Annick Prieur

EMERGING FORMS OF CULTURAL CAPITAL

ABSTRACT This paper takes stock of recent research on patterns of cultural engagement in various European nations, with specific reference to British and Danish research. It argues that Bourdieus original theorisation of cultural capital in ‘Distinction’ needs to be significantly updated to register the decline of ‘highbrow’ culture which these studies reveal. However, we argue that this shift does not entail the erosion of cultural capital itself, or the rise of the ‘cultural omnivore’, so much as the emergence of a form of ‘cosmopolitan cultural capital’. We argue that this emerging cultural capital can be associated with the partial creation of a European field and testifies to the continued stakes of cultural engagement today

Bodily and Symbolic Constructions among Homosexual Men in Mexico

Female dressing and bodily transformations (like hormone injections and breast implants) are frequently used components in the personality constructions of male homosexuals in the urban popular classes in Mexico. This article, based on fieldwork among such vestidas in a suburb of Mexico City, seeks to analyze how they construct a style and an identity out of an interpretation of themselves, but at the same time in a dialogue with their surroundings: how they create a presentation of self that explains their homosexual desires, that can accord to their own, class-determined esthetics, and that is found attractive by the men they are themselves attracted to. A particular cultural context protects their bisexual, masculine-looking partners against stigmatization as homosexuals. The vestidas take the whole burden of stigmatization, but they protect their own dignity through a subtle play with sexual categories. They may pretend to be almost women, but they may also take advantage of their biological sex when it suits them.

The commodification of the personal: labour market demands in the era of neoliberal postindustrialization

This article takes as its point of departure the observation that contemporary labour markets of highly developed capitalism have witnessed a new and profound focus on personal traits and characteristics such as social skills. We believe this focus is indicative of a new standard of ascribing value in contemporary capitalism and ask which are the societal and paradigmatic changes that may have led to this change. After an outline of demands to the labour force during earlier phases of capitalism the article seeks to establish an explanatory framework in current societal transformations towards neoliberalization and logics of postindustrialization. The effect of these shifts is on the one hand that the well-being of human beings is made to depend entirely on their individual competiveness, and on the other hand that postmaterial, cognitive, connexionist, and emotional assets that were hitherto considered personal and irrelevant to the sphere of production are now considered central to the labour market value of human beings. The combined result of shifts towards neoliberalism and the advent of logics of postindustrialism is thus the commodification of the personal. In order to arrive at this conclusion we merge different theoretical contributions to the critic of modern capitalism, as we regard theories about cognitive, connexionist and emotional capitalism as complementary rather than competing approaches.

Towards a criminology of structurally conditioned emotions: Combining Bourdieu’s field theory and cultural criminology

When trying to explain why some people commit crimes while most do not, criminological theory has had a problem with linking agency and structure. A promising solution came in Jock Young’s version of cultural criminology, which integrated Merton’s strain theory with Katz’s account of the emotional rewards from criminal acts. Young claimed the core emotion behind different crimes would be a structurally caused experience of humiliation. Linking individual agency and structural conditions through emotions certainly advances understanding, but Young did not show how this linking was effectuated. Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory may contribute with a better grasp on how structural conditions influence the social agent’s perception of the world and emotional orientation towards it. After exploring how this argument may be supported with regard to empirical cases – studies of graffiti, thefts and violence – the concluding discussion deals with the limits of an approach that combines fields and emotions.

Burnout among Danish prison personnel: A question of quantitative and emotional demands

Objectives The objective of this follow-up study was to investigate associations between individual, occupational and work environment factors and burnout among both uniformed and non-uniformed personnel working in the Danish Prison and Probation Service. Methods The participants (N = 4808) with client contact received a questionnaire in 2010 and again in 2011. In 2010, 2843 participants responded to the questionnaire (59.1%), and in 2011, 1741 responded to the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 61.2% of the baseline population, and 36.2% of the invited population. Burnout and work characteristics were measured with validated scales from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, and data was analysed by logistic regression. Results Risk factors with the highest impact on burnout were work environmental factors: quantitative demands, emotional demands, involvement in and meaning of work. Role conflict, role clarity, social support and demands for hiding emotions had borderline significance. Besides cohabitation, there was no association between individual factors and burnout or between occupational characteristics and burnout. Moreover, there was no association between exposure to threats and violence and burnout. Conclusions: Efforts for preventing burnout ought to be concentrated on reducing the quantitative job-demands, on easing and improving staff–inmate relationships, but also on involvement in and meaning of work. Most work in prison is invisible and the overall goals are in conflict with each other. Management must provide solutions to problems of role conflict and support groups for social support. There is a risk of burnout among both uniformed personnel and non-uniformed personnel working in both open and closed facilities.