Showing papers on "Habitus published in 2015"

Educating for Futures in Marginalized Regions: A sociological framework for rethinking and researching aspirations

Abstract: ‘Raising aspirations’ for education among young people in low socioeconomic regions has become a widespread policy prescription for increasing human capital investment and economic competitiveness in so-called ‘knowledge economies’. However, policy tends not to address difficult social, cultural, economic and political conditions for aspiring, based in structural changes associated with globalization. Drawing conceptually on the works of Pierre Bourdieu, Raymond Williams, Arjun Appadurai and authors in the Funds of Knowledge tradition, this article theorizes two logics for aspiring that are recognizable in research with young people and families: a doxic logic, grounded in populist–ideological mediations; and a habituated logic, grounded in biographic–historical legacies and embodied as habitus. A less tangible third ‘logic’ is also theorized: emergent senses of future potential, grounded in lived cultures, which hold possibility for imagining and pursuing alternative futures. The article offers a...

The International Mobility of Academics: A Labour Market Perspective

Abstract: Robert Park (1928) presented a powerful narrative about migration. He suggested that migration is “an agency of progress” (883); it interrupts “the routine of existing habit” (885) and releases “energies that were formerly controlled by custom and tradition” (887). A similar narrative dominates the literature of transnational academic mobility today: migration exposes academics to new contexts and unleashes creative forces that propel scientific knowledge production. Academics, however, are not only knowledge producers but also workers who are, like all migrants, embedded in employment relations and social and cultural contexts. The contemporary literature, however, rarely assumes a labour market perspective when examining transnational academic mobility. In this article, I address this shortcoming. In particular, I assume political-economy and segmentation-theory perspectives of labour mobility. The first thesis I pursue in this article is that academic labour operates in a separate labour market in which the experiences of international mobility differ from the experiences workers have in other occupations. I examine this thesis by drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s work (e.g. 1984, 1988, 1998) to explore how academic labour is valorized and devalued in the migration process. Although the literature has linked Bourdieu’s ideas of habitus and cultural capital to migration (Bauder, 2006a; Erel, 2010) and academic mobility (e.g. Hoffmann, 2007; Jons, 2008), it has neglected these ideas in the political-economy context of academic labour mobility. A second question I pursue is whether academics are able to retain or increase the value of their labour through mobility. The conventional narrative in the migration literature is that migration devalues labour, allocates it to the lower labour market segments, and contributes to the flexibilization and neoliberalization of labour markets (e.g. Piore, 1979; Sassen, 2000; Bauder, 2006a). The mobility of academics may contradict this conventional narrative. For example, internationally mobile academics are more likely to be employed full-time in most national systems of higher education (Welch, 1997: 330), and foreign-born female academics are more engaged in prestigious research activities and less in teaching and administration than their native-born colleagues (Mamiseishvili, 2010). Mobility can be an effective accumulation strategy of social, cultural and economic capital (Ong, 1999). The migration literature has paid relatively little attention to how migrant workers may be able to retain or increase the value of their labour through migration. I find this relative lack of attention perplexing given the growing scholarly interest in international labour mobility and increasing

For a Sociology of Flesh and Blood

Abstract: This article elaborates the social ontology and methodology of carnal sociology as a distinctive mode of social inquiry eschewing the spectatorial posture to grasp action-in-the-making, in the wake of debates triggered by my apprenticeship-based study of boxing as a plebeian bodily craft. First I critique the notions of (dualist) agent, (externalist) structure, and (mentalist) knowledge prevalent in the contemporary social sciences and sketch an alternative conception of the social animal, not just as wielder of symbols, but as sensate, suffering, skilled, sedimented, and situated creature of flesh and blood. I spotlight the primacy of embodied practical knowledge arising out of and continuously enmeshed in webs of action and consider what modes of inquiry are suited to deploying and mining this incarnate conception of the agent. I argue that enactive ethnography, the brand of immersive fieldwork based on “performing the phenomenon,” is a fruitful path toward capturing the cognitive, conative, and cathectic schemata (habitus) that generate the practices and underlie the cosmos under investigation. But it takes social spunk and persistence to reap the rewards of “observant participation” and achieve social competency (as distinct from empirical saturation). In closing, I return to Bourdieu’s dialogue with Pascal to consider the special difficulty and urgency of capturing the “spirit of acuteness” that animates such competency but vanishes from normal sociological accounts.

Habitus and the psychosocial: Bourdieu with feelings

Abstract: This paper explores the potential of habitus to provide a window on the psychosocial. The paper works with a notion of psychosocial study as inquiry into the mutual constitution of the individual and the social relations within which they are enmeshed. At the same time it attempts to deepen and enrich notions of habitus. Although the strong focus on agency and structure has overshadowed the role of emotions and the emotional life of individuals within conceptualisations of habitus in Bourdieu’s work, the paper argue that there are strong links between the psychosocial and Bourdieu’s concept of habitus. Drawing on empirical data on the affective aspects of living in an unequal society, the paper seeks to develop a psychosocial understanding of habitus that allows for a better and richer understanding of how the exterior – wider social structures – is experienced and mediated by the interior, the psyche.

“Bad Students Go to Vocational Schools!”: Education, Social Reproduction and Migrant Youth in Urban China

Abstract: China’s second-generation rural-to-urban migrant youth, who grew up in their parents’ adopted cities, are still denied urban residential status and suffer from the institutional closure of higher education opportunities. This article explores in ethnographic detail the experiences and subjectivities of migrant youth in Shanghai who since 2008 have been channeled to secondary vocational schools. It highlights the direct involvement of the local state in reproducing a social hierarchy in which migrant youth provide cheap labor for manufacturing and low-skilled service industries. It reveals how contention over the limited choice of majors and career trajectories persists between state intention, market demand and individual aspirations. The time and space provided by vocational schooling enable migrant students to gain urban habitus and form networks across boundaries. Vocational schools have thus become a unique site for studying education and class reproduction in a late-socialist context.

Illusio and overwork: playing the game in the accounting field

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand: how and why do experienced professionals, who perceive themselves as autonomous, comply with organizational pressures to overwork? Unlike previous studies of professionals and overwork, the authors focus on experienced professionals who have achieved relatively high status within their firms and the considerable economic rewards that go with it. Drawing on the little used Bourdieusian concept of illusio, which describes the phenomenon whereby individuals are “taken in and by the game” (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992), the authors help to explain the “autonomy paradox” in professional service firms. Design/methodology/approach – This research is based on 36 semi-structured interviews primarily with experienced male and female accounting professionals in France. Findings – The authors find that, in spite of their levels of experience, success, and seniority, these professionals describe themselves as feeling helpless and trapped, and experience bodily subju...

The Contextually Situated Nature of Occupational Choice: Marginalised Young Adolescents' Experiences in South Africa

Abstract: Occupational scientists' appreciation of occupational choice has not extended into theorizing the complexities of its situated nature. This paper presents a critical ethnographic study investigating the factors shaping the occupational choices of marginalized young adolescents in a community in South Africa. Drawing on Bourdieu's theories of action, the transactional nature of occupational choice influenced by habitus and doxa and operating through practical consciousness is illustrated. Through network sampling, seven young adolescents, their peer groups and a significant adult in their lives were recruited into the study. Data were generated using photo-voice methods and photo-elicitation interviews, observation and a semi-structured interview with the adult. The analysis yielded the theme, “It's just like that”, illustrating the way in which practical consciousness, habitus and doxa contributed to maintaining patterns of engaging in occupations reflecting the hegemonic discourse of the community of Lav...

Spatial Work in Between Glass Ceilings and Glass Walls: Gender-Class Intersectionality and Organizational Aesthetics

Abstract: This study explores the relations between organizational spatiality, gender, and class. It examines the work performed by managers and architects on the one hand, and by various groups of female employees on the other, in constructing, reproducing, and challenging gender-class identities through space-related means. Three types of gender-class spatial work are identified―discursive, material, and interpretive-emotional―to highlight the role of space in constructing and reconstructing inequality regimes within organizations. Applying insights from Lefebvre’s spatial theory, we analyze the case of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ new headquarters, demonstrating how the spatial work of various actors is both gendered and gendering. We also show how space is enacted by women from different social groups in accordance with their habitus and with the aim of distinguishing themselves from others.

Identity, Neoliberalism and Aspiration: Educating white working-class boys

Abstract: In recent years there has been growing concern over the pervasive disparities in academic achievement that are highly influenced by ethnicity, class and gender. Specifically, within the neoliberal policy rhetoric, there has been concern over underachievement of working-class young males, specifically white working-class boys. The historic persistence of this pattern, and the ominous implication of these trends on the long-term life chances of white working-class boys, has led to a growing chorus that something must be done to intervene. This book provides an in-depth sociological study exploring the subjectivities within the neoliberal ideology of the school environment, in order to expand our understanding of white working-class disengagement with education. The chapters discuss how white working-class boys in three educational sites enact social and learner identities, focusing on the practices of 'meaning-making' and 'identity work' that the boys experienced, and the disjunctures and commonalities between them. The book presents an analysis of the varying tensions influencing the identity of each boy and the consequences of these pressures on their engagement with education. Drawing on Bourdieu's theoretical tools and a model of egalitarian habitus, Identity, Neoliberalism and Aspiration: Educating white working-class boys will be of interest to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the field of sociology of education, and those from related disciplines studying class and gender.

'It was serendipity': a qualitative study of academic careers in medical education.

Abstract: Context: Despite a demand for educational expertise in medical universities, little is known of the roles of medical educators and the sustainability of academic careers in medical education. We examined the experiences and career paths of medical educators from diverse professional backgrounds seeking to establish, maintain and strengthen their careers in medical schools. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 44 lead and early-career medical educators from all 21 Australian and New Zealand medical schools. Questions explored career beginnings, rewards and challenges. Transcripts underwent systematic coding and independent thematic analysis. Final themes were confirmed by iterative review and member checking. Analysis was informed by Bourdieu's concepts of field (a social space for hierarchical interactions), habitus (individual dispositions which influence social interactions) and capital (economic, symbolic, social and cultural forms of power). Results: Participants provided diverse accounts of what constitutes the practice of medical education. Serendipitous career entry and little commonality of professional backgrounds and responsibilities suggest an ambiguous habitus with ill-defined career pathways. Within the field of medicine as enacted in medical schools, educators have invisible yet essential roles, experiencing tension between service expectations, a lesser form of capital, and demands for more highly valued forms of scholarship. Participants reported increasing expectations to produce research and obtain postgraduate qualifications to enter and maintain their careers. Unable to draw upon cultural capital accrued from clinical work, non-clinician educators faced additional challenges. To strengthen their position, educators consciously built social capital through essential service relationships, capitalising on times when education takes precedence, such as curriculum renewal and accreditation. Conclusions: Bourdieu's theory provides insight into medical educator career paths and the positioning of medical education within medical schools. Medical educators have an indistinct practice, and limited cultural capital in the form of research outputs. In order to maintain and strengthen their careers, educators must create alternative sources of capital, through fostering collaborative alliances.

Bourdieu, Social Capital and Online Interaction

Abstract: While there has been much discussion in recent decades on the nature of social capital and its importance in online interactions, it is my contention that these discussions have been dominated by the American Communitarian tradition. In this article, I begin with an overview of American Communitarianism to identify the key elements therein that are found in contemporary theories of social capital. Following this, I expose some of the weaknesses of this tradition and apply Bourdieu’s distinctive theoretical framework to online interactions to demonstrate the fecundity of Bourdieu’s sociological perspective when applied to contemporary online interactions. To do this, I examine interactions online that involve ‘internet memes’, as digital inhabitants themselves colloquially define them. It is my contention that an agonistic model, rather than a communitarian one, best describes the online interactions of digital inhabitants.

"Some People Might Say I'm Thriving but?…": Non-Traditional Students' Experiences of University.

Abstract: The expansion of neo-liberal policies' framing higher education has contributed to an increase in participation rates of students from non-traditional backgrounds. While an increase of a wider range of students might be seen as contributing to a more just and equitable higher education system, research has shown that broadening entry points does not necessarily ensure inclusion or positive experience for these students. This research investigated the experiences of first in family, rural and international students as they transitioned into their first year of university. Focus group interviews and surveys were used to collect data. Using Bourdieu's theory of field, habitus and capital as well as Weiss's dimensions of loneliness findings illuminate a number of poignant experiences for non-traditional students. We suggest that facilitating the transition for non-traditional students might require a cultural change by universities and a move away from the notion that the students need to ‘adapt’ to universit...

Habitus and social class: a case study on socialisation into sports and exercise

Abstract: According to Bourdieu, habitus is an important, and class-specific, foundation for behaviour. However, he hardly explained how the habitus is acquired. Based on Bernstein's elaboration on the various contexts in which group-specific behavioural principles are acquired, this article demonstrates how young children of two divergent social classes obtain their habitus underlying their sports and exercise behaviour. Although children in both groups acquire a habitus in which sports and exercise play a role, there are striking differences which arise largely out of differences in the impact of socialising agents. Within the higher social class, there is a clearly defined group, namely the nuclear family, which explicitly controls and regulates the children's exercise behaviour. These children learn specific skills at specific places. In the lower social class, the habitus is influenced by the extended family, the physical education teacher and peers, resulting in a broad range of less strictly ordered activiti...

Healthcare choice: Bourdieu’s capital, habitus and field

Abstract: The promotion of choice is a common theme in both policy discourses and commercial marketing claims about healthcare. However, within the multiple potential pathways of the healthcare ‘maze’, how do healthcare ‘consumers’ or patients understand and experience choice? What is meant by ‘choice’ in the policy context, and, importantly from a sociological perspective, how are such choices socially produced and structured? In this theoretical article, the authors consider the interplay of Bourdieu’s three key, interlinked concepts – capital, habitus and field – in the structuring of healthcare choice. These are offered as an alternative to rational choice theory, where ‘choice’ is regarded uncritically as a fundamental ‘good’ and able to provide a solution to the problems of the healthcare system. The authors argue that sociological analyses of healthcare choice must take greater account of the ‘field’ in which choices are made in order to better explain the structuring of choice.

Everyday Experiences of Sexism in Male-dominated Professions: A Bourdieusian Perspective

Abstract: The under-representation of women in the UK engineering and construction sectors seems resolute. Using a Bourdieusian lens, this article examines the persistence of everyday sexism and gender inequality in male-dominated professions. Bringing together findings from three research projects with engineering and construction industry students and professionals, we find that women experience gendered treatment in everyday interactions with peers. Patterns of(mis)recognition and resistance are complex, with some women expressing views which reproduce and naturalise gender inequality. In contrast, other women recognise and resist such essentialism through a range of actions including gender equity campaigning. Through a Bourdieusian analysis of the everyday, this article calls into question existing policy recommendations that argue women have different skills that can be brought to the sector. Such recommendations reinforce the gendered nature of the engineering and construction sectors’ habitus and fail to re...

Towards a Bourdieusian analysis of the social composition of the UK film and television workforce

Abstract: The social composition of the workforce of the UK film and television industries does not reflect the diversity of the population and the industries have been described as white, male and middle class. While the lack of specific demographic representation in employment (for example gender or ethnicity) has been highlighted by both industry and academic commentators, its broader social composition has rarely been addressed by research. This article draws on the work of Bourdieu, particularly the concepts of field, habitus and capitals, to explore perceptions of the barriers to entry into these industries and the way in which individuals negotiate these by drawing on the various capitals to which they have access.

Practices of Conformity and Resistance in the Marketisation of the Academy: Bourdieu, Professionalism and Academic Capitalism.

Abstract: The paper reports on an empirical study based on qualitative interviews with staff from four Australian universities. These universities are shown to be undergoing significant social change as processes of marketisation impact on the everyday practices of academic workers. The universities are analysed as sites of contestation between the new professional managers and the established academic profession over the control of the conditions of work, the production of expert knowledge and the worksite itself. The theory of academic capitalism is examined, and the relevance of Bourdieu’s work for the analysis of a university sector in a context of marketisation is assessed. Bourdieu’s interlinked concepts of capital, habitus and the field are employed to investigate the nature of the contestation, revealing a dynamic process in which academics innovatively respond to threats to reduce their autonomy, to increased levels of surveillance and other constraints on practice. In addition, the study illustrates the p...

A Bourdieusian perspective on strategizing

Abstract: The use and the study of ‘practice’ has been widely developed in organization and strategic management research as an intermediary level of analysis between individuals, organizations, market fields and institutions Bourdieu’s work has been largely mobilized in these studies, particularly within the attempt to define practice, for example by Jarzabkowski (2004), Johnson et al (2003), Whittington (1996, 2006), Chia and Holt (2006) However, as asserted by Chia (2004), “advocates of practice-based approaches to strategy research may have underestimated the radical implications of the work of practice social theorists such as Bourdieu […] who they rely upon to justify this turn to practice” (Chia 2004: 30) Yet, authors mainly base on the characteristics of practice and on the relation between practice and habitus to understand how individuals develop their practical capacity to strategizing, but they mainly remain at a descriptive stage They do not take into account the complete possibilities of the framework, mainly because they neglect the concept of field, which is nevertheless essential to understand the link between individuals and action As Bourdieu puts it, “the ‘subject’ of what is sometimes called ‘company policy’ is quite simply the field of the firm or, put it more precisely, the structure of the relation of force between the different agents that belong to the firm”(Bourdieu 2005: 69) This highlights the struggling nature of strategy as a practice, a struggle for power, a political fight over time between agents The aim of this paper is to propose a comprehensive perspective on practice by taking into consideration the core notions of field and habitus I propose to consider strategizing as a practice This emphasizes the ‘doing’ of multiple agents; the embodied and tacit aspects; the symbolic violence and power issues at stake As a consequence, strategizing refers to the practice of motivated agents engaged in struggles and to account more completely for the relation of forces (and their development) between them

Situating the discourses of privilege and marginalization in the lives of two East Asian women teachers of English

Abstract: Using a narrative approach (i.e., Clandinin and Connelly 2000; Dewey 1938 [1963]), this article explores the identity constructions and negotiations of two East Asian women teachers of English in MATESOL programs. The focus of this article explores the ways in which the two women’s privileged experiences coexisted with issues of marginalization once they entered English speaking contexts. The work of Kumashiro and Bourdieu provides the theoretical foundation for exploring the discourses of privilege and marginalization that are weaved into the lives of the EAWTCs. Using the women’s narrative accounts collected during 2004–2005 AY, the core of the analyses focuses exclusively on the different forms of marginalization these women negotiate in reconstructing their identity within English/Turkish as second language spaces (both study abroad and graduate programs) and the ways in which Bourdieu’s forms of capital play out in the intersection of privilege and marginalization. I conclude with discussions around ...

Childhood with Bourdieu

Abstract: About the book This book breaks new ground in its theorizing of childhood within sociological concepts. Over the course of nine chapters, authors give detailed accounts of the lives of children in a range of societies, including England, sub-Saharan Africa, Northern Ireland, France, Andhra Pradesh and Finland. They describe their studies in the light of Bourdieu's key concepts field, habitus and capital to consider the social status of childhood, the tensions between schooling and work in the lives of children, children's relations with adults, and the pressures on childhood resulting from globalization and from the professional discourse of those adults who aim to help them. The authors are all established researchers who are committed to improving the social status and well-being of childhood, in social, economic and political worlds that too often fail to accord children respect for their human rights.

Outcasts on the inside: academics reinventing themselves online

Abstract: Recent developments in digital scholarship point out that academic practices supported by technologies may not only be transformed through the obvious process of digitization, but also renovated through distributed knowledge networks that digital technologies enable, and the practices of openness that such networks develop. Yet, this apparent freedom for individuals to re-invent the logic of academic practice comes at a price, as it tends to clash with the conventions of a rather conservative academic world. In other words, it may still take some time until academia and the participatory web can fully identify themselves with one another as spaces of ‘public intellectualism’, scholarly debate and engagement. Through a narrative inquiry approach, this research explores how academic researchers engaged in digital scholarship practices perceive the effects of their activity on their professional identity. Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus is used as a theoretical construct and method to capture and unders...

Researching the habitus of global policy actors in education

Abstract: This paper reprises the argument for the emergence of a global education policy field and then focuses on the shared habitus of global and national policy actors and technicians. It is argued that this shared habitus is constituted as a reflection of and a contribution to the creation of the global education policy field. Bourdieu’s approach to habitus as both methodological tool and concept is used and the significance of the interview encounter to understanding habitus is argued. The authors also draw on the content of interviews with five elite policy-makers and technicians. It was found that the policy actors and technicians shared a similar middle-class embodied habitus; in terms of schemes of perception, they identified with a high-modernist confidence in both science and technology; they identified with a cosmopolitan outlook and sensibility; and demonstrated scientistic approaches that held real confidence in understanding the social through quantitative social science methods.

On reflexivity and the conduct of the self in everyday life: reflections on Bourdieu and Archer.

Abstract: This article provides a critique of the concept of reflexivity in social theory today and argues against the tendency to define agency exclusively in terms of reflexivity. Margaret Archer, in particular, is highlighted as a key proponent of this thesis. Archer argues that late modernity is characterized by reflexivity but, in our view, this position neglects the impact of more enduring aspects of agency, such as the routinization of social life and the role of the taken-for-granted. These concepts were pivotal to Bourdieu and Giddens' theorization of everyday life and action and to Foucault's understanding of technologies of the self. We offer Bourdieu's habitus as a more nuanced approach to theorizing agency, and provide an alternative account of reflexivity. Whilst accepting that reflexivity is a core aspect of agency, we argue that it operates to a backdrop of the routinization of social life and operates from within and not outside of habitus. We highlight the role of the breach in reflexivity, suggesting that it opens up a critical window for agents to initiate change. The article suggests caution in over-ascribing reflexivity to agency, instead arguing that achieving reflexivity and change is a difficult and fraught process, which has emotional and moral consequences. The effect of this is that people often prefer the status quo, rather than to risk change and uncertainty.

Assessing the sociology of sport: On women and football:

Abstract: On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and IRSS, a leading figure in the sociology of sport in Denmark, Gertrud Pfister, considers an important line of research on women and football (soccer). The analysis uses a diverse set of theoretical lenses to examine women’s participation and reception in football. Constructivist understandings of gender are combined with notions of ‘leaky hegemony’, socialization, habitus, taste and social fields. The trajectory of inquiry on women and football necessarily builds from recognition of ‘leaks’ in hegemonic masculinity and the entrenched naturalization of football as a male social field. Women’s football gained hold in scholarly inquiry with comparative studies of participation, experiences, and policies in diverse national settings. Challenges in the area of women’s participation and legitimacy in football are rooted in persistent stereotyping and a related paucity of resources. Key questions remain in explaining women’s growing involvement in football and in understand...

Gender inequalities in academic innovation and enterprise: a Bourdieuian analysis

Abstract: This paper demonstrates that engagement in innovation and enterprise activity in SET departments within three UK universities is, in part, gendered. A Bourdieuian approach is adopted to identify underlying structures and practices that have causal powers to generate gender-based inequalities. Drawing on empirical research with 52 participants, this study reveals gendered science enterprise experiences, characterized by a field that is considered strong in shaping the habitus and presenting stark options to women in pursuit of their careers. It demonstrates the multilayered nature of the fields that shape gendered experiences and resultant inequalities by taking into account individual dispositions of academics and their habitus, including their science enterprise experience and the wider commercial field beyond the university, and generates a number of implications for practice and policy.

Campus politics, student societies and social media

Abstract: The university campus has often been seen as an important site for the politicization of young people. Recent explanations for this have focused attention upon the role of the student union as a means to enable a ‘critical mass’ of previously isolated individuals to produce social networks of common interest. What is missing from these accounts, however, and what this article seeks to address, is how these factors actually facilitate the development of political norms and the active engagement of many students. Drawing upon qualitative data from three countries we argue that it is the milieu of the smaller student societies that are crucial for facilitating the habitus of the student citizen. They provide the space for creative development and performance of the political self, affiliations to particular fields and access to cultural and social capital. Moreover, we contend that these processes of politicization are increasingly enacted through social media networks that foreground their importance for de...

Assured optimism in a Scottish girls’ school: habitus and the (re)production of global privilege

Abstract: This paper examines how high levels of social–cultural connectedness and academic excellence, inflected by gender and social class, constitute a particular school habitus of ‘assured optimism’ at an elite Scottish girls’ school. In Bourdieuian terms, Dalrymple is a ‘forcing ground’ for the ‘intense cultivation’ of a particular privileging habitus. The paper analyses the ‘institutional’ habitus of this particular private girls’ school, drawing on headteacher interviews and student survey and focus group data, and relevant documents. The school is currently re-positioning itself to educate girls for global professional futures through the production of a desired habitus and certain spatio-temporalities.

Bourdieu and the Big Society: empowering the powerful in public service provision?

Abstract: There is concern that the ‘localism’ promoted by the UK Coalition Government will further empower the already powerful. This paper uses Bourdieu’s theory of practice to theorise middle-class public service use. Building on a previous evidence review (Matthews and Hastings, 2013) it considers whether the habitus of the middle-classes enables them to gain disproportionate benefit from public services. Service provision is understood as a ‘field’ marked by a competitive struggle between social agents who embody class-based power asymmetries. It finds that engagement with the state is a classed practice producing benefits to those already empowered and that localism may exacerbate inequalities.