there's no such thing as 'bourdieu lite
TRANSCRIPT
There’s no such thing There’s no such thing as ‘Bourdieu Lite’as ‘Bourdieu Lite’
Sheffield Hallam University 14th October 2015David James
Cardiff University
Bourdieu’s concepts are now very widely used
But great variability in ‘depth in use’ Why? Apparent similarity of concepts with other perspectives
Misrecognition of ‘misrecognition’? Tensions between a Bourdieusian perspective and educational values
Some key pointsSome key points
A little learning is a dang’rous thing;Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring;There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, And drinking largely sobers us again.
(Pope An Essay on Criticism 1711)
Some verseSome verse
Justice is mostly about parity of participation; Injustice commonly produced by barriers to
participation – economic (distributive) or status (recognition).
Fraser’s misrecognition refers to a lack recognition and to status inequality, preventing people from full participation ‘as peers in social life’.
Struggles over distribution and recognition are played out within a political dimension which tells us ‘who is included, who is excluded’, especially on a global scale
Misrecogntion: Nancy Misrecogntion: Nancy FraserFraser
No!
Yes!
Field for Bourdieu?
A particular meaning of knowledge, as practical sense and as habitus:
Knowledge = connaissance Recognition = reconnaissance Misrecognition = meconnaissanceMisrecognition: how practices are made ‘…
invisible through a displacement of understanding and a reconstrual as part of other aspects of the habitus that “go without saying”’ (Mahar et al, 1990, p. 19)
So misrecognition is habitual ‘mis-attribution’. This is an everyday process.
Misrecognition: Pierre Misrecognition: Pierre BourdieuBourdieu
How do people know their place, and what stories and explanations do they have by which to explain it?
Who does he think he is?
Everyday misrecognition exploited for Everyday misrecognition exploited for profit - something for nothing?profit - something for nothing?
Individuals are all different Those with talent, who work hard, can do
well in education They get the best jobs The educational generation of social
inequality is a ‘malfunction’ or an aberrant feature of an otherwise benign process
Common-sense thinking Common-sense thinking (and some socio-economic (and some socio-economic perspectives)perspectives)
‘Misrecognition of the social determinants of the educational career – and therefore of the social trajectory it helps to determine – gives the educational certificate the value of a natural right and makes the educational system one of the fundamental agencies of the maintenance of the social order’
(Bourdieu, 1984, p. 387)
The classic case of The classic case of misrecognition for Bourdieumisrecognition for Bourdieu
Investigated a cross-section of against-the-grain examples of school choice, where families deliberately chose ordinary and low-performing secondary schools for their children
We interviewed parents and children in 125 households in London and two other cities in England
Examples of overall findings See Reay, Crozier and James, 2011&
2013
The project The project Identity, Identity, Educational Choice and the Educational Choice and the White Urban Middle ClassesWhite Urban Middle Classes
Example A: The identification and avoidance of a common misrecognition. Parents deciding not to be ‘mainstream choosers’. The educational project is conceived in ways that takes it well beyond the idea of choice prevalent in neoliberal, marketising policy;
Example B: The certainty of trajectory based on the imputation of brightness. A double hermeneutic and a mutual affinity between the needs of schools and those of middle class families.
MisrecognitionMisrecognition in our in our analysisanalysis
Soft reflexivity is easy (Cf. Woolgar) Serious reflexivity is likely to be
uncomfortable –even painful Beyond this, four areas of tension between
the general values and goals of educational endeavour, and a Bourdieusian approach:◦ Interest and proximity◦ The unit of analysis◦ Compass and scale◦ Tenor – e.g optimism versus pessimism
Is ‘Bourdieu Lite’ produced by Is ‘Bourdieu Lite’ produced by discomfort?discomfort?