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Bourdieu's Forms of Capital
Bourdieu was a French Sociologist born in 1930, his concept of capital has had a big influence on socio-cultural studies, his main concern within society was that he felt that different forms of capital were the reason for social inequalities. To explain his theory, Bourdieu stated that Capital can present itself in three different forms;
1. Economic Capital is the capital that can be directly converted into money
2. Cultural capital is an immaterial form that is convertible into economical capital which can be 'institutionalized in the form of educational qualifications', but also existing as the following;
(Bourdieu,1986)
Bourdieu defines Cultural Capital as 'a theoretical hypothesis which makes it possible to explain scholastic achievement of children originating from the different social classes' (Bourdieu, 1986). This links in with the concept of globalization, as cultural capital could be seen as a contribution to the process of globalization; Capital is one of the concepts that is believed to have segregated our societies into different social classes.
Bourdieu and Passeron (1977) as cited by Bartlett and Burton (2012) suggest that the cultural values and immaterial forms of capital are passed onto each generation from parents and grandparents and are what keep particular classes at that same level within society. '....dominant culture is a set of properties, characteristics, behaviours, orientations that dominant class groups already have'. Upper and middle classes are usually considered the dominant class groups, therefore children from these families have an advantage when it comes to their education, as they are being taught high cultural values from their parents that currently hold 'high capital'. '...cultural values are in effect an economic advantage' so therefore are a form of cultural capital and are of value to be institutionalized for the future of that individual (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1997) as cited by Bartlett and Burton 2012)
Social capital is defined as '...a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition...' (Bourdieu, 1986). This means it is to do with the development of relationships within certain classes in society; these relationships can then give individuals an advantage in the economy compared to those with a low social capital in lower classes that do not have this same connection of relationships. Bourdieu almost uses social capital as an explanation to understand the inequality that we see in society, he emphases the competition that we see and experience ourselves, and power that can be held by the higher classes. Social capital is even possibly the reason that children from working class families very rarely achieve middle class or high class status, due to finding it much more difficult to obtain these relationships and connections .
(491 words)
Bourdieu was a French Sociologist born in 1930, his concept of capital has had a big influence on socio-cultural studies, his main concern within society was that he felt that different forms of capital were the reason for social inequalities. To explain his theory, Bourdieu stated that Capital can present itself in three different forms;
1. Economic Capital is the capital that can be directly converted into money
2. Cultural capital is an immaterial form that is convertible into economical capital which can be 'institutionalized in the form of educational qualifications', but also existing as the following;
- Embodied state - 'dispositions of the mind and the body'
- Objectified state - 'in the form of cultural goods
(Bourdieu,1986)
Bourdieu defines Cultural Capital as 'a theoretical hypothesis which makes it possible to explain scholastic achievement of children originating from the different social classes' (Bourdieu, 1986). This links in with the concept of globalization, as cultural capital could be seen as a contribution to the process of globalization; Capital is one of the concepts that is believed to have segregated our societies into different social classes.
Bourdieu and Passeron (1977) as cited by Bartlett and Burton (2012) suggest that the cultural values and immaterial forms of capital are passed onto each generation from parents and grandparents and are what keep particular classes at that same level within society. '....dominant culture is a set of properties, characteristics, behaviours, orientations that dominant class groups already have'. Upper and middle classes are usually considered the dominant class groups, therefore children from these families have an advantage when it comes to their education, as they are being taught high cultural values from their parents that currently hold 'high capital'. '...cultural values are in effect an economic advantage' so therefore are a form of cultural capital and are of value to be institutionalized for the future of that individual (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1997) as cited by Bartlett and Burton 2012)
Social capital is defined as '...a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition...' (Bourdieu, 1986). This means it is to do with the development of relationships within certain classes in society; these relationships can then give individuals an advantage in the economy compared to those with a low social capital in lower classes that do not have this same connection of relationships. Bourdieu almost uses social capital as an explanation to understand the inequality that we see in society, he emphases the competition that we see and experience ourselves, and power that can be held by the higher classes. Social capital is even possibly the reason that children from working class families very rarely achieve middle class or high class status, due to finding it much more difficult to obtain these relationships and connections .
(491 words)