In our vibrant discussion on habitus, Frederick Jameson’s take on ‘culture
as second nature’, as has been rightly pointed out by Prof. Rasheeda, interpolates
well here to a tee!
As ma’m has rightly opined, ‘prototype of
culture’, yes, to Bourdieu, by a little further extension on the term, habitus is a form of ‘cultural
capital’.
To Marx, capital formed the foundation of social life and dictated one’s
position within the social order.
Taking a cue from Marx, Bourdieu quite extends
Marx’s idea of capital beyond the economic into the realm of culture. He calls
it cultural capital.
By cultural
capital Bourdieu refers to the collection of symbolic elements such as
skills, tastes, posture, clothing, mannerisms, material belongings,
credentials, etc, that a person acquires through being part of a particular
social class.
Sharing similar forms of cultural capital
with others—the same taste in movies, for example, or a degree from a
particular School or College—creates a sense of collective identity and group
position.
Well, now, Habitus simply refers to the physical embodiment of this cultural capital, referring to the
deeply ingrained habits, skills, and dispositions that we possess due to our
life experiences.
Hence, Habitus also extends to our “taste” for cultural objects such as
art, food, and clothing.
In one of his major works, Distinction,
Bourdieu links French citizens’ tastes in art to their social class positions,
forcefully arguing that aesthetic sensibilities are shaped by the culturally ingrained habitus.
Upper-class individuals, for example,
have a taste for fine art because they have been exposed to and trained to
appreciate it since a very early age, while working-class individuals have
generally not had access to “high art” and thus haven’t cultivated the habitus
appropriate to the fine art “game.”
In this context, Dr. Susan’s quote too
comes in so lovelyyy n’ handyyy on habitus.
Thank you Dr. Susan!
She’d given us this quote, “To those
accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression’.
Well, how trueee! That’s again because
they’ve been trained into a culturally
ingrained habitus right from a very early age, to cultivating a taste meant
only for the privileged and the elite!
The thing about the habitus, Bourdieu
often noted, was that it was so ingrained that people often mistook the feel
for the game as natural instead of
culturally developed.
This often leads to justifying social
inequality, because it is (mistakenly) believed that some people are naturally
disposed to the finer things in life while others are not.
In this context, Catherine Belsey’s Culture and the Real would make such an
interesting reading in convergence, I guess!
Two other books that would prove
wonderful interpolative reads would be –
Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement
of Taste by Pierre Bourdieu, and
a pretty little primer of 137 pages
titled, Pierre Bourdieu by Richard
Jenkins. (the latter from which I’ve used some lovely thoughts!)
They prove real valuable resourceful
study guides to the legend’s thoughts!
Thanks to Prof. Rasheeda, in the first
place, for prompting this lovely, delightful discussion!
image courtesy: eurekastreetdotcom
