File spoon-archives/bourdieu.archive/bourdieu_1999/bourdieu.9912, message 34


From: "Emrah Goker" <emrah_goker-AT-hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: habitus
Date: Tue, 07 Dec 1999 21:32:30 EET


To the ongoing discussion about the "is" of habitus, I think it would be 
useful to remind that the concepts and categories of generative 
structuralism would always avoid being "pinned down" by exact definitions, 
clear statements, "yeah-that-is-what-I-looked-for" kind of "to the point" 
propositions. They are, if you let me to bring in some journalism, 
manufactured for use in the Atelier, not to be placed on the altar of the 
Temple and worshipped there.

That is how Bourdieu justifies his claim to transcend objectivism and 
subjectivism: Theory's toolbox is always research-oriented, not for 
logocentric philosophical fetishism. In the case of habitus, Bourdieu of 
course has to pronounce some sentences about habitus like "structured and 
structuring structure" and the vagueness here is intended. Habitus is 
meaningless until it accounts for something in reality. It depends on your 
research interests how you will render the concept meaningful. You can 
choose to study the practices of brokers in New York Stock Exchange using 
habitus, where you'll also have to include a degree of "ratioal calculation" 
(and yet on second thought, isn't another "religion" at work there?). It is 
also possible to study revolutionary action using habitus. The catch here 
is, I guess, properly pinpointing the relations between "positions" and 
"dispositions". We have to abandon thinking about people in terms of "either 
body or mind", or even in terms of "body and mind".

Remember the Nephew: Mauss was trying to tell something, struggling to get 
rid of the symbolic violence of Durkheim's unproductive dichotomies, by his 
proposal of Total Man.

This is not a direct and satisfactory answer to the questions raised, I 
know. Just a crucial point to hold in mind while thinking about habitus.

Best regards,

Emrah Goker

>From: Karl Maton <karl.maton-AT-dtn.ntl.com>
>Reply-To: bourdieu-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>To: bourdieu-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>Subject: Re: habitus
>Date: Tue, 07 Dec 1999 15:44:58 +0100
>
>This is a good question which, IMHO, highlights the one issue I really
>feels needs development in the concept of 'habitus', namely the question
>of what the structure of a habitus is.  It is one thing to say that my
>habitus is a structured and structuring structure, but as it stands, the
>concept doesn't enable us to express what that structure is, as a
>system.  One has to point to the empirical realisations of the habitus,
>i.e. one's practices.  Given this, the notion of habitus may fragment,
>so that one ends up talking of someone's 'pedagogic habitus', their
>'female habitus', their 'going to the bathroom habitus'.
>
>Or, to put it another way, how can we say when one habitus is different
>to, the same as, or a variation of another habitus?  There isn't a means
>of saying that Karl's habitus is X, and Deborah's habitus is Y; or that
>we have the same structure of habitus.
>
>This isn't saying that the concept isn;t very important; simply that it
>needs developing.  (And PB does at least say that the theory should
>develop).
>All the best,
>
>Karl
>
>
>Deborah Kilgore wrote:
> >
> > I have another question regarding habitus, that has been on my mind over
> > the last few weeks.  Let's say one believes in the postmodern notion of
> > multiple subjectivity.  An excellent example is found in "Under the Sign 
>of
> > Hope" by Leslie Bloom, in which a female corporate executive is facing a
> > situation where a male executive is accused of sexual harrassment.  She
> > describes her response & practices as a woman, and also her response &
> > practices as an executive, among other positions from which she faces 
>the
> > situation - all of which collide to an extent and result in a creative 
>set
> > of behaviors.  How would habitus be discussed/conceptualized then?
> >
> > Sorry for piggybacking...
> >
> > Debbie
> >
> > At 12:30 PM 12/7/99 +0100, you wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >Kent Lofgren schrieb:
> > >>
> > >> Hi, I have a question about habitus. The question is based on some
> > >> interesting discussion I had w. my friend and colleague Mattias 
>Johnsson.
> > >> the question builds on some premisses. They are: Bourdieu argues that
> > >> habitus deals with sort of the everyday situations and is sort of an
> > >> automatic reaction to things that happen around the individual. O.k.? 
>(This
> > >> is in a very simple and straight forward language). Also (second 
>premiss):
> > >> the rational calculating/thinking (by an individual) is thereby 
>something
> > >> else (than habitus).
> > >
> > >I think there is a problem with the premisses. Habitus is not only 'for
> > >every days situations'. It is something you can't change fast. It is
> > >incorporated. So I think  Habitus goes before rational
> > >calculating/thinking. You can just do this in the frame of your 
>habitus.
> > >
> > >Bye
> > >Susanne
> > >**********************************************************************
> > >Contributions: bourdieu-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
> > >Commands: majordomo-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
> > >Requests: bourdieu-approval-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
> > >
> > >
> > Deborah Kilgore
> > Assistant Professor
> > Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
> > Iowa State University
> > N 232 Lagomarcino Hall
> > Ames, IA  50011-3195
> > office) 515-294-9121 email) dkilgore-AT-iastate.edu
> > **********************************************************************
> > Contributions: bourdieu-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
> > Commands: majordomo-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
> > Requests: bourdieu-approval-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>
>--
>With best wishes,
>
>Karl
>
>Karl Maton
>School of Education, University of Cambridge
>
>Correspondence address:
>108 Avenue Road Extension, Leicester LE2 3EH
>Tel: 0116 220 1066
>Email: karl.maton-AT-dtn.ntl.com
>
>I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the hearts affections and
>the truth of the imagination
>Keats
>**********************************************************************
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