Banking firms on Wall Street are powerful. This immense amount of power privileges them the ability to control certain resources within society as well as the behavior of specific individuals (Bourdieu and Eagleton 1994, 270). One of the dominant Wall Street ideologies, the “culture of smartness,” represents the “symbolic power” that these banking firms possess (Ho 2009, 40, Bourdieu and Eagleton 1994, 266). Not based on the inherent ability nor “natural aptitudes” of individuals, the “culture of smartness” is a socially constructed concept that allows banking firms to define what is legitimate and valuable (Bourdieu 1986, 243, Ho 2009, 40, Bourdieu and Eagleton 1994, 269). The attributes of the “culture of smartness,” such as “the sense of ‘impressiveness,’ of elite, or pinnacle status and expertise,” are acquired through the accumulation of cultural capital (Ho 2009, 40, Bourdieu 1986). Banking firms draw upon the previously accrued cultural capital of the recruits, as well as the sizeable increase in social and cultural capital that working at an investment bank endows, in order to attract individuals who can later be exploited for gains in not only economic capital, but also cultural capital.
Investment banks heavily recruit at “Harvard and Princeton” for they are considered the “the ‘prime recruiting ground’” for finance (Ho 2009, 43). Graduates from these two Ivy League universities are remarkably sought after due to the institutionalized cultural capital that they have earned from attending a highly selective and prestigious university (Bourdieu 1986, 243). Institutionalized cultural capital refers to “the objectification of cultural capital in the form of academic qualifications” (Bourdieu 1986, 247). It is used b...
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...nships with investment banks based on the “smartness” of the employees of that bank (Ho 2009, 71). In conclusion, investment banks constructed the “culture of smartness” as a means to secure the students with the largest amounts of cultural capital who would provide the biggest return in the form of both economic and cultural capital for the banking firm (Ho 2009, 40).
Works Cited
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1986. "The Forms of Capital." In Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, edited by J.G. Richardson, 241-258. New York: Greenwood Press.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1990. Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bourdieu, Pierre, and Terry Eagleton. 1994. "Doxa and Common Life: An Interview." In Mapping Ideology. London: Verso.
Ho, Karen. 2009. "Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street." In, 1-121. Duke University Press.
Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul’s School, by Shamus Khan, depicts the lives of teenagers enrolled in a prestigious high school. Khan focuses his observations of the Paulies (students) on their experiences at the school and with other students, staff, and faculty. More specifically, the embodiment of privilege in a new diverse world, as taught by St. Paul’s as an elementary root of acquiring skills necessary to maintain (or enter into) their position in the status hierarchy. My focus here, is to connect Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and capital to Khan’s analysis of St. Paul’s teachings, and their effects on the students (Paulies). One of the fundamental teachings of St. Pauls, is to instill a new sense of habitus that is essential in navigating their lives in an elite social realm they will soon join.
In “Hidden Intellectualism,” Gerald Graff pens an impressive argument wrought from personal experience, wisdom and heart. In his essay, Graff argues that street smarts have intellectual potential. A simple gem of wisdom, yet one that remains hidden beneath a sea of academic tradition. However, Graff navigates the reader through this ponderous sea with near perfection.
Previously in class we had a lecture about education in our society. This lecture stressed the education gaps between students. These gaps were explained in the lecture by the social background of the children’s families. The article from Calarco also tries to explain these gaps by looking at the cultural background. In this paper she referred to the background differences as the cultural capital of the child. This article was very easy to relate to not only because of my own experiences going through the school system but because of the background knowledge from our class lectures.
The theories of Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Pierre Bourdieu, Basil Bernstein and Shirley Brice Heath represent the deterministic end of the social reproduction perspective. These theories mainly involve school, the ideas of cultural capital, habitus, and linguistic cultural capital and can help explain more in depth how the reproduction of classes continue through generations, and how this reproduction is accepted.
At an extremely young age, my mother fostered the idea of attaining a college education for my brothers and I. As an adolescent, I assumed that a college education was necessary, but little did I know that my mother 's words and actions served as the familial capital that would lead to my acceptance into the University of California, Los Angeles. With the exposure to vital information, such as Community Cultural Wealth and the Hidden Curriculum, many students of color, such as myself, have the ability to attain academic achievement and successfully navigate through institutionalized forms of oppression. Community Cultural Wealth is the idea that Communities of Color possess a substantial amount of knowledge, skills, contacts, and abilities
Glover, M. Katherine. “Do’s and Taboos: Cultural Aspects of International Business.” Business America, 1990, pp.2-6.
Cultural capital to some degree is whom you know and what you know. To characterize cultural capital, it is indicated thro...
Over the last several decades, education has undergone significant changes within advanced liberal democracies such as Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada (Meadmore, 1999). Much of this is attributed to the adoption of neoliberal economic policies entrenched in educational systems since the 1990’s (Davies & Bansel, 2007). The rise of neoliberal policies and practices in recent decades have therefore not only set the paradigm for global market liberalism, but influenced the changes of corporate dominance within our society, culture and communities. This has gradually, allowed education systems within western societies, like Australia, to be invaded by the free market, thereby increasing its exposure to competition and accountability through performance goals aligned with neoliberalist principles (Meadmore, 2004; Davies & Bansel, 2007). Consequently, the civil service of education once used to provide knowledge and truth for the ‘public good’, to build moral citizens and develop skilled labourers within society, is now being reshaped as a corporate organisation aiming to produce “services and products like any other, to be traded in the marketplace” (Peters, 1999 as cited in Davies & Bansel, 2007, p. 254). Promoting control and maximising economic prosperity in the global market, through the replacement of public services with that of corporate managerialism (Yeatman, 1993). Although it is suggested that this is beneficial to economic development, it is proving to “promote private interest over the public good” (Ross & Gibson, 2006, p. 17) and as such is creating significant gaps between wealthy successful and poorer, less makeable schools throughout
Author David Livermore defines cultural intelligence is as the “capability to function effectively in a variety of cultural contexts” (Livermore, 2011, p. 3). In order for achieving dimensional
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Social capital allows for actors, or those benefitting from the social connection, to secure resources that aid them in achieving their goals. The usefulness of the social capital is dependent upon the social structure in which the connection exists. Once activated, the social capital can be used along with other resources in the pursuance of additional forms of capital to produce different outcomes for actors. The value of the outcome, once again, is dependent upon the social structure (Coleman 1988). Connections made in primary or secondary education are most valuable in those institutions. It follows that mentor/mentee relationships formed in K-12 education will be at their pinnacle of social and cultural accumulation while the mentee is
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