Habitus

I'm Dr. Nicholas Herriman, lecturer in anthropology at La Trobe University. The birds outside are Sulphur crested Cockatoos. This presentation is intended for anthropology undergrads. It is an introduction to the way anthropologists use the concept "habitus". Other terms and phrases used include "feel for the game", "fish in water"
* A good starting point for the concept is Thomson's chapter called "Field" in a book entitled Pierre Bourdieu: Key Concepts. This brief chapter situates Bourdieu's use of the term in relation to the idea of "field" and the four kinds of capital (economic, social, cultural, and symbolic).
* I should have distinguished "habitus" from the term "embodiment". "Embodiment" usually refers to the "ways of thinking and moving and the body shapes" produced by a culture. "Habitus" tends to be used more specifically in relation to a part of a culture, as in "an upper class French habitus" or "the habitus of a lacrosse player". But in practice there is a lot of overlap.
Bibliography:
* Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice (I only read parts of this--it's a difficult text).
* Mauss, "Techniques of the Body" (an easy read)
* Mark Mallman (2015), Not entirely at home: Upward social mobility and early family life. Journal of Sociology (a great application of "habitus"; subtle and profound)
* Loïc Wacquant (2011), Habitus as topic and tool: Reflections on becoming a prizefighter. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 8, 81-92. (describes the theoretical outlook in Body and Soul)
* Loic Wacquant, Body and Soul. (A famous book by a famous sociologist. Actually habitus is mostly implicit in the text, so this might not be the best starting point for students)
* Loic Wacquant, "Habitus" “Habitus.” Pp. 315-319 in International Encyclopedia of Economic Sociology. Edited by Jens Beckert and Milan Zafirovski. London: Routledge, 2004. (Great introduction to "habitus")
* Steven Wainwright, P. & Turner, Bryan S. (2004), Narratives of Embodiment: Body, Aging, and Career in Royal Ballet Dancers. In: Thomas, H. & Ahmed, J. (eds.) Cultural Bodies: Ethnography and Theory. Madden, MA: Blackwell. (Provides a great introduction to-, and application of-, "habitus").

[@estherayewoh1077]

I reaaaallllllly loved how you explained the concept of Habitus and the humor in Between 😅 Amazing video ❤

[@keelyburch-havers9972]

You have explained this in a way that I can really start to grasp Bourdieu! I love that you apply it to situations/examples that help embed the theory.

[@NicholasHerriman]

Thanks for the kind response Keely!

[@NicholasHerriman]

My colleague Oki Rahadianto informed me of the following: 'Wacquant publishes a concise genealogy and anatomy of habitus in journal Sociological Review. In this article, Wacquant treats habitus as an extremely flexible concept.'

[@speakninja]

Thanks very much. Bourdieu is such an important guy, but his writing is so dense!

[@NicholasHerriman]

Thanks Adam, I'm no expert. I'm just trying to convey my fairly basic understanding.

[@brendamoreira9327]

Thank you so much for your video! The way you explained was so clear.

[@warandpeacetalk6019]

Loved this. I read Bourdieu's Distinction some time back, but was in need of a brief recap. Thank you very much!

[@NicholasHerriman]

Thanks. Brief recaps is about all I can do with Bourdieu. Anything more would stretch my abilities!

[@sindyl4990]

Thank you, I really enjoyed your description of my Dad and his R.M William fashion and also the lesser description of "Filet Mignon". Subscribed, as I have never laughed so much in a lecture and learnt at the same time. Gold star for you.

[@NicholasHerriman]

Thanks Sindy. I'm guessing you're an Aussie like me!

[@severinovotny]

thank you so so much! you video is amazing and I wish I could have a lecturer like you

[@baraamohammed7954]

had the hardest time understanding this concept before watching your video, thank you SO much!

[@NicholasHerriman]

Thanks for watching.

[@josephvancamp6744]

Thank you for helping me with habitus... but what about symbolic instruments? And how do structured structures act as structuring structures?

[@diegopdiegop]

Thank you for the video, the interpretation is very clear. It's quite a difficult subject to grasp if not explained properly, so it was a lot of help.

[@NicholasHerriman]

Thanks for the positive feedback.

[@mengranl5405]

Thank you so much! Your video really helps! I was so confused about Bourdieu's theory... I wish my lecturer could explain like this :( Again, thanks a lot

[@NicholasHerriman]

Thanks but often it takes explanations from different lecturers with different takes before it finally clicks for a student. Some of my students find my explanations confusing!

[@faiz0697]

Thanks Nicholas, its pretty nice and easy presentation to understand. thanks again. Regards

[@NicholasHerriman]

Thanks Faiz, I try to make it as easy as possible.

[@ads7393]

what kind of relationship do u think habitus has with popular culture??any examples? i will be very grateful :)

[@unauthrised]

Thank you Nicholas that is an amazing summary:)

[@NicholasHerriman]

You're welcome.

[@maryannehood5104]

This is a great summary. But those birds are just trolling your lecture.

[@anupbhurtel]

true that.. i was on earphone and I thought birds were shouting outside my window ..

[@NicholasHerriman]

They are sulphur crested cockatoos. There is a flock that lives around our beautiful La Trobe campus, in Melbourne around dusk. Please come and visit around dusk . Everyday evening they do their squawking.

[@HS99930]

Thank you, very useful. Love the birds background!

[@NicholasHerriman]

Glad you like them!

[@prantikbasak]

Thank you so much sir, this has been of great help.

[@NicholasHerriman]

You're welcome.

[@Cakemonster147]

This was incredibly helpful. Thank you.

[@NicholasHerriman]

Glad to be of assistance.

[@jmarsh5485]

Habitus as a structuring structure reminds me dual patterning in linguistics -given the complexity it offers, to me it suggests Bourdieu and his spatial fields are really helpful, especially considering the digital age with so many recommendation algorithms being used. I recommend reading Nick Seaver if anyone is interested in fields, spatial patterns and Bourdieu.

[@NicholasHerriman]

I haven't read Nick Seaver, but now I will. I'm pressed for time though. So which of his publications do you recommend I should start with?

[@kimmy4156]

Thanks for the explanation :) very useful in quarantine and online lessons.

[@NicholasHerriman]

Thanks for taking the time to comment! N

[@TJmK1]

Thank you for the great video. Do you have any videos for social capital by any chance? The bird sounds- I think they're great!

[@NicholasHerriman]

Thanks Touria. They are Sulphur Crested Cockatoos! You can get quite close to them and they eat with their hands!

[@nedispas9709]

7.55 totally Italian background... Born and raised in Argentina saw my elders doing that sign and I do it too.

[@NicholasHerriman]

I'm glad to hear it. I love that Italian style!

[@Rebelqiyas]

Thank you so much, really helped me understand. really appreciated .

[@NicholasHerriman]

Thanks for the kind comment, N

[@josunenieves5209]

thank you so much

[@ultraparadoxical7610]

Great precis.

[@itoldyounottotouchit3336]

My Religion Professor at the Univeristy Of Toronto used the Lion King scene where Simba meets Timon and Pumbaa as an example for Habitus. This is because Simba grew up in a culture where there are responsibilities, however, he believes in 'Hakuna Matata' causing him to believe in no responsibilities.

[@valeryaleja]

thank you Nicholas, great video, do you have any theory or articles who critiques Bourdieu's concept of habitus?

[@NicholasHerriman]

I know of King's "Thinking with Bourdieu against Bourdieu: A 'Practical' Critique of the Habitus". I may be wrong but perhaps the general feeling is that Bourdieu's theory sounds good, but if you think about how all the parts are supposed to fit together it starts looking a little fragile.

[@adamzielinski1053]

@@NicholasHerriman bourgeois idealism needs tautology to survive, that's why

[@NicholasHerriman]

@@adamzielinski1053 Hi again Adam. That's kind of what Barthes said. But anthropologists would extend that. We say that it's not only the bourgeoisie but all humans (revolutionaries, working-class, Amish, me, you) who possess tautological myths. What Bourdieu does, by contrast, is move the analysis away from beliefs. Instead, he focuses on the body and the way it moves. He ties this into class analysis.

[@sumayabarakzai9448]

Is it possible to change the habitus or some parts of it? And how is it possible?

[@leannegoliath6230]

Sumaya Barakzai yes, as you experience new things you add to your habitus. You also adjust your habitus to match the doxa of a specific field

[@JimBCameron]

Any books you recommend if someone wants to understand the concept a bit more?

[@sophienorve]

+Jimbo Jones Bourdieu - Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste

[@johnmccreery7550]

I really liked the examples and tone of the presentation overall. That said, I thought the theoretical analysis at the end missed the key point. Your examples could all be described as habit or culture. Why then introduce habitus. I recall Wacquant mentioning that Bourdieu was a football (soccer) fan. When you see an outstanding player, he isn’t just following the rules (structural explanation), calculating every move (there’s no time for that), or simply repeating a habitual move (too predictable). There is something in talented players that let them track the positions of the ball and other players and make just the right move for the state of play at that instant. Bourdieu calls that something habitus. The “structuring structures” business is just a crude attempt to describe the mechanism. One to my mind more plausible possibility is psychologist Gary Klein’s Recognition-Primed Decision-Making model.

[@NicholasHerriman]

Hi John, thanks very much for your incisive comments. I hadn't heard Wacquant's anecdote before. I guess what he, Bourdieu, and you are talking about are extraordinary players like today's Nyemar or Messi. I can see 4-5 different explanations, according to the theory of practice, for their extraordinary talents. I'll propose three here. Assuming the habitus theory is generally acceptable, but twisting it a bit: 1. Nyemar and Messi have a 'feel for the game' like everyone else, except theirs is far superior; 2. (In contradiction to '1') These players are extraordinary, they are like philosophical geniuses in the social world who simply don't act like the rest of us. They have 'escaped' their soccer habitus and created for themselves a new habitus; 3. The sports field example is a metaphor we have pushed too far in trying to understand the social world. Sports is classic ritualized behaviour where another set of rules and prescriptions apply.

[@christopherj489]

Thank you!!

[@NicholasHerriman]

You are welcome!

[@yangjoohyun7066]

Thanks!

[@NicholasHerriman]

Back at ya!

[@jedg4746]

This video is about “social habitus” not objective physical/medical habitus. The latter is already a term in widespread scientific use but the former is a proposed relativistic subjective term.

[@philoaviaticus]

groovy! as a med anthro guy, I use concept a bit...

[@NicholasHerriman]

Nice. Bourdieu's idea are so useful for us anthropologists.

[@MichaelMarko]

The birds are a scream!

[@NicholasHerriman]

Very droll Michael 😂 Actually I don't hear the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos anymore. The only time I notice them is when I leave my window open and one flies in!

[@teksharian2066]

Terima kasih!

[@NicholasHerriman]

Sama-sama :)

[@user_mac0153]

Of course, my habitus is flexible. But I am a survivor and set no internalisations of any value, nor have a particular sociality. Though I am good at maintaining a working metabolism, thats a common denominator of living organisms. If I am just a consumer, I eat the same stuff the same way as my sorority, alone. So if I must chew, then digest and expel waste a particular way I do: I use the paper, I take my seat on the throne, flush etc etc. There is nothing less characteristic of habit than being taken up by the broad sweep of a gigantic machine, effaced, and being endowed with a nominal utility.

[@maybefreeoneday906]

HAHAH the steak part is funny!

[@darrynspall6614]

I'm struggling too. Your explanation of habitus is very clear. But maybe you can help me understand it all. DEVIL'S ADVOCATE. Habitus- yeah everyone is different-surprise. Your whole life says about what 'class' you are-surprise. Rich people or upper classes have the power in society. I'm doing an MA in education studies, but in the end, it comes down to the teacher and the lesson. So the lessons are general-not for each individual. So is it just tips on how to become a leader by emulating upper-classes? I just can't get the point of it all. Yes, it defines something. Like the army is structured-you can't have all chiefs and no Indians- or all generals.

[@NicholasHerriman]

Good question. Maybe Bourdieu would provide an example like this. You have an extremely intelligent African-American student. Her habits include a certain accent, way of walking, sitting etc. Her teacher has his own accent, way of walking, etc. By the teacher's own habitual way of acting and thinking, the student is playing up, being rude, etc. The teacher, without realizing, dismisses the student as rude and only average intellect. The student's opportunities are thus limited. Her class situation is reinforced. So is the teacher's. Maybe that example is exaggerated, but one of several things I get from Bourdieu is that this how class operates, albeit on a more a subtle level.

[@darrynspall6614]

@@NicholasHerriman Thanks for answering. I suppose it draws your attention to different aspects. I noticed from the video that stereotypes amuse you -me too. Maybe we should introduce some in the classroom. English classroom- Wot 'appen dudes-on di way t' di lessannn I cranked up di tunebox an hit the pedal. i was rollin' man. Ya no.

[@younghsyd1871]

11:19

[@aimeebrown6761]

So habitus is culture and habit? Why invent a new term?

[@NicholasHerriman]

"Culture and habit"? I could be convinced. But how would you convince sociologists and anthropologists to go along with it?

[@adamzielinski1053]

Sociological language is as sick as bourgeois subjectivity

[@NicholasHerriman]

Yes we want to get rid of jargon. But I'm not sure if your formulation will do it. The problem is that the phrase "bourgeois subjectivity" itself is an example of sociological language. This means that the phrase "bourgeois subjectivity" is as sick as bourgeois subjectivity. Which leads us to a logical contradiction.