Journal ArticleDOI
Bourdieu's Field and the Sociology of Welfare
TLDR
In this paper, a sociological analysis of the welfare field is presented, and the focus is more definitely set on the rates at which types of capital are converted in this field, and it is argued that such a model satisfies the central requirements of a sociology of welfare.Abstract:
Bourdieu conceptualises most aspects of social life in terms of fields, which constitute sites of struggle over a central stake. The resources which are used in these struggles, and whose appropriation is at stake, are defined as types of capital: economic, cultural, social and symbolic. Each field involves a set of players, of agents who are engaged in practices and strategies on the basis of an habitus. It is contended in this article that such an approach can be usefully mobilised to develop a sociological analysis of welfare. The model has to be slightly altered to make it more adequate for the study of the welfare field. First, what Bourdieu calls political capital is given a more prominent place. Secondly, the focus is more definitely set on the rates at which types of capital are converted in the welfare field. It is argued that such a model satisfies the central requirements of a sociology of welfare, in that it places welfare activities within the wider social context while grasping their internal dynamic. It provides an effective framework for addressing the main questions which are raised by a sociology of welfare.read more
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Varieties of habitus and the embodiment of ballet
TL;DR: The overall aim of as mentioned in this paper was to produce an ethnography of ballet as a social practice, drawing upon their fieldwork at the Royal Ballet (London) where they conducted 20 in-depth interviews with 20 dancers.
Journal ArticleDOI
Agency, social theory and social policy.
TL;DR: In this paper, a recent model of human agency presented by Hogge is considered and the implications of this model for the discipline of social policy. But the model is not considered in this paper.
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Reflecting on Habitus, Field and Capital Towards a Culturally Sensitive Social Work
TL;DR: The notion of the knowledge base as a central aspect of professional activity is flawed, and it is more useful to see social work as a continuous process of constructing and reconstructing professional knowledge as discussed by the authors.
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Bourdieu's theory of practice and its potential in nursing research
TL;DR: The use of Bourdieu's "Theory of Practice" as a research framework could allow nurse researchers to explore the interactions of nurses with the structures, agents and symbols of illness within the field of care.