7. Field Theory & Habitus

Welcome to Section 7 of Culture, Body, & Mind.

Revision: Phenomenology & Anthropology

After outlining the anthropological approach (Section 1), we embarked on this study by critically looking at the individual (Section 2) and Cartesian Dualism (Section 3). In a nutshell, Cartesian Dualism holds that mind is thinking subject and everything else in the universe, including the body, is a material object. Cartesian dualism effectively stripped the world of spirit, disenchanting the world. This allowed for an understanding that the universe was governed by 'laws of nature' rather than the will of God, spirits, deities or other personalized supernatural forces. This possibility was realized in Newton's physics and modern science.

Sections 4-7 could be seen as an anthropological response to the fundamental problems and limitations associated with Descartes' formidable philosophy. In a sense then, we have been searching for anthropological alternatives to the dominant Western perspective. As anthropologists, we need to respond because Cartesian Dualism underlies modern thought in the West, but, given the diversity of human cultures, we cannot assume cultures possess a subject-object distinction, nor, it has been argued, can we understand other cultures by using this framework. We saw how phenomenology and ontology presented a new way to understand a variety of cultures. Indeed by the end of Section 6, we questioned whether even 'modern' Western cultures are really characterized by Cartesian Dualism. So it seemed that phenomenology and ontology might also provide into Western cultures.

One observation that emerged from this excursion into phenomenology and ontology was the importance of the body; that knowledge, experience, and culture was embodied. So when we think of that body as culturally constituted, it follows that the experience of the self, and the world around the self, differs according to each culture.

Habitus: Class & society

We now investigate another dimension to the idea that body is 'cultured' and that your cultured body constitutes your experience of the world. We are familiar with embodiment, but we now turn to habitus. In general, this means we turn from pretty highfalutin and abstract theories to a more mundane reality; from other societies to the West; from a focus on person and culture to a critique class and society.

The way I talk, walk, dress, think, sing, dance, drink, drive etc. are differences of habitus. According to the concept, it's not just a result of my society, but also my class, sex, gender identity, etc. For instance, my habitus is very different from that of an 'oligarch' (millionaire) from Moscow, a first generation Somali teacher in Minnesota, an Indigenous Hawaiian surfer, obviously.  But it is also even an Australian farmer, lawyer, or computer 'geek'.

So the idea is that the body, society, and class are interconnected through habitus. This is a point, among several others, that we can take away from Mauss (1872-1950) in his famous "Techniques of the Body" a lecture given in French in 1934.

Swimming pool

Before you read this section, think about how you do breast-stroke and how you were taught. I think Mauss was taught to swim in the 1880s. He noted how the children of the 1930s, I guess, were taught breast-stroke according to a different technique.

Previously [in 1880s] we were taught to dive after having learnt to swim. And when we were learning to dive, we were taught to close our eyes and then to open them under water. Today [in the 1930s] the technique is the other way round. The whole training begins by getting the children used to keeping their eyes open under water. Thus, even before they can swim, particular care is taken to get the children to control their dangerous but instinctive ocular reflexes, before all else they are familiarised with the water, their fears are suppressed, a certain confidence is created, suspensions and movements are selected. Hence there is a technique of diving and a technique of education in diving which have been discovered in my day. And you can see that it really is a technical education and, as in every technique, there is an apprenticeship in swimming. On the other hand, here our generation has witnessed a complete change in technique: we have seen the breast-stroke with the head out of the water replaced by the different sorts of crawl. Moreover, the habit of swallowing water and spitting it out again has gone. In my day swimmers thought of themselves as a kind of steam-boat. It was stupid, but in fact I still do this: I cannot get rid of my technique. Here then we have a specific technique of the body, a gymnic art perfected in our own day. 

Digging trenches

For Mauss, swimming is just one example of many. Another is the way English troops dug trenches as opposed to French.

But this specificity is characteristic of all techniques. An example: during the War I was able to make many observations on this specificity of techniques. E.g. the technique of digging. The English troops I was with did not know how to use French spades, which forced us to change 8,000 spades a division when we relieved a French division, and vice versa. This plainly shows that a manual knack can only be learnt slowly. Every technique properly so-called has its own form. But the same is true of every attitude of the body. Each society has its own special habits…..

Then there is the female walking fashion in NYC compared to Paris.

A kind of revelation came to me in hospital. I was ill in New York. I wondered where previously I had seen girls walking as my nurses walked. I had the time to think about it. At last I realised that it was at the cinema. Returning to France, I noticed how common this gait was, especially in Paris; the girls were French and they too were walking in this way. In fact, American walking fashions had begun to arrive over here, thanks to the cinema. This was an idea I could generalise. The positions of the arms and hands while walking form a social idiosyncrasy; they are not simply a product of some purely individual, almost completely psychical arrangements and mechanisms. For example: I think I can also recognise a girl who has been raised in a convent. In general she will walk with her fists closed. And I can still remember my third- form teacher shouting at me: 'Idiot ! why do you walk around the whole time with your hands flapping wide open?' Thus there exists an education in walking, too.

Paris

To describe these differences, Mauss lands on the term habitus.

Hence I have had this notion of the social nature of the 'habitus' for many years. Please note that I use the Latin word-it should be understood in France-habitus. The word translates infinitely better than 'habitude' (habit or custom), the 'exis', the 'acquired ability' and 'faculty' of Aristotle (who was a psychologist). It does not designate those metaphysical habitudes, that mysterious 'memory', the subjects of volumes or short and famous theses. These 'habits' do not just vary with individuals and their imitations, they vary especially between societies, educations, proprieties and fashions, prestiges. In them we should see the techniques and work of collective and individual practical reason rather than, in the ordinary way, merely the soul and its repetitive faculties.

I tried to copy the skullls drawn on shirts depicted on this Suicidal Tendencies album cover.

Field Theory

Capital & Field

Popularizing and further developing the idea of habitus is the work of anthropologist Pierre Bourdieu. Like Merleau-Ponty, Bourdieu also emphasizes the body. Our focus still is social class within culture. But with Bourdieu, the ways of the body are merely a part of a larger theory about capital. There are four kinds of capital

1. Economic capital: This is wealth. It could be money, stocks/shares, gold necklaces, Lamborghinis (liquid assets) or wine, real estate, factories, etc.
2. Symbolic capital: You could have the title "Dr." or "Professor", "Sir". You could be a "sensei" at a karate dojo. Even being "BA" or BSc", or more valuable still "BA Hons or "BSc Hons"in Australia
3. Social capital: When we talk about getting a good job, the way "it's not what you know, it who you know". If you're good friends with the boss, you might have a better chance of getting the job.
4. Cultural capital: Can you eat with your mouth closed, can you do Double Windsor knot that will give you 'credit' in amongst the "old money" fields of Australia and the US. It won't do much if you're trying to make it in the Hip Hop scene in LA; you'll need other forms of cultural capital there. 

The main thing is that these different forms of capital have different values in different fields.

80s Crossover Thrash / Punk / Skate field

I don't know how the idea of combining thrash/hardcore music with skating arose, but it seems to have emerged in Southern California in places like Oxnard.

When I was a teenager (c.1987) I followed by big sister around and tried to be accepted in her thrash / punk /  skater scene. Several times I was asked, with much suspicion if my parents were rich. I strenuously underplayed any wealth we, a middle-class family, had. Real estate, and a title ("Sir"), and knowing the President of USA, and having a great backhand tennis shot would have provided you with negative status or 'street cred' in that field. Rather, in that field:

1. Economic capital was virtually valueless. If you could secretly use it to your advantage, e.g. by buying a Marshall amplifier that's OK, but you might have to tell your friends that you stole it. I guess economic capital could be legitimate if you were dealing in 'drugs', which basically meant cannabis in those circles.
2. Symbolic capital was also almost worthless. If you got good grades at school that would count against you. The symbolism of awards, trophies, titles, etc. was at odds with the ethic of the time.
3. Social capital was extremely valuable; if you knew important local skaters or thrash metal 'heads' then you were 'in'. 
4. Cultural capital was the most important.  You needed to wear an obscure thrash band T-Shirt, tight black jeans, Converse All-Stars (preferably in black). Nothing should new like you just bought it; that was 'inauthentic'. For a guy to be able to play lead guitar really fast; to get  'rad' skating on a halfpipe; to draw 'cool' skulls etc on your shirt.

Lacking in 3 and 4, my attempts to gain status were fruitless. But rejection wasn't too harsh; I turned to study! I guess I was a budding anthropologist because I wrote all about the different 'gangs' in this small community. I was fascinated by it.  I don't know what happened to those notes.

If I had known these guys, I might have got some social capital.

Actually, the 'scene' I tried unsuccessfully to crack into is what Bourdieu would call a field'. I prefer the analysis of  Weber. He would call  it a status group. Weber calls it such, because the values are not tied to money (for more see Weber's "Class, Status, Party").

Golf club field

A comedy movie that played on the ideas of habitus and capital at an exclusive golf County Club

Things would be quite different at an exclusive golf club. There:

1. Economic capital is crucial. Not only are membership rates exorbitant, but the mere fact of being rich confers status.
2. Symbolic capital is valuable. Having a title like "Dr." or "Sir" adds to prestige.
3. Social capital is crucial. You need other members to support your bid to be accepted into the club.
4. Cultural capital. Being a good golf player is worth something, but not much. Usually, the caddies at a prestige golf club are better than the average member. 

Like Merleau-Ponty, Bourdieu is so difficult to read that I make an exception to my usual rule about reading the original author. Instead of Bourdieu, we will read Thomson on Field Theory as a way to understand habitus:

Thomson, P 2008, 'Field', in M Grenfell (ed.), Pierre Bourdieu: Key Concepts, Acumen, Stocksfield, pp. 67-71. 

I have also made a dot point summary of Thomson's chapter.

Another comedy movie about golf and habitus

Habitus

Habitus is the ability to act, dress, talk etc. appropriate in each field. Habitus is when your body (not simply or even your mind) knows the rules of the game. Your body goes automatic mode. Karate students automatically bow when you enter dojo; businessmen can do a tie in almost literally "in their sleep", upper-class people 'naturally' don't lean over to pick up their spoon which has fallen on the ground.

We could just define habitus as ways of moving or techniques of the body. Habitus is can be distinguished with embodiment by its emphasis on class and field; i.e. sections of a society. Habitus naturalizes class hierarchies and is taken for granted. For instance, upper class (aristocratic; bourgeoisie) instill bodily ways into their children subtly (reminding children to 'mind their manners' at home) and more actively (deportment classes). This provides them with distinction and class.

I try to explain Bourdieu's ideas of habitus in this presentation:

Bourdieu's conception of the body fits into a larger theory about class hierarchies.

Ballet Dancers and their Capital

Now its time to take a more concrete example. We'll consider the field of ballet dancing and the different kinds of capital ballet dancers possess. What happens at the end of a dancer's career? This newspaper article describes the story of some Australian dancers.

So popular has Field Theory become that every researcher seems to want her/his own kind of capital. For instance, Wainwright and Turner add "bodily capital". In their chapter, they describe how older dancers in the Royal Ballet struggle with aging. The dancers discover they can not do what their minds tell them they can do, and what they love to do. But the end of performing does not mean the end of a career in ballet. The authors suggest ballet dancers lose their bodily capital but can 'cash in' on other forms of capital. How and what do dancers ‘cash in’ to continue their career? What does this tell us about body and society?

Wainwright, S, P. and Turner, BS 2004, "Narratives of Embodiment: Body, Aging, and Career in Royal Ballet Dancers", in Thomas H and Ahmed J (eds.), Cultural Bodies: Ethnography and Theory, Blackwell, Madden, MA, pp. 98-120.

Summary

The basic point is that our body adapts to the fields and class we belong to. It is so adapted to these human creations that it seems 'natural' to move in ways that are, in fact, highly cultural. And it's not just the way we move. It's also the way we dress, speak, and even think. All that is contained in the idea of habitus. In the next two sections, Sections 9 & 10, we move to a completely different way of thinking about the body. The ideas of 'bare life' and 'panopticon' are almost entirely separate from the conceptual framework which we have been using since Section 4.

References

     Mauss, M 1973, 'Techniques of the body', Economy and Society, vol. 2, no. 1, pp.71-73.

    Wainwright, S, P. and Turner, BS 2004, "Narratives of Embodiment: Body, Aging, and Career in Royal Ballet Dancers", in Thomas H and Ahmed J (eds.), Cultural Bodies: Ethnography and Theory, Blackwell, Madden, MA, pp. 98-120.

Further Reading

    Loïc Wacqaunt 1999. “Inside “the Zone”: the social art of the hustler in the American ghetto.” In P. Bourdieu et al The Weight of the World: Social suffering in contemporary society. Stanford University Press: Stanford, California, pp. 140-167.