Lecture 10

Bourdieu on class and culture.

Notices

• Hand in your essays either directly to Helen in person, or else put them in my locked box in the Sociology corridor opposite room 320.

• Ian Sutherland is organising a revision session for the first term – he will supply details of time and place.

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How does class work?

• Bourdieu on cultural capital,

habitus;

• Do middle class older women treat their bodies differently to working class ones?

• Why do middle class kids do well at school?

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• • • • • • • •

Reading:

Jenkins, Richard (1992)

Pierre Bourdieu

. London: Routledge. Chapter 3. 301.01 Bou/Jen

Theory texts:

Bourdieu, Pierre 1989

Distinction : a social critique of the judgment of taste

London : Routledge, 301.44 BOU Bourdieu, Pierre. 1990

Reproduction in education, society and culture

London : Sage, 370.1 BOU Bourdieu, P. “Structures,

Habitus

, Practices” .chapter 20 in Calhoun, C. et al (2002)

Contemporary Sociological Theory

, Oxford: Blackwell.

Examples of attempts to use / operationalise his ideas

A. Sullivan (2001) “ Cultural Capital and Educational Attainment ”

Sociology

, Volume 35, (4):893 - 912 Alex Dumas, Suzanne Laberge, Silvia M, Straka (2005) “Older women's relations to bodily appearance: the embodiment of social and biological conditions of existence,”

Ageing and Society

25(6):883-902 http://ejournals.ebsco.com/Article.asp?ContributionID=7959823 4

How does class work

• Classics

– Marx, social relationship to means of production – Weber, relationship to market, contrast with status

• This term

– Hidden injuries of class, social psychology of inequality – work does things to people – End of class, social construction rather than social ascription, post-modern plastic identity 5

Bourdieu

• Intellectual problems Bourdieu sets out to solve.

• Structure and agency, how to incorporate social institutions without presenting people as cultural dupes – rule following robots. • Role of class in modern France and in particular education and culture • Key concepts of ‘habitus’ and ‘cultural capital’. [social capital]

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• • • •

Theory of practice: habitus

“Bourdieu’s reputation as a sociological thinker is underpinned by his application of what he calls a ‘theory of practice’. In which he attempts to theorise human sociality as the outcome of the strategic action of individuals operating within a constraining, but nonetheless not absolutely determining, context of values. The term Bourdieu coins to describe this is ‘the habitus’ (Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory 72 95): ‘an acquired system of generative schemes objectively adjusted to the particular condition in which it is constituted’ (95). Habitus is the mechanism by which cultural norms or models of behaviour and action particular to a group or class fraction are unconsciously internalised or incorporated in the formation of the self during the socialization process. These ‘dispositions’ amount to a form of social understanding and function as a pre reflective background or cultural conditioning … Habitus, [is a form of] ‘symbolic domination’, that which situates us either the submissive or the dominant social hierarchies, radically limit our practical capacity as agents to transform the social world. These culturally conditioned predispositions to act in certain ways should considered more as ‘unreflective practical habits’, which shape the way we act and think in different social contexts, or ‘fields’.” (Browitt 2004:1) Jeff Browitt, (2004) “Pierre Bourdieu: Homo Sociologicus” in eds. Jeff Browitt and Brian Nelson Practicing Theory:

Pierre Bourdieu and the field of cultural reproduction.

University of Delaware Press pp. 1-12 7

Habitus

• “Habitus refers to socially acquired, embodied systems of schemes of disposition, perceptions and evaluation that orient and give meaning to practices (Bourdieu 1984: 17).

• The internalisation of the social and material ‘conditions of existence’ is central to Pierre Bourdieu’s social theory of practice. The conditions of existence shared by a particular class of agents generate a habitus, comprising ‘schemes of dispositions, perceptions, and appreciations [evaluations] ’ (Bourdieu 1984: 197). The habitus, in turn, orients social practices and lifestyles. In other words, people’s social conditions of existence produce classificatory schemes that constitute the principles of their vision and division of the world and that shape their perceptions and desires (Bourdieu 1998: 8; Laberge and Kay 2002: 247 –50). “(Dumas et al 2005:885) 8

Theory of practice: cultural capital

• • “Crucial to Bourdieu’s analyses of social structure is the concept of ‘cultural capital’. Bourdieu expands Marx’s idea of ‘economic capital’ to encompass all forms of power that enable individuals, groups or classes to cement or reproduce their position in the social hierarchy. Thus he speaks of ‘cultural capital’ (money and property), ‘social capital’ (networks of social influence), and ‘symbolic capital’ (classificatory categories of understanding and social differentiation at the service of legitimation), which represent forms of power and domination.” (Browitt 2004:2) Jeff Browitt, (2004) “Pierre Bourdieu: Homo Sociologicus” in eds. Jeff Browitt and Brian Nelson Practicing Theory:

Pierre Bourdieu and the field of cultural reproduction.

University of Delaware Press pp. 1-12 9

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Mirror carried the story

• • • • • • • • • •

KATE HAS MORE CLASS THAN SNOBBY ROYALS Sue Carroll 18/04/2007

More Sue Carroll This week is no different. Prince William and Kate Middleton's split appeared, on the face of it, to be an amicable parting of the ways without rancour or bitterness. For a spurned woman who deserves, after five years of unstinting loyalty, to feel more than a little let down Kate has emerged calm, smiling and a picture of grace. She continues never to put a dainty LK Bennett-clad foot out of place yet her reward is to see her family rubbished, their reputation as honest hard-working people belittled and her mother portrayed as a schemer who makes Princess Pushy look like a shrinking violet. Unable to resist the urge to stir it, the vipers' nest of royal aides have let it be known that Carole Middleton's nickname was "Mrs Meddleton". Tongues dripping with poison, they salivate over stories that she said "toilet" instead of "lavatory" and "pardon" rather than "what". Her fate was sealed when, at William's passing out parade, she chewed gum throughout, causing royal hangers-on to mutter "common". Others, whisper it, called her too "middle-class" and a 'social climber" whose family were trade people from County Durham. A distant relative was a miner - imagine it? 11

• • • • • • • •

Others including broadsheets took it up

From The Times April 17, 2007

Pardon! How the class struggle still rules in royal press coverage

Alan Hamilton An unpleasant element has crept into news coverage of Prince William’s parting from Kate Middleton. It’s the old British bogeyman of class. The target is Ms Middleton’s mother, Carole, and the clear implication is that a former air stewardess would be an unsuitable mother for the next queen but one. She is, it is suggested, far too

nouveau

to be linked by marriage with the oldest money in the land. She reportedly betrays her humble background by saying “toilet” when she should say “lavatory”, and “pardon?” or even “what?” when she means “I beg your pardon?”. The very mention of her name is said to trigger the chorus “Doors To Manual” among the Prince’s more hoorayish friends, who refer to her as “Mrs Meddleton” for her scheming to get her daughter married into the country’s first family. She is said to have responded “Pleased to meet you” instead of the expected “Hello ma’am” when introduced to the Queen. When the Middletons attended Prince William’s passing-out parade at Sandhurst, Mrs Middleton was upbraided by the tabloids for chewing gum.The apogee of her ambition is said to have been renting a Perth shire holiday home for £5,000 to entice the Prince for Christmas. He didn’t come. 12

Habitus and bodies

• • “The notion of habitus also appealed because of the centrality of the body in Bourdieu’s theory. In Distinction, Bourdieu (1984: 190) argued that: – the body is the most indisputable materialization of class taste, which it manifests in several ways. It does this first in the seemingly most natural features of the body, the dimension … and shapes … of its visible forms, which express in countless ways a whole relation to the body, i.e. a way of treating it, caring for it, feeding it, maintaining it, which reveals the deepest dispositions of the habitus. • The quotation encapsulates the multiple references and meanings of the phrase ‘ (a person’s) relations to bodily appearance’, as coined by Bourdieu and used in this paper. Other authors have drawn on the concept of habitus and provided useful information about how women relate to bodily appearance. Boltanski (1971) and Bourdieu (1984), using late 1960s data from France, argued that people’s relations to their body are deeply anchored in their social and material conditions of existence – which are fashioned by their economic and cultural capital.” (Dumas et al 2005:884) Alex Dumas, Suzanne Laberge, Silvia M, Straka (2005) “Older women's relations to bodily appearance: the embodiment of social and biological conditions of existence,”

Ageing and Society

25(6):883-902 13

Habitus and bodies

• • “These studies suggested that women’s tastes and practices vary markedly according to their positions in the social structure. Bourdieu (1984: 202) stated that for women: the interest the different classes have in self presentation, the attention they devote to it, their awareness of the profits it gives and the investment of time, effort, sacrifice and care which they actually put into it are proportionate to the chances of material or symbolic profit they can reasonably expect from it. Bourdieu illustrated this point by describing how women of different social classes varied in their valuations of the body, beauty and body care. His research showed that working-class women were less inclined to value and invest in bodily appearance than women from the upper class, who placed a greater value on beauty and expended greater efforts to enhance it. Upper-class women attributed moral value to a well-groomed appearance, which created distance between them and women whose appearance they perceived as neglectful.” (Dumas et al 2004:884) Dumas, Laberge, and Straka tested out these ideas by examining through in depth qualitative interviews with older women from different class backgrounds how class and age intersect in the ways they treat their bodies.

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Dumas, Laberge, and Straka: findings

• “There was a strong contrast between the disadvantaged and the privileged women’s relations to their bodily appearance, which corroborated earlier findings from a few studies that mentioned peripherally the differentiation among older women (Boltanski 1971; Bourdieu 1984; Featherstone 1987). In Bourdieusian terms, women’s social positions and their social conditions of existence shape their habitus and engender social differentials in relations to bodily appearance. Because working-class older women are not far removed from economic hardship, the value that those in our sample placed on beauty and cosmetic care was moderated by other priorities. For most, the rewards that they might have gained from their appearance were negligible in relation to their negative wellbeing for other reasons. Although they were very aware of the gap between their appearance and social norms of beauty, they were generally satisfied with their appearance, given the constraints imposed by their conditions of existence. Their lives of hardship required them to internalise the tastes imposed by their social conditions. As Bourdieu pointed out, such tastes can be explained by processes that make a virtue out of necessity (1984: 175). “ (Dumas et al 2005:897) 15

Dumas, Laberge, and Straka: findings

• “Conversely, older women from the intellectual-bourgeoisie had more economic and cultural capital, which gave them the freedom to engage in various bodily appearance practices without compromising their wellbeing. Furthermore, their superior economic and cultural capital also gave them the temporal freedom to value and engage in autoplastic and behavioural practices, which corroborates Boltanski’s (1971) conclusion that, in comparison to others, the upper classes have a longer time horizon for the maintenance of the body, and subscribe to preventive attitudes and behaviour. Many of the intellectual-bourgeoisie participants accorded a high value to bodily appearance practices that had inner body aims, and they believed that their future-oriented outlook would be rewarded late in life.” (Dumas et at 2005:898) • However the study also showed that in later life for the oldest women class differentiation was diminished as it was overshadowed by an age habitus. 16

Cultural capital

• • “Cultural capital is widely recognized as one of the late Pierre Bourdieu’s signature concepts… The concept of “capital” has enabled researchers to view culture as a resource stratification.” (Lareau and Weininger 2004:105 ) audiences.” (Lareau and Weininger 2004:106) – one that provides access to scarce rewards, is subject to monopolization, and, under certain conditions may be transmitted from one generation to the next. As a result, emphasis on cultural capital has enabled researchers in diverse fields to place culture and cultural processes at the center of analyses of various aspects of • “Bourdieu developed the concept of cultural capital in the context of his educational research, and it is in the sociology of education that it has had its most sustained impact on English-language Annette Lareau and Elliot B. Weininger (2004) “Cultural Capital in Educational Research: A critical assessment”. pp. 105 – 144 in D. L. Swartz and Vera L. Zolberg (eds) (2004)

After Bourdieu.

Kluwer: Netherlands 17

Cultural capital and the sociology of eduction

• Lareau and Weininger suggest “…that a dominant interpretation, resting on two crucial premises, has emerged concerning cultural capital. First, the concept of cultural capital is assumed to denote knowledge of or competence with “highbrow” aesthetic culture (such as fine art and classical music), Second, researchers assume that the effects of cultural capital must be partitioned from those of properly education “skills,” “ability,” or “achievement.” Together, these premises result in studies in which the salience of cultural capital is tested by assessing whether measures of “highbrow” cultural participation predict educational outcomes (such as grades) independently of various “ability” measures (such as standardized test scores). We find this approach inadequate, both in terms of Bourdieu’s own use of the concept and, more importantly, we respect to what we see as its inherent potential.” (Lareau and Weininger 2004:106) 18

Researching the theory

• “Bourdieu states that cultural capital consists of familiarity with the dominant culture in a society, and especially the ability to understand and use ‘educated’ language. He argues that the possession of cultural capital varies with social class, yet the education system assumes the possession of cultural capital. This makes it very difficult for lower-class pupils to succeed in the educational system.” (Sullivan 2001:893) • “In sum, Bourdieu’s view is that cultural capital is inculcated in the higher-class home, and enables the higher-class student to gain higher educational credentials than the lower-class student. This enables higher-class individuals to maintain their class positions, and legitmates the dominant positions that they typically go on to hold. Of course, some lower-class individuals will succeed in the educational system, but, rather than challenging the system this will strengthen it by contributing to the appearance of meritocracy.” P.(Sullivan 2001: 895) 19

Operationalisation

Operationalisation – turning a theoretical concept into a measurable variable.

Sullivan measures parents class and cultural activities by pupils reports or parents occupations and activities “I surveyed pupils on a broad range of possible component of cultural capital.

1. Activities – Reading: type and amount of books read, library use, newspapers read.

– Television: types of programmes watcher.

– Music: type of music listened to, playing an instrument.

– Participation in ‘public’ or ‘formal’ culture: art gallery, theatre and concert attendance 2. Cultural Knowledge – Tested knowledge of famous cultural figures 3. Language – Active and passive vocabulary test scores…” (Sullivan 2001:899) 20

• “Both classic books and contemporary books of the sort that receive reviews in the quality press were categorised as having cultural capital content….

• Having asked pupils to list the television programmes they watched regularly, I categorised these programmes according to their cultural capital content… • The test of cultural knowledge consisted of asking pupils to categorise twenty-five famous cultural figures according to whether these figures are associated with politics, music, novel, art or science. … • The test of active vocabulary demanded that pupils provide several synonyms for each of five words given.” [c.f. last week Labov] (Sullivan 2001:900) 21

(Sullivan 2000:910)

findings

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