Bourdieu And Habitus: Understanding Power In Society

This is not the easiest of quotes from the reading to analyze. It is quite confusing but I will attempt to dissect it by taking key words and concepts of Bourdieu and analyzing them under his theory to rephrase the quote above and attempting to clarify it. The words that stand out most here are “habitus” and “structures”. Habitus is not determined by structures, and is not an outcome of our free will; however, it is a combination of both, dispositions that are shaped by structures and also past events which can form current practices and structures. These dispositions also condition our perceptions of the aforementioned structures. In this process we consciously create habitus, but it should also be mentioned that, even though habitus cannot create itself, it may be created uncousciously as mentioned in the text “without any deliberate pursuit of coherence… without any conscious concentration”. In the previous week we also discussed Foucault who sees power as something that is prevalent and something further than structure or agency. Bourdieu, on the other hand, views power as being a creation of culture and symbols that are legitimized through a combination of agency and power.

Habitus is what Bourdieu calls social normalities or tendencies that guide a person’s behaviour and their thoughts. It is a way a society becomes collected in the individuals by their dispositions. They become trained and structured in their ways to think, feel and act in certain ways that help guide them. Habitus is therefore not created by individuals but rather through a social process which will eventually lead to a pattern that is transferable through multiple contexts but also shift in affiliation to specific contexts and over time. Habitus is not a fixed structure, but can be changed depending on the situation or the historical time. Bourdieu’s terminology is quite distinct when it is compared to the lectures we have had in class which suggest a much more detailed sociological analysis of the relationship of power which is anchored in that of the theory of society. Through the process of learning, analyzing and understanding power and powerlessness can itself be more empowering than imagined.

Bourdieu approaches power from within the context of the ‘theory of society’ as aforementioned. Bourdieu’s approach is useful in analyzing power in the processes of social change and development, even though it was mostly about the French society. Many of these concepts seem to appear abstract, however these concepts of Bourdieu are grounded in many sociological researches and are also mention in many social issues today. A cautious analysis of Bourdieu’s texts and theories help to reveal relationships of power that may have been thought of as invisible by such things as habitus and misrecognition. Even though our society may seem like a structure, we try to expand this structure and bend it in certain ways that allows us individuals to experience it in a different way and in order to obtain more possibilities than previously obtained. Therefore action has the power to change structure.