. a cosmopolitan enjoyment of diverse entertainment forms, including popular, globalized, and market-oriented ones, as opposed to an earlier model of “highbrow snobbery,” i.e. narrower preferences for Old World enjoyments, such as opera, ballet, or classical music (ix). Lena argues that by utilizing their Bourdieuan cultural capital, aesthetic entrepreneurs use arts institutions to expand the artistic canon and transform previously nonart forms (the vernacular, folk, or popular, such as quilts) into art, through a process of artistic legitimation. In so doing, elites are able to pull off the feat of appearing to democratize the American arts, and to look open, sophisticated, and worldly, whilst still retaining their power as boundary gatekeepers. The first half of the book is organized chronologically, with chapters on the invention of American art and the democratization of the arts in the New Deal era, followed by a case study of the Museum of Primitive Art in New York City. The second half is thematically arranged, with chapters on opportunity structures, the expansion of the arts, and cultural appropriation.

As indicated by Lena's subtitle, “discriminating tastes” and “the expansion of the arts” are the two central threads that hold this book together, and she explores these concepts primarily through the prism of class. But we must ask ourselves whether some American elites are elite not just because of their social status, but also because of their whiteness and/or their masculinity, or other factors. Lena's focus on the former means that whilst she does address intersectional issues of race and gender, these subjects are not her priority, and as a result the book avoids taking sides on controversial Culture Wars debates. For example, in discussing arguments over cultural appropriation versus cultural appreciation, Lena is very evenhanded, and notes only that critics claim that cosmopolitans fail to “acknowledge creators, honor traditions, and protect communities” whilst defenders counter these charges (139). Further engagement with the burgeoning historical literature on the Culture Wars would have made this work even stronger.Footnote ¹

Still, Entitled offers a useful sociological theory of taste making and the author explains how the arts have, to a degree, expanded, whilst American society remains hierarchically organized. The work ranges from the nineteenth century to the early twenty-first, with an emphasis on the twentieth, and provides an important synthesis of other historical trends in the American arts world, such as the increased professionalization of arts administration. Lena's consideration of a diversity of forms, including ballet, comics, dance, fashion, film, folk culture, graffiti, jazz, music, opera, theatre, and visual art, is a real strength. However, the omission of a focussed analysis of the National Endowment for the Arts seems odd, especially given that the agency ran an Expansion Arts programme from 1971 to 1997, and has consistently, since its creation in 1965, been at the centre of public battles over populism versus elitism in the arts.Footnote ² Lena does acknowledge that the book is a starting point for “future comparative research,” rather than an end point, but in many ways she offers more questions than answers (137). What remains now is for scholars to test the veracity of her claims in further detail in this field, and to apply her theory to alternative data sets in aligned ones, such as the study of food, manners, or language.

Entitled will be a useful work not just for any sociologist or historian of the arts in America, but also for the interested general reader who is looking for an academic approach to this subject. It should be set as a key text for any graduate-level arts administration course.