Title: The Influence of Cultural Capital on Twenty-First Century Secondary School Literature Curricula
Abstract: In his many writings, French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu articulates the concept of “cultural capital,” a social reproduction theory born out of Karl Marx’s idea of class struggle, Erving Goffman’s notions of human behavior, Michel Foucault’s beliefs regarding societal knowledge, and Ivan Illich’s criticism of schools. In essence, Bourdieu argues that the structure of a society is reflected by, and perpetuated by, its education system, a system that conveys a collection of cultural beliefs, values, and attitudes essential to the society. These ideas bear the marked influence of Bourdieu’s early contemporaries Basil Bernstein and Robin Nash, both of whom espoused theories concerning the educational system‘s role in shaping individuals within society. Since the work of Bourdieu, Bernstein, and Nash an array of sociologists have expanded the scope and application of this popular, and easily adaptable, theory. The first part of this paper examines the expansion of Bourdieu’s theory; the second part applies this theory to the current state of American education.
Publication Year: 2005
Publication Date: 2005-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 3
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