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How did Bordieu reveal the mysterious power of cultural capital?
In today's society, the fate of many people seems to be inseparable from their background and social status. French sociologist Pierre Beaudieu revealed the deep-seated roots of this social inequality through the concept of cultural capital. Cultural capital includes an individual's social assets, such as education, intelligence, speech style, and dressing style. It not only affects people's social mobility, but also promotes the acquisition of power and social status.
Cultural capital is a social relationship that exists in the economic system of behavioral practices and includes socially recognized rare materials and symbolic commodities.
Bordieu and Jean-Claude Passeron first proposed and defined cultural capital in their article "Cultural Regeneration and Social Regeneration" in 1977. Subsequently, Bordieu further developed this theory in "The Form of Capital" in 1985 and discussed it in depth in "National Aristocracy: Elite Schools in the Field of Power", believing that education (knowledge and intellectual skills) can promote social status. improve.
Types of cultural capital
Bordieu divides cultural capital into three main types: embodied capital, representational capital and institutionalized capital.
Embodied cultural capital
Embodied cultural capital consists of knowledge that individuals consciously acquire or passively inherit, and this knowledge accumulates with the process of socialization. It is associated with an individual's habits, affecting their communication style and self-expression. Therefore, embodied cultural capital is not only about the mastery of knowledge, but also about the ability to use language and the skills of social interaction.
A person's cultural capital is closely related to his habits and social position. This social relationship structure affects the formation of cultural capital.
Concrete cultural capital
Concrete cultural capital refers to specific items, such as works of art and scientific instruments, which represent symbols of cultural capital. Although these items can be bought and sold for profit, the owner's understanding and appreciation of these items often requires a certain cultural background and knowledge.
Institutionalized cultural capital
Finally, institutional cultural capital refers to the formal recognition of an individual’s cultural capital by an institution, often including academic credentials or professional qualifications. The role of this capital is particularly evident in the labor market, as it helps individuals demonstrate the quality and quantity of their cultural capital and affects their employment opportunities.
The impact of cultural capital
Cultural capital plays a vital role in the education system. Research shows that students with higher cultural capital tend to perform better academically because they have the resources to understand and master the knowledge required in school. However, this difference has also triggered a lot of controversy. Some scholars believe that Bordieu's cultural capital theory places too much emphasis on the impact of the environment on learning and ignores the subjective initiative of the individual.
Schools function not only to identify students’ social roles but may also inadvertently reproduce social inequalities.
As society changes, Bordieu's theory continues to be expanded. Many researchers have applied it to different social contexts to explore the role of cultural capital in multicultural societies. For example, Emilbaye and Williams used Bordieu's theory to analyze power relations in the field of social services; while Archer et al.'s research explored the impact of scientific capital on students' science participation.
Criticisms of Beaudieu’s theory
Although Beaudieu's cultural capital theory has received widespread attention, it has also received some criticism. Some scholars believe that the theory lacks clarity and may be too deterministic, ignoring individual autonomy and consciousness. Particularly with regard to gender roles, some critics have pointed out that Beaudieu did not take gender differences into account enough. But Beaudieu also acknowledged the existence of this inequality in his book "Male Dominance" and pointed out that it is a typical example of symbolic violence.
The concept of cultural capital allows us to rethink the various potential forces in the social structure. So, do you think that in the current society, how can the power of cultural capital be effectively used to promote greater social equality?
