Bourdieu's Distinction: A Social Critique Of Taste

At age 71, French sociologist and intellectual died of cancer at the Saint-Antoine hospital in Paris, France on January 23, 2002. Having published more than 25 books and several articles or essays-most translated in English-Bourdieu’s interest was on the origin of power structures and class distinctions. He applied his interests onto a more extensive range of topics such as education, television, masculinity, and language. One of his most famous books, Distinction: A Social Critique of Taste, stays as one of the characterizing studies of relationships between social class and consumer behavior.
Bourdieu developed the term cultural capital, which is the determination of an individual’s social status in society by viewing one’s accumulation of knowledge, behaviors, and skills that demonstrate the individual’s cultural competence. He believed that cultural capital is composed of the ability to comprehend and use “educated” language, as well as the social dominance within a society. Although cultural capital shifts within

This is because the students simply do not understand what they are being taught. For Bourdieu, this is mostly found in universities, where students are hesitant to reveal their level of intelligence.
Bourdieu claims that individuals who possess authority are held accountable for the social inequalities within the educational system-where the status quo is maintained.
The correlation between cultural capital, educational credentials, and occupational positions are to be questioned. Bourdieu states that the link between all three are dependent on each other. For example, an individual born into a middle-class family will either receive average education or higher, and will most likely qualify for an occupation with somewhat