Identity - Class Flashcards
What is habitus?
The way of life for a social class. Every part of an individual’s identity which they share with other members of their class
Why does the middle class habitus have an advantage in society?
One habitus is not automatically better than another, but the middle class holds power in society and created things like school and government, so they have defined their own habitus as superior
How does a middle class habitus act as an advantage?
Similar to “attitudes and values” as a factor of DA. The middle class already have knowledge, attitudes, values, likes, dislikes etc. which line up with the education system’s
What is identity?
A person’s sense of ‘who they are’ made up from a range of influences
What is symbolic capital?
Symbolic capital is anything that a person has, does, or is, which gives them status and recognition
Capital: to have something. Symbolic: representative of something important.
What is symbolic violence?
Where the behaviour or habitus of one group is devalued (or made to feel less important/valuable/worthwhile) by another
e.g. Middle Class making fun of the Working Class for how they dress or speak
What are ‘Nike’ identities?
A new form of symbolic capital created by the Working Class, based around a particular sense of style or particular clothing brand
They create these identities as a way to fight back against the symbolic violence that the Middle Class use against them
What is ‘self-exclusion’?
Some Working Class students decide not to go to university, or not to go to the top universities, because they feel they will not ‘fit in’, or they ‘don’t belong there’, because their habitus will not merge well with the Middle Class values of those places
What happens when Working Class people do experience educational success?
(Ingram) - Working Class communities feel it is very important to fit in (conform). Working Class students who end up in high-achieving, Middle Class schools often find it difficult to fit in. Those who stay in more Working Class schools may not do as well academically, but they find it easier socially
What is policing? What is shaming?
Policing is keeping the behaviour of others in check/influencing the way they behave. Shaming is where students negatively label and exclude others for not fitting in with (conforming to) social expectations
What is social suicide?
Where not conforming to social expectations (such as style) leads to negative responses from peers
