Date: 	Fri, 21 May 1999 16:50:51 +0200
From: Par Engholm <par.engholm-AT-soc.uu.se>
Subject: Re: symbolic captal vs. cultural capital


Dear Bourdieu-list members,
I think perhaps that the definitions given to 'cultural capital' and
'symbolic capital' respectively are a bit too crude and gloss over a set of
fundamental problems and central probleamtics in Bourdieu's sociology. The
central concern of Bourdieu's treatmnent of the social space is of course
the struggle over defferentail symbolic goods which tends to differentiate
and structure this social (which also imediately is a s y m b o l i c)
space into various specific fields. these fields are constituted in and by
the continual struggle over these resources. By this token, Bourdieu's
analysis of the social space has much in common with e.g. the class analyis
of Erik Olin Wright,
'mark II' (in Classes)
However, to restrict the definition of cultural capital to its
'operational' aspect is a very un-Bourdiean thing to do, in fact one of the
most perilious inclinations in social science: to treat the things of logic
as the logic of things, or, more concretely in this matter, of reducing the
'modus operandi' to the 'opus operatum'.

Central to Bourdieu's view on symbolic capital (treating it here as a
concept encompassing all different forms of capital outside strictly
economic) is that it exists in three 'forms' or states, i.e. in embodied,
objectified and institutionalised

Bourdieu, Pierre (1986) 'The Forms of Capital', in Richardson, John G. (ed)
Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, New
York/Westport/London: Greenwood: 241-258

At 22:24 1998-11-21 PST, you wrote:
>
>dear collegue:
>
>cultural capital is,as operational definetion,the education cetefecates.
>but symbolic capital is legitimation,status. 
>
>u can read the last chapter of outlin of the theory of paractice.
>and "formes of caital"
>khaled abdel fattah 
>helwan university,faculty of arts .
>sociology department.
>cairo ,Egypt
>
>khaled721-AT-hotmail.com
>
>>can someone on this list tell me the difference between symbolic 
>capital and
>>cultural capital with reference to an english translation that i can 
>find
>>and look up?
>>thanks in advance,
>>shazia
>>
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-----------------------------------------------------------
Pär Engholm; Par.Engholm-AT-soc.uu.se
Uppsala University, Dept. of Sociology
Box 821; SE-751 08 Uppsala; SWEDEN
Phone: +46 18 471 1510; Fax: +46 18 471 1170
Home: Botvidsgatan 14 B; SE-753 27 Uppsala
Phone: +46 (0)18 696348
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