Applied to Transform our Way of Thinking about Social Class - Essay Example

Work of Pierre Bourdieu and Robert Putnam as Applied to Transform our Way of Thinking about Social through Sports Introduction Pierre Bourdieuwas a French anthropologist, sociologist and philosopher. To reveal social life in relation to power dynamics, he carried out thorough investigations in social, cultural, and symbolic capital and habitus, field, and symbolic violence concepts (Bourdieu 1991, p. 2). In his book, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, he argues that taste judgment is related to the social positioning. He therefore tries to reconcile both subjective experience and external social structures’ influences on an individual. The works of Pierre Bourdieu and Robert Putnam are founded on everyday life and discuss about the sociology of culture. The concept of Putman on social capital is social norms and obligations, moral values, and social networks. Pierre’s concept, developed in 1970s and ‘80s, focuses on culture, social capital and economics. The Bourdieu and Putnam encourage people to consider adopting new ways of understanding social class. Their work has been used in the sociology of sport to challenge and/or advance our previous ways of thinking. The community has to learn that cohesive living among people of different social classes can only be achieved by working towards a common goal and this can be realized in sports. The question people normally ask themselves is; what are the potential hindrances to our common good, our society, and our public good? What role do sports play in the sports sociology to challenge and advance our social thinking of social classes? Critical Discussion Sports institution, especially sports teams and sport media have enough potentials of promoting sociology in our society. (Putman 1995, p. 67) believes that sports have potentials of facilitating dialogue, fostering citizenship, and community building in ways that increase meaningful participation, in a process that is democratic. Some scholars believe that sport teams can give room to community’s formative experience, civil belonging and engagement and therefore, they offer a genuine democratic citizenship in experience. In order to develop the community, a sports team has to be developed first because if members are committed to the common good, that is helping to shape the groups life; this offers great potentials of promoting civic engagement. Take an example where the society has been experiencing ethnic misunderstandings. Peace and understanding between them can be fostered by engaging sport teams in games Also, if the youth can decide to build a sports team that comprises members of diverse ethnic backgrounds with a common goal, society members can learn from them that unity indeed is strength. This can then promote peace and cohesive living between them. Sports have been used in many parts of the world to promote peace between different communities, like in Kenya where the Tegla Lorupe foundation was founded to foster peaceful living between the Pokot and Turkana communities. Voluntary groups, like sports teams, help nurture citizens; capacities as a team and beyond the team (Bourdieu 1987, p57). Sports greatly influence the relationship between the youth to the community around them. For example, when athletes feel valued and important, members of their particular small communities also tend to have a feeling of belonging and this provides them with a psychological basis for being responsible and getting more engaged in constructive activities. In the process, they also learn other important skills necessary for civic engagement like aiming for collective goals, political tolerance, racial diversity, religious tolerance, and conflict resolution and management. Furthermore Bourdieu (1998, p.245) states that sports teams provide an opportunity for the youth to shape the community in the common good and to achieve mutual goals. These are all very important aspects of democracy. Unfortunately, the tremendous sports potentials normally go untapped as vehicles of fostering civic education. According to Bourdieu, social divisions’ and positions of social, cultural and economic resources are generally legitimized by symbolic capital. The concept of social capital by Putman is looked at from the perspective of Bourdieu. Alexander (1994, p165-197), asserts that the solution to common problems and opportunism is collective action – action that is voluntary and connected to community social capital. Spots can play a vital role in this concept. This is because; they aim at a common goal thus solving social opportunism that exists amongst social classes. This concept, according to Putman, links his ideas to pluralism. Voluntary associations, like sports, influence social co-operation and interaction between the participants in many ways (Putnam 1995, p.64-78). Furthermore, sports foster robust reciprocity norms and finally facilitate communication hence improving information flow about individuals’ trustworthiness. The roots of Bourdieu’s theory is rooted in structuralism, culture ad the sociology of conflict while Putman’s theory digs more on functionalism and social integration. Together, they become more superior compared to Maxist theory, in dealing with current understanding of social classes as fostered by sports. Bourdieu’s sociology mainly focuses on the society as a social field of pluralities. Each social field, depending on its importance, has its own profile. This is what is evidenced in the field of sports, where there are many fields in sports like athletics, football, basketball, hockey and golf among others. These fields have their own profiles, depending on their different importance to the individuals and the societies involved. While in these different teams, volunteers value their teams and common goals, more than their communities and social classes that are based on economic endowment (Alexander 1995, 122). Group membership creates social capital among members and involvement in development of social networks and social relations (Bourdieu 1980, 2). When a person joins a certain game, that game becomes part of him in all aspects of his life. The interest makes him to seriously engage himself in the game as opposed to becoming disinterestedness in the same (Cohen 1999, 208-248). Therefore, sports, in the same context, can be very effective in promoting social cohesiveness and transforming the understanding of social class. Conclusion Putman and Bourdieu develop two opposing ideas of sociological traditions and then, they use these ideas to address problems that are currently facing the society. The work of Putman preserves the ideas of integration sociology. His trust and social capital concepts are directed on mechanisms that aim at strengthening the integration of societal values, togetherness and solidarity in creation of consensus that will sustain a society that has stable development. Their work has widely and effectively been applied in dealing with problems that exist in social classes. For example spots have been applied in solving social economic problems and fostering peace and unity. Reference List Alexander, J. 1994. Modern, Anti, Post, and Neo: How Social theories Have Tried to Understand The "New World" of "Our Time". New York: New York University Press. Alexander, J. 1995. Fin de Siècle Social Theory. London: London Press. Bourdieu, P. 1980. Avenir de Classe et Causalité du Probable. Revue Française de Sociologie 1. Washington DC: Harvard University Press. Bourdieu, P. 1998. Acts of Resistance. Against the New Myths of Our Time. (Transl. by Richard, N.). Cambridge: Polity Press.by Richard, N.). Cambridge: Polity Press. Cohen, J. 1999. Trust, voluntary associations and workable democracy: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Joppke, C.1987. The Cultural Dimensions of Class Formation and Class Struggle: On the Prentice-Hall: Prentice Press. Putnam, R. D. 1995. Bowling Alone: Americas Declining Social Capital. Journal of Social Theory of Pierre Bourdieu. Berkeley Journal of Sociology 21. Prentice Hall: prentice Press. Read More