Cara Ketcham
Bourdieu Blog
For my blog on Bourdieu I decided to look at three different menus and examine their differences in relationship to some of his theories. I received a menu from Alinea which is considered the most expensive restaurant in Chicago, from Cheesecake factory which is a middle class restaurant that most people have been to, and finally IHOP which is an extremely affordable restaurant that everyone has heard of and most people have probably been to at one point in their life. I chose these restaurants because I feel as though they accurately represent the restaurants ideals of the social classes they represent. Alinea’s menu provides no prices or pictures and has a very limited in the food selection. The names of the dinners are simple and a very vague description is provided using very few quirky words, like the Squab that just says “Inspired by Miro”. The Cheesecake factory didn’t provide pictures but IHOP did and they both provided prices. The descriptions on these are much lengthier and provide a lot more information on what you will be eating. The Cheesecake factory is more expensive than IHOP but still very affordable by most people.
When looking at these menus I am reminded of when Bourdieu was describing the embodied state and institutional state. I am a middle class female from the suburbs who has been to both IHOP and The Cheesecake Factory on multiple occasions. I feel comfortable at those restaurants because growing up the way I did, these were the restaurant we went to. My embodied state was developed by my family’s values and their socialization of me. This state is formed by the accumulation of the life time of your knowledge. Everyone’s experiences are different, though class specific knowledge leaves a lot of similarities in individuals and knowledge of the fine arts are usually for the upper middle or upper classes who like exclusivity. If I were to go to Alinea I would feel out of place. I wouldn’t know what to order or what I was getting since I don’t eat these kinds of expensive foods. The menu for drinks are on a separate menu that I’m sure is just as limited, vague and foreign to me. I wasn’t socialized growing up to know what to order at these places. I sure I can develop what Bourdieu calls the institutionalized state. This is where you receive formal education and a degree in a particular field like a chef, sommelier or a professional food critic. You get paid in the institutionalized state where in the embodied state you don’t, and in this state the education (degree earned) makes the knowledge more easily converted into economic capital.
Also, while reading this I began to think about how even though I am middle class, I feel more comfortable at a lower class restaurant than an upper class one. This kind of reminds me of Bourdieu’s description of struggle, were when you are new to a field the ones who are already established keep the new comers at a distance till they prove their knowledge. Upper class restaurant want us to feel uncomfortable since they are the ones socially on top and their knowledge is exclusive. We have to prove we know the knowledge of the game and have respect for it to be allowed in and feel comfortable.
Bourdieu Blog
For my blog on Bourdieu I decided to look at three different menus and examine their differences in relationship to some of his theories. I received a menu from Alinea which is considered the most expensive restaurant in Chicago, from Cheesecake factory which is a middle class restaurant that most people have been to, and finally IHOP which is an extremely affordable restaurant that everyone has heard of and most people have probably been to at one point in their life. I chose these restaurants because I feel as though they accurately represent the restaurants ideals of the social classes they represent. Alinea’s menu provides no prices or pictures and has a very limited in the food selection. The names of the dinners are simple and a very vague description is provided using very few quirky words, like the Squab that just says “Inspired by Miro”. The Cheesecake factory didn’t provide pictures but IHOP did and they both provided prices. The descriptions on these are much lengthier and provide a lot more information on what you will be eating. The Cheesecake factory is more expensive than IHOP but still very affordable by most people.
When looking at these menus I am reminded of when Bourdieu was describing the embodied state and institutional state. I am a middle class female from the suburbs who has been to both IHOP and The Cheesecake Factory on multiple occasions. I feel comfortable at those restaurants because growing up the way I did, these were the restaurant we went to. My embodied state was developed by my family’s values and their socialization of me. This state is formed by the accumulation of the life time of your knowledge. Everyone’s experiences are different, though class specific knowledge leaves a lot of similarities in individuals and knowledge of the fine arts are usually for the upper middle or upper classes who like exclusivity. If I were to go to Alinea I would feel out of place. I wouldn’t know what to order or what I was getting since I don’t eat these kinds of expensive foods. The menu for drinks are on a separate menu that I’m sure is just as limited, vague and foreign to me. I wasn’t socialized growing up to know what to order at these places. I sure I can develop what Bourdieu calls the institutionalized state. This is where you receive formal education and a degree in a particular field like a chef, sommelier or a professional food critic. You get paid in the institutionalized state where in the embodied state you don’t, and in this state the education (degree earned) makes the knowledge more easily converted into economic capital.
Also, while reading this I began to think about how even though I am middle class, I feel more comfortable at a lower class restaurant than an upper class one. This kind of reminds me of Bourdieu’s description of struggle, were when you are new to a field the ones who are already established keep the new comers at a distance till they prove their knowledge. Upper class restaurant want us to feel uncomfortable since they are the ones socially on top and their knowledge is exclusive. We have to prove we know the knowledge of the game and have respect for it to be allowed in and feel comfortable.
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