Showing papers on "Field (Bourdieu) published in 1970"

The Community as A Social Field

Abstract: A field concept of social organization is proposed as an alternative to systems theory with special reference to the case of the community. Field notions in physics, biology, and psychology are shown to reflect a view of reality as emergent and dynamic. The concept of the field is distinguished from the method of field analysis. The assumptions of interactional theory are taken as a frame of reference for delineating characteristics of the social field. Contributions of ecological, cultural, and psychological factors are noted, but the social field is described as having a distinctive existence. Theoretical and methodological implications of conceptualizing the community as a social field are discussed, and the concept of the community field is elaborated.

Studies in rural capitalism in West Africa

Abstract: Originally published in 1970, this is a collection of studies of indigenous economies in Ghana and Nigeria by an author with an unusual interdisciplinary approach. In the opening section it is contended that most economists interested in underdeveloped countries have neglected the detailed study of economic organization and mechanism in the field, especially in rural areas, and that, as a result, there has been little testing of many conventional implicit assumptions that happen to be invalid. The subsequent chapters of the book are both a vigorous corrective to socio-economic generalisations based on too little data and a demonstration of the possibilities of a research method that owes more to the example of social anthropologists than to that of economists. The sophistication of the picture of certain sectors of rural life that emerges from the whole book will surprise many readers.

Black Boxism and the Sociology of Science: A Discussion of the Major Developments in the Field

Abstract: Science as an important area of human activity has attracted the attention of historians and philosophers as well as sociologists. However, sociologists in their attempt to establish an independent sub discipline, the Sociology of Science, have too often disregarded work in the History and Philosophy of Science. Moreover they have separated the Sociology of Science from the Sociology of Knowledge. All these have resulted in a conception of the sub discipline that suggests it should be devoted to the study of the producers of science without much or any reference to the internal cognitive nature and fonn of science. I believe it is essential to understand the relationship between these two to have a sound Sociology of Science, and that a separation of the study of the producers of certain cultural artifacts, that is of science, without reference to the fonn and substance of science itself is mistaken. To illustrate my observation that sociologists of science are preoccupied with the producers in a way that takes little account of what is being produced, I should like to refer to Storer (1966: 3-9) who sees the sociology of science as being concerned with the behaviour and organization of scientists. The internal organization of science, science as a social institution, as a profession and as a communication system are the chief areas of study. A similar view is expressed by Cole (1970). He states that the analysis of the social conditions which affect the processes of discovery, evaluation and diffusion of ideas comprise the domain of the sociology of science. These approaches, which are characteristic of North American work, exclude any discussion of the subject matter of science. Ignoring the cognitive aspect of scientists' activities, they restrict sociology to discussion of social relations and processes. Ideas are taken as given, they are objectified as citation or paper counts where each paper is taken to

The City of Black Angels: Emergence of the Los Angeles Ghetto, 1890-1930

Abstract: THE SPOTLIGHT of national attention on black ghettos during the past decade has led historians to study a field which had previously been largely the preserve of sociologists and economists. Several excellent studies of the formation of major areas of black urban concentration prior to the Great Depression have been written, and long-held interpretations of the causes and timing of ghetto development have been altered.' To date, however, no historian has produced a scholarly study of the origins of the community in Los Angeles which, by 1960, ranked sixth among all black urban populations in the United States. This neglect resulted partly from the fact that writers saw no substantial black population in the West prior to the 1940s and concluded that the presence of Negroes was largely a phenomenon of wartime migration. Thus Gunnar Myrdal dismissed the role of blacks in the development of the West by noting that in 1940 they constituted in all states west of the Mississippi, outside of the South, only 2.2 percent of the nation's Negro population.2 He was typical in neglecting to observe that one-fourth of this percentage resided in one county, mostly in certain sections of one city, Los Angeles, which already ranked fourteenth among the nation's cities in Negro population. It had been the largest black community

Macro and Micro Approaches Combined for Curriculum Process Analysis: A Swedish Educational Field Project.

Abstract: AUTHOR Eahllof, Urban S.; Lundgren, Ulf P. TITLE Macro and Micro Approaches Combined for Curriculum Process Analysis: A Swedish Educational Field Project. INSTITUTION Gothenburg Univ. (Sweden). Inst. of Education. SPONS AGENCY Swedish National Board of Education, Stockholm.; Tri-Centennial Fund, Stockholm (Sweden). PUB DATE Apr 70 NOTE 40p.; Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 1970

A Comparison of Housewife Decision Making in Two Social Classes

Abstract: A field study employing a shopping simulation compared the purchasing behavior of working and middle class housewives. Explanations of behavioral differences were sought through an analysis of the ...

A study of generation differences in immigrant groups with particular reference to Sikhs.

Abstract: A study of generation differences in immigrant groups. with special reference to Sikhs The study is based on data about Punjabi Sikh immigrants collected during nine months field work in Coventry. The three main themes of the thesis are: (1) the determination of the extent to which the social relations of Punjabi immigrants are with natives and the extent to which they are with other Punjabis; (2) the comparison of the patterns of social relations of first generation immigrants with those of subsequent generations; (3) the comparison of social behaviour in various fields of young second generation immigrants with the behaviour of other young immigrants more recently arrived in the immigrant situation. Chapter 1 deals with the methods and problems of fieldwork. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 give a background to the analysis of the local situation in the following chapters, including a definition of terms, the theoretical framework, a typology of chain migration with a review of previous migration into England, the aetiology of the Punjabi migration and a sketch of the Punjabi settlement in Coventry. In Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8 the three main themes are developed with reference to the family, household and marriage; to education and employment; to peer group association and to political activity. The final chapter is a summary of the conclusions of the four previous chapters.

Further reflections on lesu and malinowski's diary

Abstract: T ESU was the site of my first field work and, therefore, has a special significance. -*^ I assume that the " firsts " in most areas of living influence attitudes and behaviour in recurring similar events. I was, indeed, fortunate that this first field experience was in a functioning " primitive " society in Melanesia. It provided, I think, a considerable part of the basis for whatever success I had in later expeditions. These were all in modern or near-modern societies such as Mississippi, Hollywood, a mining township in Zambia and, currently, youth culture on the Berkeley campus. Certain attitudes and patterns of behaviour set in Lesu influenced me in quite different field situations.1

Social Aspects in the Emergence of Chemistry as an Exact Science: The British Chemical Profession

Abstract: The literature on the growth of scientific disciplines and ideas traces the typical pattern as a long preliminary period dating back to pre-recorded time with sporadic activities not characterized by sustained growth, followed by acceleration which eventually slows down and a ceiling is approached.' The historian of ideas would examine the qualities and internal structure of a given idea itself and, in the case of chemistry, discussion of the theory of phlogiston has proved an extensive field. The present analytical approach differs however, and asks the question: What happened in a given time and place that caused the communication of ideas in a particular discipline to become significantly effective? It is assumed that (i) ideas necessary for the emergence of a new discipline are usually available over a comparatively long period of time and in various places; (ii) only some of these embryos continue in further growth; (iii) such growth occurs in time and place because individuals become interested in the new idea, not onlyfor its intellectual content but also as a means to the end of a new intellectual identity and, even more importantly, a new occupational role;2 and (iv) the conditions under which such interest emerges can be identified and form the basis for building a predictive theory. Chemical ideas have existed since prehistory but there have been long lapses, when growth has been inhibited. Chemical investigations have been pursued and written about in many languages; with the growth of

The politics of localization: controlling movement in the field

Abstract: Romantic notions of the field, as depicted in works such as those of Evans-Pritchard and Malinowski, where an anthropologist is able to set up a hut in the middle of a village, conceal the complexities encountered by researchers in attempts to localize themselves in the field. In the post-colonial, globalizing world today, the field is marked by various unequal power relationships. Reflecting on my fieldwork experience I shall examine how questions of race and ethnicity affect a researcher's ability to acquire various apprenticeships for understanding how 'things are done' (Jenkins 1994: 442) and effectively conduct fieldwork. I worked in the ethnically divided society of Zanzibar, where I was categorized as a local Asian and my ability to move through the social landscape was tied to my ethnic origins. Placed within such contested landscapes, where the researcher becomes a part of the politicized field, traditional training in fieldwork methodology proves useless. In such situations, the researcher is required to re-examine approaches to fieldwork and re-evaluate their position vis-a-vis the rest of the community. As ethnic/racial categories through which the locals classify the researcher dictate the nature of data collected, the paper will explore issues that a researcher must attempt to comprehend when placed in such a situation and discuss how questions of power are integral for negotiating one's position in such a politicized field.

The field as 'habitus': reflections on inner and outer dialogue

Abstract: While Clifford (1997) regards fieldwork as a key marker of the discipline of anthropology itself, notions concerning fieldwork have undergone considerable change over the last decades. This paper elaborates on Clifford’s suggestion that fieldwork practice constitutes what Bourdieu terms as habitus and examines some of the key elements of what that practice might be. The discussion interweaves a theoretical analysis with descriptions of my own thought processes prior to fieldwork and of what happened once I entered the field. The paper also seeks to be self-reflexive and examines some of the internal dialogue that takes place as a result of fieldwork.

Editorial: Postqualitative Curations and Creations

Abstract: This special issue of Reconceptualizing Educational Research Methodology offers a series of curations and creations from emergent scholars within the equally emergent field of postqualitative research.

Human Factors in the Long Run

Abstract: Some fundamental questions are raised in such a way that planning for the future of the Human Factors Society may be stimulated. These questions deal with the nature of the field and of the society.