Theory, Theory And Theory Of Pierre Bourdieu Theory

c)Pierre Bourdieu:
Bourdieu theory is explained through the concept of structure(social space and social field), habitus and practice (actions resulting from social position and habitus).
i) Social field
A field is a domain of social life that has set of rules and relationships, generates a set of positions and supports the practices associated with them. Social field determine how various rewards such as status, authority, income or autonomy are distributed among individuals acting in roles within the field.
- Bourdieu sees action in a field not simply as a static reflection of established positions, but as the result of many contending projects of position taking .There is struggles between social groups or actors to reproduce their

Bourdieu defines social space as: a multi-dimensional space constructed on the basis of principles of differentiation or distribution, constituted by the set of properties active in the social universe under consideration, that is, able to confer force or power on their possessor in that universe. The points to keep in mind with this defintion: (1) Social space has multiple dimensions (ex economic, educational, cultural, powerful, etc). These dimensions can usually be categorized as a form of Capital. (2) "...constructed on the basis of principles of differentiation or distribution...". This means that how much and what kind of the particular capital one has is the basis for sorting along the dimensions. (3) "...by the set of properties active in the social universe under consideration, that is, able to confer force or power on their possessor in that universe." The quantity or quality of a given good only matters to the extent that the good in question is 'active' in the social world of interest. This part of the definition implies an element of contextual specificity. Two groups' relative position depend on the particular 'field' that is active. If we're dealing in the economic field, then the relative position of $$ matters, if we're dealing with the educational, then that's what matters. [note, that this discussion is about one dimension at a time, PB does not

Class fractions are determined by a combination of the varying degrees of social, economic, and cultural capital. Specifically, Bourdieu hypothesizes that these dispositions are internalized at an early age and guide the young towards their appropriate social positions, towards the behaviors that are suitable for them, and an aversion towards other behaviors. He emphasizes the dominance of cultural capital early on by stating that differences in cultural capital mark the differences between the classes. However he also states the importance of economic and social capital in the formation of cultural capital. E.g. learning to play piano requires economic capital. According to Bourdieu, tastes in food, culture and presentation are indicators of class because trends in their consumption seemingly correlate with an individual’s fit in society. Bourdieu himself believes class distinction and preferences are “most marked in the ordinary choices of everyday existence, such as furniture, clothing, or cooking, which are particularly revealing of deep-rooted and long-standing dispositions because, lying outside the scope of the educational system, they have to be confronted, as it were, by naked taste. Indeed Bordieu believes that the strongest and most indelible mark of infant learning” would probably be in the tastes of food. Consumption is determined by cultural and economic capital.