The Habitus and the Field
How is it that when we enter a classroom we know how to act appropriately? Or if we enter an interview we know how to respond accordingly? French philosopher Pierre Bourdieu believes that we use, what he calls, the “habitus” and the “field” to recognize and master social interactions and space. The habitus and the field help shape and govern decisions we make in our everyday lives, the way we live, and the things we assign perspective to. Bourdieu states that the habitus is,
“The durably installed generative principle of regulated improvisations, produces practices which tend to reproduce the regularities immanent in the objective conditions of the production of their generative principle, while adjusting to the demands inscribed as objective potentialities in the situation, as defined by the cognitive and motivating structures making up the habitus” (Bourdieu 79).
The fields, according to Bourdieu,
“Present themselves synchronically as structured spaces of positions (or posts) whose properties depend on their position within these spaces and which can be analyzed independently of their characteristics of their occupants (Bourdieu 1993).
Furthermore, the field we live in helps us shape our habitus. Because the field has
its laws of functioning that sets rules, boundaries, stakes, and forms of capital we develop
our own habitus in accordance to it and eventually end up reproducing it. After the
habitus is formed it becomes our dispositions, which are then developed by socialization
in the field in attempt to use the rules, stakes and boundaries to our advantage.
In our everyday lives we can see the field and habitus being reinforced and put into action. When we enter a classroom, sit up straight and act attentively, we are trying to convey the message to our instructors that we students are here to learn. This way of being, or practical knowledge of knowing how to act accordingly, is our habitus responding to the field. Through the external “rules”, that the field has set, we develop and shape our habitus. So in this example we learned how to use our habitus first in a classroom setting from structure, which tells us how to act, and eventually through our agency which is through our own rational choice. This social interaction that helps us define the field and build up our habitus is found and developed in nearly many aspects of our lives.
In my two video examples they depict two different interviews. The first interview is from the film Trainspotting (refer to link 1a). It depicts characters Spud and Renton purposefully discussing how they are going to have Spud avoid getting a job. In this film Spud would rather not have the job in order to continue to collect welfare checks but has to make it seem like he is “trying” to get hired. So Renton gives him amphetamine before the interview, which leads to Spud going against his habitus and breaking every rule in the field. In the interview he looks like a wreck, is jittery, is talking to fast, and simply fails at following what our habitus would actually do in an interview. In the second clip from the movie Don’t be a Menace character Loc Dog is being interviewed for a job (refer to link 1b). From the beginning of him walking into the office we can see that his habitus and field are not working together. The habitus is supposed to provide you with the social skills, that you learned through socialization, to “play” the field. In this scene we can clearly see that his habitus is doing the opposite.
Seeing these two examples we can clearly see that this is not the correct way to act in an interview. Since the field exists in practical knowledge we learn it over time while simultaneously developing our habitus to better ourselves in a specific field. This practical knowledge is then developed through socialization. Knowing the field, we can then develop our habitus. Our habitus is there to help us manipulate and set up our dispositions. Then finally once these dispositions are formed and set we reinforce the field and strategize situations in the field. This cyclical form of how we make decisions in life to better ourselves and advance in our own given fields.
References:
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1993. Sociology in Question. London : SAGE publications
Bourdieu, Pierre. Structures, Habitus and Practices.
Movieclips. (2011, September 27). Trainspotting [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsxYfYCbVC0
Movieclips. (2011, November 22). Don’t Be a Menace [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsxYfYCbVC0
Links:
(1a) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsxYfYCbVC0
(1b) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3U5ed3dRAE
How is it that when we enter a classroom we know how to act appropriately? Or if we enter an interview we know how to respond accordingly? French philosopher Pierre Bourdieu believes that we use, what he calls, the “habitus” and the “field” to recognize and master social interactions and space. The habitus and the field help shape and govern decisions we make in our everyday lives, the way we live, and the things we assign perspective to. Bourdieu states that the habitus is,
“The durably installed generative principle of regulated improvisations, produces practices which tend to reproduce the regularities immanent in the objective conditions of the production of their generative principle, while adjusting to the demands inscribed as objective potentialities in the situation, as defined by the cognitive and motivating structures making up the habitus” (Bourdieu 79).
The fields, according to Bourdieu,
“Present themselves synchronically as structured spaces of positions (or posts) whose properties depend on their position within these spaces and which can be analyzed independently of their characteristics of their occupants (Bourdieu 1993).
Furthermore, the field we live in helps us shape our habitus. Because the field has
its laws of functioning that sets rules, boundaries, stakes, and forms of capital we develop
our own habitus in accordance to it and eventually end up reproducing it. After the
habitus is formed it becomes our dispositions, which are then developed by socialization
in the field in attempt to use the rules, stakes and boundaries to our advantage.
In our everyday lives we can see the field and habitus being reinforced and put into action. When we enter a classroom, sit up straight and act attentively, we are trying to convey the message to our instructors that we students are here to learn. This way of being, or practical knowledge of knowing how to act accordingly, is our habitus responding to the field. Through the external “rules”, that the field has set, we develop and shape our habitus. So in this example we learned how to use our habitus first in a classroom setting from structure, which tells us how to act, and eventually through our agency which is through our own rational choice. This social interaction that helps us define the field and build up our habitus is found and developed in nearly many aspects of our lives.
In my two video examples they depict two different interviews. The first interview is from the film Trainspotting (refer to link 1a). It depicts characters Spud and Renton purposefully discussing how they are going to have Spud avoid getting a job. In this film Spud would rather not have the job in order to continue to collect welfare checks but has to make it seem like he is “trying” to get hired. So Renton gives him amphetamine before the interview, which leads to Spud going against his habitus and breaking every rule in the field. In the interview he looks like a wreck, is jittery, is talking to fast, and simply fails at following what our habitus would actually do in an interview. In the second clip from the movie Don’t be a Menace character Loc Dog is being interviewed for a job (refer to link 1b). From the beginning of him walking into the office we can see that his habitus and field are not working together. The habitus is supposed to provide you with the social skills, that you learned through socialization, to “play” the field. In this scene we can clearly see that his habitus is doing the opposite.
Seeing these two examples we can clearly see that this is not the correct way to act in an interview. Since the field exists in practical knowledge we learn it over time while simultaneously developing our habitus to better ourselves in a specific field. This practical knowledge is then developed through socialization. Knowing the field, we can then develop our habitus. Our habitus is there to help us manipulate and set up our dispositions. Then finally once these dispositions are formed and set we reinforce the field and strategize situations in the field. This cyclical form of how we make decisions in life to better ourselves and advance in our own given fields.
References:
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1993. Sociology in Question. London : SAGE publications
Bourdieu, Pierre. Structures, Habitus and Practices.
Movieclips. (2011, September 27). Trainspotting [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsxYfYCbVC0
Movieclips. (2011, November 22). Don’t Be a Menace [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsxYfYCbVC0
Links:
(1a) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsxYfYCbVC0
(1b) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3U5ed3dRAE