Pierre Bourdieu on class

Pierre Bourdieu on class

1. Pierre Bourdieu

   • 1930-2002
   • Trained as a philosopher, began career as an anthropologist
   • wrote on: education, language, politics, gender, TV and other topics
   • Famous for work on class in distinction(1984)

2. Everyday life in Society

   • we inhabit multiple 'fields
     • Semi-autonomous social spaces defined by relationships
   • each field requires a Habitus
     • A set of dispositions or feel for the game

3. Getting ahead in our field - capital

   • Succeeding in our field requires 'position taking' We take our position via the use of capital
   • economic
     • money for exchange
   • social
     • connections and networks
     • help us 'get ahead'
     • the old boys network
   • cultural
     • the way we dress, act, talk etc
     • three types
       • objectified
         • objects we own which are seen as exclusive and only fully 'appreciated' by some (not necessarily expensive)
       • institutionalised
         • marks of approval from institutions(degrees, qualifications, honours etc.)
       • embodied
         • the way we act, dress, talk, eat, drink and the things we discuss, eat and drink
     • need to give a convincing performance
     • culture of the dominant (middle) class is valued as seen as worthwhile
       • culture of the dominated (working) class is seen as vulgar
         • symbolic violence ensures that working class cultural capital is seen as worthless
       • Those who have middle class cultural capital see it as natural when it is learnt
         • middle class cultural capital performed convincingly is symbolic cultural capital
       • middle class cultural capital is symbolic capital which can be used to get ahead in multiple fields by providing the appropriate habitus
     • cultural capital gives us a sense of our place
   • Class is determined by our ownership of capital, especially cultural capital
   • can be combined, and exchanged with economic and social capital

4. Class Re-production in education

   • education as a middle class field, teaching as a middle class profession with a middle class habitus
   • middle class children already have the objectified and embodied cultural capitalism
   • institutionalised form only goes to those who have, or learn, the middle class habitus
   • Reay et al. (2001) choices of degree or degree of choices
     • cultural capital and class influenced 'choice' of university

5. Class conflict

   • conflict occurs via symbolic violence
   • middle class dominance of public life means working class culture is condemned in public and seen as problematic
   • McRobbie (2005)
     • Notes on what not to war