Pierre Bourdieu's Conceptual Analysis

575 Words2 Pages

Bourdieu (1986) believes that the more economic-capital an individual Pierre Bourdieu’s (1930-2002) proposition of ‘reflective sociology’ and comprehension of sociology as an exposition and critique of the underlying structures of social life has had a large impact on social thought (see Navarro 2006, pp.15-17 for more detail). Bourdieu’s concepts of ‘habitus’ (first outlined in The Logic of Practice, 1980) and ‘cultural capital’ (described in The Forms of Capital, 1986) have been particularly influential for theories surrounding identity and community.
Echoing Karl Marx, Bourdieu (1986) posits that economic-capital has formed the foundation of social life and dictates people’s position within the social order (p.46-47). has the more powerful …show more content…

Bourdieu (1986) implies that shared cultural capital can create a sense of collective identity, at least symbolically (1986, p53). Furthermore, ‘endless’ affirmation and reaffirmation of recognition places groups in dominant positions (ibid). Bourdieu (1986) posits that social capital (groups, memberships, social networks etc.) possessed by these relations of proximity, (which can be ‘geographical’, ‘social’ or ‘economic ‘), ‘provides each of its members with the backing of the collectively-owned capital … which entitles them to credit ‘– it provides access to resources (p.51). Bourdieu (1986) theory of cultural capital demonstrates the way collective identities can control access to resources, such as education, which in turn affects social positioning, or memberships to …show more content…

However, she explains that the transmission of cultural capital in the family or, ‘cultural reproduction' can only provide ‘a partial explanation of social class differences in educational attainment’ (ibid). Robinson and Garnier (1985) criticised Bourdieu for failing to clarify on the gender inequality in the labour market (p.266). In contrast, Skeggs (1997) which will be discussed in more detail below utilised Bourdieu’s cultural capital approach to reclaim social class within feminist theory

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of E. K. Hunt And Jared Diamond

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    Diamond discusses the importance of ideology and the ways in which they “pave road” for society to appropriately organize upon. Diamond specifically outlines the ways in which changing an ideology can alter society in Chapter 14, From Egalitarianism to Kleptocracy, as society evolves through the spread of an ideology. Both Diamond and Hunt agree about the importance of ideology in society, but their standpoints are critically different in their perspectives. Diamond focuses on other aspects just as well, such as immunity to germs or resource production, whereas Hunt specifically focuses on the ways in which changes in ideology impact the development of capitalism. Thus, both Hunt and Diamond have different thought’s on economic history, but converge in the ideal of signifying ideological

    Read More

  • Marx versus Reich

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...o conclude with, the worst fate is waiting for rich people in Marx’s “Communist manifesto”, and is explained by 2 factors: mismanagement of given resources and negative result in the class struggle between the poor and the rich. Reich, on the contrary, argues that the wealthiest people, these are the symbolic analysts, will thrive due to the higher demand for their services and better technologies. Both authors see the capital factor in different lights and predict the rich to either succeed with the help of it, or lose because of its mismanagement. Meanwhile Reich does not mention any tension among different classes Marx sees the doom of the rich in its defeat to proletariat. Nevertheless, considering that Reich describes modern times and having witnessed the fall of USSR, a model of Marxist regime, should we incline more to Reich’s predictions on the rich’s fate?

    Read More

  • Brouwer's Article: Power And Privilege In Higher Education

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Forms of Capital (1986) written by Bourdieu address the concepts of cultural and social capital. From his point of view, he believes that cultural capital is something that is equipped by oneself and, as a result, reproduces economic capital. The two capitals are directly proportion to each

    Read More

  • Capitalism: The Rationalization of Irrationality

    2216 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ng this simplistic definition of capitalism which means that there will be “winners” and “losers” to this relationship. The focus upon the “bottom line” leaves little to no room for the consideration of social consequences such as unemployment and poverty. The disconnection that capitalism creates enables itself to flourish thus limiting the potential to achieve socio-economic justice. Fundamentally changing the way capitalism operates requires a political shift in power dynamics. Consumers who do play a role in how the economy is structured are needed to be brought back to consciousness by demanding justice.

    Read More

  • Cultural Anthro - Karl Marx

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Where some possess much, and the others nothing, there may arise an extreme- either out of the most rampant democracy, or out of an oligarchy.'; This was once said by Aristotle who was probably the first to recognize the importance of a middle class. A powerful debate whether the middle class is essentially defined by cultural or economic factors still remains an issue. A rich tradition is devoted to disentangling economic from cultural components of a class. According to Karl Marx, the middle class is an outgrowth of economic factors, primarily capitalism. Many people tend to disagree with Marx that capitalism is the only important factor in the outgrowth of the middle class. Judith R. Blau argues that her understanding of the middle class has much to do with inclusive cultural values. Blau demonstrates her opinion though her ethnography, Social Contract and Economic Markets. I believe that Karl Marx’s economic factors and Judith Blau’s cultural factors together define the middle class.

    Read More

  • The Aging Body Pierre Bourdieu Analysis

    1574 Words  | 4 Pages

    Thus, our social existence is shaped by classificatory actions and desires managed by specific distinctions in our case social classes. These assumptions are central to Pierre Bourdieu’s social theory of practice. Bourdieu composed the term ‘habitus’ to encompass how the constitutions of principles subjectively shape dispositions, demeanors, perceptions, and evaluations. So the habitus is prejudiced to social practices and lifestyles.

    Read More

  • Marx Self: The Anthropological And Spiritual Concept Of The Self

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    Capital, therefore, is an ‘essential relation’ both for these developments, and for the creation of ideal relations. Thus the relations of production that define ‘capital’ as a ‘relation’ are, as treated by Marx, internal relations (Winslow, “Internal relations”,

    Read More

  • Contemporary American Class Structure

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lower-upper class believes that money and power are very important in life. The lower-upper class members, also called 'new money,' work harder for what they have as compared to the upper-upper class because most have earned their position in the class, as opposed to being 'old money' (Norton...

    Read More

  • Behind the Scenes of Tracking

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    Noble, John, and Peter Davies. "Cultural Capital as an Explanation of Variation in Participation in Higher Education." British Journal of Sociology of Education 30.5 (2009): 591-605. JSTOR. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Welfare and Power: More Harm Than Good?

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    Foucault argues that because authority stems from relationships, one must work and try to gain dominance over others regardless of the social class he resides in so as to gain power. He asserts, ."..power...is produced from one moment to the next...in every relation from one point to another" (93). Therefore, groups such as the welfare departments, caseworkers, and even merchants can hold power over the lower class based solely on the ability to dominate the relationship between themselves and welfare recipients. Both welfare departments and caseworkers allocate money to the low-income citizens in need of money and, as a result have the ability to sustain dominance. Merchants also exploit these consumers by using "hard sells, high prices, poor merchandise and...very high rates of interest" (Kornbluh 82). Furthermore, "Power is everywhere; not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere" (Foucault, 93). Thus, society...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Women Without Class By Julie Bettie

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout, Bettie research describing how young women experience class differences within their peers and culture depending on living conditions and identity. I think Bettie explained fully how cultural capital can be a privilege but it can also be a reason why their is a huge gap between classes. Not only this but Julie illustrates how women are treated by earning lower wages then men. My favorite part is in the end how women shouldn’t be without class instead to look over how some too are apart of class. Not only that but class shouldn’t be divided upon race, sexuality, and gender but look at the formation evenly among each. Throughout my writing assignment I argued how Bettie’s theories of inequality connect with Pierre Bourdieu, Kimberle Crenshaw, Marx and Engels and the students perspectives towards class difference, race, gender, cultural, and

    Read More

  • Pierre Bourdieu Critical Analysis

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pierre Bourdieu was interested in how elites reproduced themselves from one generation to the next. High-status culture emphasizes classical art, music, dance, etc. Bourdieu defined high cultural knowledge that ultimately redounds to the social advantage . To make his words strong enough, I did my own research in one of the classical examples that can prove the cultural gap between population of people in different society level. In my opinion even though there is no any restrictions to of listening the music, and it is open to everyone to enjoy the music; but, appreciation of the musical of a musical piece can be more deeper and better recognizable for people who have some sort of musical knowledge, and as cultural capital these group of people

    Read More

  • Bourdieu's Analysis

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    The purpose of this essay to Use Bourdieu's model of multiple capitals to explain the inequitable position of a social group and design a strategy for the group to maximize their mix and volume of capital. For this I will use the Amish community. These people trace their heritage back hundreds of years, and yet, despite all the time that has passed and the many changes that have taken place in society, they still live and work much as their forefathers did. Their families and their farms are their top priorities, second only to God. The Amish people are very devout in their faith. They believe in the literal interpretation and application of Scripture as the Word of God. They take seriously the Biblical commands to separate themselves from the things of the world. They believe worldliness can keep them from being close to God and can introduce influences that could be destructive to their communities and to their way of life.

    Read More

  • The Impact Of Capitalism In The Great Depression

    1547 Words  | 4 Pages

    The poor gets poorer, and the rich gets richer. Economically speaking, this is the truth about Capitalism. Numerous people agree that this inequality shows the greedy nature of humankind. The author of the source displays a capitalist perspective that encompasses an individualist approach towards an “un-ideal” economic system. The source articulates a prominent idea that capitalism is far from perfect. The reality is, as long as capitalism exists, there are always those people who are too poor or too rich in the system. We do not need elitists in our society but that is exactly what capitalists are. In this society, people are in clash with those who “have” and those who “have not”, which creates conflict and competition. Throughout

    Read More

  • Essay On Feminist Theory

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    Feminists believe that education is an agent of secondary socialization that helps to enforce patriarchy. Cultural transmission has made known the way culture and precisely expectations of the genders can be transmitted from one generation to another. While Sylvia Walby’s ‘‘triple system theory’’ argues that experiences of ethnicity and class complicate what it means to be a female so we have to combine patriarchy with capitalism and

    Read More

More about Pierre Bourdieu's Conceptual Analysis

Open Document