Lecture 10 Flashcards
Distinction
Taste and consumption
Consumption is socially and culturally
shaped
This also applies to how people distinguish
themselves from each other: ‘social
distinction’
Consumption is a key part of this process
Introducing Bourdieu: Distinction
Perhaps the most influential
theorist in the sociology of consumption
Most renowned work is
Distinction
Rejects the idea that
consumption preferences are the
result of innate, individualistic
choices
Seeks to transcend the structure-agency dichotomy (like practice
theory)
Distinction study
A study of the tastes and preferences of the French bourgeoisie
Interviews/observations, followed by a large survey
Tastes are socially conditioned and represent a symbolic
hierarchy (so taste is formed by our environment and is learned)
Consumption, taste and distinction are part of strategies
people adopt to advance their position (e.g by consuming expensive products)
“Taste classifies, and it classifies the classifier”: our taste for things is a way of classifying stuff, but in doing so, it says something about you as a person as well
People don’t ‘just’ choose things, or arbitrarily develop
particular tastes
Dispositions are developed from a young age, and applied
throughout life
Tastes both draw on and reproduce social position. Tastes are an important way of signaling and maintaining your social status.
Key concepts Bourdieu: practice
Technically speaking, Bourdieu is a ‘practice theorist’
Similar approach to Shove et al.
- Focus on life as it is actually lived (not attitudes about
it, for example)
- Overcoming structure/agency dichotomy
Practice is lived reality resulting from habitus, field and capital
Together the key factors shape how individuals behave (and their
consumption practices)
Key concepts Bourdieu: habitus
Habitus and field are roughly the same as agency and structure
People tend to behave in relatively predictable ways
“All of my thinking started from
this point: how can behaviour be
regulated without being the product of obedience to rules?”
- ‘Habitus’ addresses this
phenomenon
Habitus is a property of actors/individuals – durable (long-lasting) /transposable (becomes active in loads of different social situations)
dispositions (denkwijze) and tendencies
Shaped by upbringing, education
A “structured and structuring structure”
- ‘Structured’ by past and present circumstances
- ‘Structuring’ because it shapes present and future practices
- ‘Structure’ because it is systematically ordered, not random
Essentially habitus refers to our ways of acting, feeling,
thinking and being
It is distinct from ‘habit’ – not routine/repetitive behaviour
but a generative principle
It is distinct from rational cost/benefit decision-making (habit)–
more a “feel for the game”
Key concepts Bourdieu: field
‘Fields’ are the various spheres in which human activity takes place
E.g. education, work, leisure
May be part of many at once
Fields contain specific sets of rules and codes
These rules may be formal but are often tacit/implicit –
assumptions that ‘go without saying’ (‘doxa’)
- E.g. know how to behave at an art gallery
Interaction between habitus and field shapes human activity
One’s habitus may provide a ‘feel for the game’ with the
doxa (unwritten rules) in a particular field
Difference between situations where one feels (i) at home
or (ii) like they don’t fit in
Avoidance of field-habitus clash
People generally try to maximize their position in a given field, without breaking the rules of the field
Key concepts Bourdieu: capital
Individuals possess different types of ‘capital’,
which confer advantages
Four different types of ‘capital’:
- Economic capital
- Social capital
- Cultural capital
- Symbolic capital (a kind of aggregate of the
other types; not really important)
Key concepts Bourdieu: economic capital
Money and assets
Confers obvious advantages across different fields
Key concepts Bourdieu: social capital
Social relationships and networks; could
include family connections, other associations
such as clubs etc. (e.g. student associations)
Confers social advantages
- The ‘Old Boys’ Network’
- Unadvertised jobs
–> Being part of a good network can get you social advantages, like in jobs
Connected to consumption (although relatively underexplored)
Key concepts Bourdieu: cultural capital
The kinds of knowledge and skills that are valued within a
particular culture, and thus provide social advantages
Very closely related to matters of taste
Comes in different forms:
- Embodied: operates at the level of disposition (habitus) - it is part of your body, like accents/body language for example. It reflects your background and suggest your social position in comparison to others.
- Objectified: solidified cultural capital in ‘things’, like an original artwork, furniture, clothes, etc.
- Institutionalised: cultural capital that is conferred on you by institutions - like degrees form a school
Two modifications to cultural capital since
Bourdieu
(1) Cultural omnivore
(2) Experiential consumption
Capital and consumption
Deployments of different forms of capital is shaped by habitus (e.g. upbringing,
education)
- E.g. in an elite job interview
Deployment of capital also shapes social environment (field)
- E.g. the person higher in capital is more likely to get the job
Different levels of capital (particularly economic and cultural) are associated with
different forms of consumption
What kinds of consumption are associated with high
economic capital and low cultural capital?
What kinds of
consumption are associated with low economic capital
and high cultural capital?
Key concepts Bourdieu: symbolic capital
The three other kinds of capital (economic, social, cultural) act as
symbolic capital in a particular field
Symbolic capital is a more general term for the forms of capital which confer advantage in a given field – it is made up of whichever others types are relevant
Formula for human behaviour
Habitus + capital (economic, social, cultural) x field
