...Pierre Bourdieu Pierre Bourdieu is a well known French sociologist, anthropologist and philosopher whose work has greatly influenced the people of his time and still continues to do so today. He worked during the 1970s and 1980s studying and analyzing the idea of power within a comprehensive “theory of society”. With many years of conducting his own research, he came up with a theory of his own to identify individuals and their relationship with society and their status with power. Bourdieu sought to connect his theoretical ideas with his own life experiences to best relate his work with people of society in his time. While doing so, he managed to create a different set of key concepts to carefully break down and explain how he believes that our social system is made up and why. Although he has many revolutionary concepts, my paper will mainly focus on three of them: habitus, capital, and field. Born in Denguin, a small village located in Southern France on August 1, 1930, Pierre Felix Bourdieu was born to a working class family. Growing up, he was greatly influenced by his father to pursue the best education possible that his country could offer; because of this, Bourdieu ended up getting accepted to one of the best and most prestigious universities in France--the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris. This is where he studied philosophy under Louis Althusser a famous Marxist thinker. After finishing school and receiving his doctorate, Bourdieu went to Algeria in 1958...
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...Immigrants have been exposed to poor living and low working conditions. The immigrant works have been exposed to countless evils. In Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological theory discusses, the the main aspects are focusing in analyzing the state of the immigrant farm child. From a outsider’s view, we could imagine that due to the increased development of the countries like the United Sate, the living condition and environment on the poor could change, however, this has never been the case. These immigrant farm children are discover to lots of problems such as intense and extreme working environment and exposure to the chemical substance and the pesticides. Moreover, to be a child of an immigrant farm worker might brings some impact to these children...
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...Pierre Bourdieu and the Distinctive Body Nadeem Fayaz For Pierre Bourdieu, the “natural body” is transformed into a “distinctive body”. A minority of people are able to profit from the use of their natural bodies, though the majority of people can only use their bodies for profit through projecting a distinctive body. To achieve this higher level of distinction perhaps is to treat the body as “a 'thing' separate from the self, a machine, to be tuned and serviced and improved wherever possible."[1] Though to treat the body as a machine, perhaps makes problematic the notion of the body as 'natural' because it is no longer just a biological entity, but a socially constructed product and ultimately, to gain distinction, a 'body for others.' The body for others “is the visible manifestation of the person, of the 'idea it wants to give of itself', its 'character', i.e. its values and capacities."[2] This manifestation of the body is influenced by the person's 'taste', social field and 'habitus'. Bourdieu defines taste as an incorporated principle of classification which governs all forms of incorporation, choosing and modifying everything that the body ingests and digests and assimilates, physiologically and psychologically.[3] Taste is thus determined by class, according to Bourdieu. This is significant because "People develop preferences for what is available to them."[4] These preferences are formed from a mixture of economic, social and cultural 'capitals'...
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...MUD08243876 Differences in cultural capital mark the differences between the classes” Pierre Bourdieu How do class, gender, sexuality or race work in relation to taste today? Using at least two key theorists discussed on the course, explain how ideas of taste are presented in any two media texts. The concept of good taste and class has always been a sensitive subject for those perceived as lacking enough taste or class to fit in the higher echelons of society. Historically, taste. class and it’s symbols have always been defined by the social elite. It was been incredibly difficult for outsiders to gain access to the knowledge that ensured the ruling class were in a position to define taste for the rest of the population. There has however always been a drive in the lower classes to earn acceptance and even entry to the higher class of society. This drive has been a major factor to the success of capitalism, giving birth to mass production and economic well fare. Renowned french sociologist Pierre Bourdieu theorised on cultural, social and symbolic values in order to analyze what constituted taste and class. (Swartz, David. 1997) Bourdieu believed that if one possessed a great deal of cultural capital (knowledge of the arts, language or artistic flair) one would be perceived as a higher class than someone without the same knowledge. Bourdieu argues that all members of society exist in a multidimensional social space:...
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...Pierre Bourdieu (1930 – 2002) is a France sociologist who is widely known for his critical analysis of social practices. His focus of study is about the influences of cross-cultural interaction of social class disposition which lead to the reproduction or transformation of social structure (Hodkinson, 2008; Reay, 2004b; Robbins, 2004). Bourdieu neither objectivist nor subjectivist. He believes in the importance of both ‘social structure’ and ‘mental structure’ to explore a social study (Wacquant, 1998). As a response to both paradigms, he established a trilogy concept of habitus, capital and field that explained social practices in analysing of social reality (Suminar, 2013; Wacquant, 1998). He argues Marxists perspective on education and the relationship between educational opportunity and class background (Robbins, 2004). Marxists claim that the main role of education was the reproduction of the same generation of social class and working class (Bauer & Gaskell, 1999; Otto, 2015). However, Bourdieu believes that education as a part of looking forward strategy to everyone as an opportunity to get qualification and the capacity to move forward (Robbins, 2004). Bourdieu conducted many empirical research to test his “Theory of Practice” which ties all the three concepts together (Suminar, 2013). To this point, Bourdieu thought is towards a solidarity in society. In this essay, I will discuss further on Bourdieu’s theory of practice which is widely used in social study. Bourdieu...
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...In order to understand Pierre Bourdieu, we have to strive to understand how he explores the many ways in which people conduct their lives in relation to one another and social institutions. Bourdieu’s main focus was involved with the dynamics of power in society, and especially the differing ways in which power is transferred and how social order is maintained within generations. Bourdieu defines that there are three different types of capital which are economic capital, cultural capital and social capital. Economic capital is what we have, cultural capital is what we know and social capital is who we know. All three of these capitals are linked together which define our habitus. The habitus is defined as the mental structure through which we interact with the social world. It is a built in, subconscious way that we perceive and categorize things in the world, because of how we are raised, without knowing that we’re doing it, that structures our tastes and actions. Individuals internalize their habitus...
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...The impact of Cultural Capital on advertisement Class Professor *** Name Date Overview The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu first proposed the concept of cultural capital. Since the 1980s, social capital has become a popular concept in many disciplines concerned and analysis of important starting point. Hofstede (1980) published a study in the field of cultural significance of the research results. In 1980s, scholars did a large number of cross-cultural consumer behavior based Hofstede’s cultural construct. After the 1990s, globalization and technological revolution in the joint action, cultural issues in all areas of marketing, reflected in all directions, the impact of cultural capital on advertisement journals were seen everywhere. "Advertising." The word of foreign origin, derived from the Latin word “Adteurture”; its basic meaning is the meaning of attention and induce the latter evolved into the English language “Advertise”. In recent years, advertising fills of people’s lives. From the television’s ads, newspaper’s ads, outdoor walls’ ads, to the network, advertising are seen every where. But in different cultural background, consumer values, consumption patterns and consumer behavior are different. Cultural capital has a deep impact on advertising, which cannot be ignored. Today's society is in economic globalization; all the advertising companies cannot separate from cultural capital. We need to know when planning to advertise the nation's culture, and...
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...Anthony Tallini 11-16-15 Sociology/Prof. Phillips Social Class and Life Chances Stony Brook and Patchogue Village have differing life chances and social classes all based on social and economic differences. Cultural capital and Social capital play a big role in how you will succeed in social stratification, based on Pierre Bourdieu and Max Weber. In this essay I will explain how five social and economic characteristics affect the towns of Stony Brook CDP and Patchogue Village. Then I’ll inform the reader how both mentioned towns differ from each other and the majority of Americans. Finally I will describe what role would social and cultural capital play in your chances of success in life. Educational attainment is a social characteristic that plays a role in success. In Stony Brook the percent of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher was about 54.5 percent of the population as told by the “usbeacon”, likewise Patchogue’s percent of people with a bachelors or higher was only about 23.1%. This trend can also be seen with those with a graduate and professional degree with Stony brook being at 30.98 percent and Patchogue being at 9.89 percent. “The benefits of having a college education are manifold and range from financial to cultural. From common benefits to some unexpected surprises.”{1} College, as said by Jeff McGuire from Collegeview.com, is a good idea in order to take advantage of social growth and learning. The fact that you’ll be building a career for the...
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...Institution: Course Code: Sociologists meaning of Embodied Cultural Capital Introduction Drawing upon the work of social scientist, Pierre Bourdieu, he characterizes cultural capital as being, "the general cultural foundation, information, demeanor, and aptitudes that are passed on starting with one era then onto the next. Embodied cultural capital is properties of one's self that regularly begin from the family (Pierre, 2001, 114). Delineations For instance, language is an embodied cultural capital. A child’s first prologue to language is basically from his or her guardians and home environment. Having the capacity to communicate effectively is vital for when a youngster enters school. A child who experienced childhood in a language rich environment will be better prepared to function well in school. What language(s) a child is presented to as a child additionally gets to be vital. A child who lives in a family unit that uncovered him or her to numerous languages could be at both leeway and impediment once entering school. The child has the cultural capital of having the capacity to talk, or in any event comprehend, various languages, however in the event that the school just benefits English, this cultural capital of a second language may not be advantageous. Also, if the child is not as conversant in English in view of being presented to two languages, this cultural capital may really burden the kid. References Pierre, B. (2001). Masculine Domination. Stanford: Stanford University...
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...‘social capital’ was first coined by Pierre Bourdieu who used it to describe the networks of relationships among people in society, and how it allows society to function properly. Bourdieu’s thinking was concerned with the understanding of social hierarchy. He believed that economic capital is at the root of all other forms of capital, and he was interested how economic capital could combine with other forms of capital to create and reproduce inequality (Ihelen, 2005). Although Bourdieu focused more on the terms themselves and how they played a part in society it is clear to see how he influenced the argument of different capitals effect on the class system. As Bourdieu states, looking at other forms of capital from an economic perspective,...
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...looking at what has been the impact of Tate’s prosperity .At this point, it’s worth noting that due to lack of capital resources, most museums undergo little or no progress. However, this is not the case with Tate Modern which has largely grown in size and rebranded its entire community The Stage recently reported (Merrifield, 2012) that local councils in the UK have reduced funding for arts organizations by 40% over the last year. Under ‘related posts’ on the website, there are links to a July article warning of a 90% cut in local authority expenditure on the arts by the year 2020 (Smith, 2012); one reporting a 40% cut since 2008 (Smith, 2011); one reporting the withdrawal of funding by London councils (Woolman, 2011); and one reporting a rather flaccid warning against such cuts, issued by the Arts Council of England in 2010 (Woolman, 2010). Clearly the present economic climate is not favourable for arts and cultural activities in the UK, or elsewhere in the developed world, where the effects of the 2008 global banking crisis continue to be deeply felt. The stories published by The Stage suggest that, at a local level, public authorities do not regard such activities as a priority to be defended at all costs. Nevertheless, in recent years, arts organizations have become more effective in arguing the economic case for continued commitment to public investment in cultural activity. The Edinburgh Festivals Impact Study published in 2011 (Choughley, U. et al., 2011) builds on previous...
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...Ethnicity is a sense of historical, cultural, and sometimes ancestral connection to a group of people who are imagined to be distinct from those outside the group. Ethnic boundary markers are practices or beliefs, such as food, clothing, language, shared name, or religion, used to signify who is in a group and who is not. Examples of these markers include the plain clothing and lifestyles of the Amish and the curly sideburns of male, Orthodox Jews. Nationalism is built off of ethnicity. It is when there is a desire of an ethnic community to create and/or maintain a nation-state, a political entity, located within a geographic territory with enforced borders, where the population shares a sense of culture, ancestry, and destiny as a people. (Guest, 242, 254-255) 6. One of the most studied cultural practices is the ‘Potlach’ ceremony conducted by the Kwaikiutl of the Pacific Northwest. What is this ceremony? and why is it important to Anthropologists and to the study of class and social stratification? (6 pts)...
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...Cultural and social capital forms an individual throughout one’s life. According to Pierre Bourdieu, capital included not just material goods, but cultural and social assets. Cultural capital refers to the social assets of a person such as family background and education, which is reflected in a knowledge of language and art. Social capital refer to the social network among people in a society, which is built on shared trust. Cultural capital is something everyone learn at the age of four and is carried on for years, it is an education. Currently I attend Greenville Technical College for an associate degree in administrative technology, this is a manifest function to further my knowledge for the work field. Going to college is also a social...
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...HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT Human capital is the stock of competencies, knowledge, social and personality attributes, including creativity, cognitive abilities, embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. It is an aggregate economic view of the human being acting within economies, which is an attempt to capture the social, biological, cultural and psychological complexity as they interact in explicit and/or economic transactions. Many theories explicitly connect investment in human capital development to education, and the role of human capital in economic development, productivity growth, and innovation has frequently been cited as a justification for government subsidies for education and job skills training.[1] "Human capital" has been and is still being criticized in numerous ways. Michael Spence offers signaling theory as an alternative to human capital.[2][3] Pierre Bourdieu offers a nuanced conceptual alternative to human capital that includes cultural capital, social capital, economic capital, and symbolic capital.[4] These critiques, and other debates, suggest that "human capital" is a reified concept without sufficient explanatory power. It was assumed in early economic theories, reflecting the context, i.e., the secondary sector of the economy was producing much more than the tertiary sector was able to produce at the time in most countries – to be a fungible resource, homogeneous, and easily interchangeable, and it was referred to simply...
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...Dimensions of Social Inequality Julie McElwain Park University Abstract Social inequality is how different categories of individuals are prescribed by the society. The society uses basic characteristics such as gender, sex, education, and ethnicity among other factors in order to categorize an individual. The social inequalities determine the access to limited goods such as market labor force, education, health care facilities, and other forms of participation in the society. Different forms of social inequalities are constructs of geographical distribution, and status within the country, however, cultural aspects, mostly integrated with cultural identities, of society are perceived to be the major contributor of social inequality. Discourses have, therefore, been raised on whether the poor deserve to be poor or not and whether the rich deserve to be rich or not. In order to address this question, I examined different dimensions of social inequalities in my life such as social class, educational level, and race among other factors. In this paper, I will also try to bring out understanding of different theories in attempt to explain social stratification. A comparison will be done between different perspectives through interviews and my own perspective of social inequalities. In essence all factors discussed in this paper show a link between social inequalities and different factors such as economic and political system. Trends such as widening inequalities...
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