Contemporary Sociological Theory Flashcards
Who was considered the most influential theorist
Pierre bourdieu
What was Pierre ontological assumptions
A theory that structure, culture, and individual agency interact to reproduce social institutions that foster systematic social inequality
What classical thinkers work influenced Bourdieu’s work
Marx and Durkheim
What was Bourdieu’s basic concept that reproduces systems of inequality
Habitus, capital and field all lead to social reproduction
What was capital and where did Bourdieu come up with it from
Capital was a word Bourdieu got from Marx work
It was what the owning class invested into production to increase and control the production
What is habitus?
A social actors way of being in the world, an individuals way of being and existence in this world
What is field as explained by Bourdieu
The analysis of social reality with a kind of framework, but under such frame works there are different ways that cuktural narratives are expressed.
The context in which a cultural narrative is expressed differs
Arena of a social activity
Presentation and subject experience are concepts related to what
Habitus
How does presentation and subjective experience explain an individuals being in the world
For presentation, the way a persons comports their body, their physical appearance, their style of speaking and type of vocabulary they use affects who they are and their sense of being
For subjective experience, the judgements made spontaneously, their tase in music, literature, food, their way of assessing what is important over other things and their evaluation of a situation to make a decision all illustrates an individuals way of being
All of these are responsible for the reproduction of social institutions and inequality
How does habitus relate to Winthrop Kellogg’s study of chimps socialization with his son
The habitus of acting and behaving like a human is not based on an inherent ability but by the experience of implicit socialization. Winthrop’s son began to emulate the habitus of a chimp because of the implicit socialization, as he learnt and copied the mannerism of his sister chimp
The Habitus is not develop through our own personal views and choices we make, for example our music taste and mannerism are not from us but based on our experiences of reality
So habitus is learnt implicitly through socialization
What’s the relationship between habitus and class
How does the habitus expressed by the working class and the professional class differ form Marx illustaration of class differnce
According the Marx class differnce is solely seen through the existence of capital, the class that owns the means of production and the class that doesn’t
But for Bourdieu understanding class goes beyond what capital is and dives into very way an individuals habitus might differentiate him others
The habitus of the professional class is dignified, reserved and controlled, there outward appearance is so controlled that you can hardly tell what’s goin on inside
While the habitus of the working class is outwardly, fun, straightforward and open, what they portray is how they feel, don’t feel the need to control or act in a certain way
How is habitus learnt?
By implicit socialization in early childhood
Habitus begins in the very early childhood, humans ability to soak in behavior experienced and seen, implicit initializing the body compartment, style of speech, of their parents and the people surrounding them which are all in the same class background as a child leads to the development of habitus
Who studied class and parenting style differnce
Annette Lareau
How does working class parenting differ from the middle class parenting
In a working class parenting with NATURAL GROWTH, the children are usually free to make their own decisions on how they explore learning and play games.The only time a parent gets involved are in situation of bath time, feeding time, time for bed, do homework, that involves giving orders but other times, children are left to chooses and do what ever they want to do
While in CONCERTED CULTIVATION there is a systematic organization of the child time and activity, there is a lot of opportunity to practice leaning through instruction, that means from very young ages, that are already acting and behaving in based in instruction explicitly given to them, for example piano lessons, instruction on playing
Also they are given the chance to participate in family decision making not just to listen to what ever authority was given
Natural growth and concerted cultivation is a parting style common on which of the classes
Natural growth- working class
‘Middle class parenting- concerted cultivation