Taste

Bourdieudefinestasteasanindividual'sdistinctiveandsociocultural,patternsofpreference. Whendiscussing
what constitutes taste, the factors which surround what influences ones taste advance far beyond the
individual. The term habitus' can be used to describe the significance of the combined influence cultural
phenomenaandthesocioeconomicspherehasonanindividual,includingtheimpactithasononeslifestyle,
valuesandpractices. Habitusisasocialprocessratherthananindividualone,hencelendingitselftopatterns
whichareenduringandtransferablefromonecontexttoanother,butalsoshiftinrelationtospecificcontexts
andovertime(Navarro2006:16).Frenchsociologist,anthropologistandphilosopherPierreBourdieu,adopts
thetermhabitustoexplainthebeliefthatweallinvestinsomething,mostlikelythekindsofthingsthatbothour
familiesandeducationhaveledustovalue.Intermsofhabitus,Bourdieudescribestasteasbeyondthereachof
introspectivescrutinyorcontrolbythewill(Nice,1984).Bourdieuexplainshowhabitusalsoextendstoour
tasteforculturalobjectssuchasart,food,andclothing(Routledge2011).Thefollowingsurveydrawsupon
Bourdieus views on habitus to collect statistical data regarding social class and cultural phenomena. The
findingsisthissurveyhavebeenusedtoestablishdatawhichcanessentiallybeusedtoestablishwhatkindsof
artformsandpracticesarangeofsubjectsvalue,andorconnectwith.
Socioeconomicfactorshaveasignificantimpactononestaste.Thiscanbeseeninanumberofresponses
producedinthedatafromthesurvey.Oneofwhichbeingthecorrelationbetweenthosewhoarecurrentlyat
university/already hold a university degree and those whos parents who had attended university and have
attainedadegree.Nineoutoftenpeoplewhoareeitherstudyingorholdauniversitydegreehadatleastone
parentwhoalsoattendeduniversity.ThisdatasupportsBourdieusconceptualisationthatour illusio could
essentiallybeshapedbyourupbringing,adheringto,orthenotionthattheinfluenceofonesfamilyandtheir
owneducativeexperienceshastheabilitytosubsequentlyshapetheeducationalexpectationsoftheiroffspring.
ThispreciseconceptisexactlywhatBourdieuseekstocommunicatethroughthetermhabitus.Furthermore,nine
outoffourteenresponsesforquestion19Describein50wordsorlessacurrentgoal/ambitionyouhaveinlife
basedtheiransweraroundhavinganincreaseinpersonalwealthandmaterialassets.Anexampleofaresponse
includestoownabighouseinthecityandhaveareallynicecarbythetimeIam25.Thisparticularresponse
reflectsBourdieusnotionofculturalcapitalinitsobjectifiedstate.Eightoftheseresponsescamefromthose
whohadgrownupineithersuburbanareasorareasclosetothecityandnoneofwhichcamefromthosewho
grewupinaruralarea.Thissuggeststhatthosewhohavegrownupinurbanareashavehighexpectationsto
continue living in a similar environment as their parents and continue to live the same lifestyle they have
experiencedgrowingup.Generallyspeaking,urbanareastendtosuggestamoreexpensivelifestyleandmay
suggestthatindividualswhoseektoliveintheseareasalmostacquireanexpensivetasteinstinctively.These
ideas support Bourdieus argument that habitus is shaped by the experience of remaining in a field which
containsasetofcircumstanceswhicharesharedandarerarelyaltered.
Anumberofsocioculturalpatternsareevidentinmanyoftheresponses.Question20Explainin25wordsor
lessthesignificanceofart(drama,dance,musicetc.)inyourlifeasachildandtheimpactitmayormaynot
havehadonwhoyouaretoday?.OnepersonansweredwithGrowingup,myparentswerealwayslisteningto
classicalmusic.WhenIapproachedmyearlyteenstheytookmealongtomanytouringorchestrasinSydney.I
thinkthishasdefinitelydefiantlyimpactedonwhoIamtoday,particularlyasapianist.Thisisaperfectexample
ofthesocioculturalnatureofhabitus,whichBourdieudescribesinhismajorworkDistinction,likeningthe
frenchcitizenstastesinarttotheirsocialclasspositions(Bourdieu1984).Bourdieuexplainshowupperclass
individualswillhaveatasteforfineartbecausetheyhavebeenexposedtoitfromaveryyoungage,muchlike
theaboveresponsegiveninquestion20ofthissurvey,wherebyanindividualexplainstheirexperiencesand
exposuretoacertaingenreofmusicasachildwhichhassubsequentlyinfluencedtheirtasteinmusicandchoice
ofhobbiesasanadult.Anotherprimeexampleofculturalcapitalexistsinthestatisticaldatareceivedfrom
question18.Astrongcorrelationexistedbetweenthosewhoattendednongovernment/independentschoolsand
thosewhochosereadingasanextracurricularactivity.Thisrelationshipmaysuggestthatthoseindividuals
who attended nongovernment and private schools were educated in an environment where reading was
encouragedandfurthermoreexpectedwithinthatparticularsocioculturalclass.
Theresultsobtainedinthissurveyhighlightthepotentialimpactsocioeconomicandsocioculturalfactorscan
haveonanindividualstaste. Thesurveycommunicatesthecomplexandvaryingrelationshipswhichexist
betweenthesefactorsandtheinfluencesocialfactorssuchasgeographicallocation,exposureandavailability,

canhaveonthewayanindividualvaluesartformsandotherpractices.Bourdieusconceptofhabituscreatesthe
basisfortheideathatindividualsareaproductofsocietyandtasteisjustyetanotherelementofanindividual
whichisinfluencedbysurroundingcircumstancesandtheenvironmenttheyarebroughtupinorevenbrought
into.

Hey Marnie,
Solid discussion paper here. Not exactly sure what the actual
assignment was, but if it is in fact a full on essay, I would recommend
two things, defining your terms earlier on and including more
signposting throughout. I highlighted two main terms that you use in
your analysishabitus and illusio. If these are going to be the major
ways in which you engage with Bourdieu, I would bring these up in the
introduction and incorporate them into your thesis. Consider, The
resulting survey results showcase Bourdieus concepts of habitus and
illusio through or in this paper, I will argue that habitus and illusio
are parts of everyday consumption patternsas indicated by my
survey. Whatever you choose, Id recommend clarifying what you are
talking and arguing about.

Second, Id recommend more signposting throughout. Guide the reader

a bit more. Right now, you have a lot of great stuff, but it feels a little
braindump-y. I think you do a good job in paragraph 2 giving us an idea
of what you are going to argue in that section, but lose steam as you
continue. Im a strong believer of the strong, cohesive, topic sentence.
As stated before, I think a logical way of structuring this essay would
be to devote one section to each of the sociological concepts youre
analyzing. So for one paragraph, just discuss illusio or socio-economic
factors, and in the other just discuss habitus.
Thats about it. Do with the comments as you will, and please take
them with a grain of salt. All the content is there, so great job. Let me
know how it goes.
-Mason