![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabrinamariThe basic thesis of my research is that social capital (expressed in expanded social networks) transforms cultural capital (class and subculturally-based specialized knowledge) into agency (a greater ability to act on one's own behalf and shape one's own experience in the world).
In other words, diverse cultural capital translates into broader social networks, and tapping into these networks selectively enables individuals to exercise greater agency and expand the possibilities in their lives.
Confusing? It only sounds that way. It's actually easy---a no-brainer when you you look at it on the ground.
For example:
I want to exercise my agency and shift into a highly-stimulating, expanded career path that focuses on what I love and greatly expands my income. To do this, I need to learn many things. One of the things I need to learn is how to dress very professionally in a way that suits both me and my desired environment.
On my own, I do not have this particular kind of cultural capital, but my friend![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
justusgirlz---a key person in my social network---does.
Her cultural capital in this area is so deep and so strong that not only can she tell me where to shop and how to look (and what a kick plate is and why some suits need patent leather pumps while others need matte pumps), she also knows, just off the top of her head, that Neiman Marcus has only two (covert) outlet stores in the United States and one of them is in Short Hills, New Jersey, about 15 minutes away.
(Neiman Marcus is like Nordstrom's or Lord & Taylor's, only snootier. I once saw a mother with twin three-year-olds walking around the furrier section of the Dallas Neiman Marcus with both children sporting identical fur coats. I thought this was the stupidest thing I had ever seen, and it really turned me off to high-end shopping. But this was in Dallas, during the oil-boom years, and there was a lot of that kind of thing going around.)
So we are going to the Neiman Marcus outlet today, to look carefully and practice my fledgling skills. As we go,justusgirlz is tutoring me in what to look for and how to combine different elements. Today, she explained, she will not walk through the store and just pull things out for me. I will do that, and she will critique my choices. When I make a choice, I will explain why I made it before she gives me feedback (that's my idea). Over the course of a half hour, I think I can make significantly more progress.
Withoutjustusgirlz or someone like her, I would not be able to do this successfully. With her help, I can even learn how to do it myself.
This is how social capital mediates between cultural capital and agency.
In other words, diverse cultural capital translates into broader social networks, and tapping into these networks selectively enables individuals to exercise greater agency and expand the possibilities in their lives.
Confusing? It only sounds that way. It's actually easy---a no-brainer when you you look at it on the ground.
For example:
I want to exercise my agency and shift into a highly-stimulating, expanded career path that focuses on what I love and greatly expands my income. To do this, I need to learn many things. One of the things I need to learn is how to dress very professionally in a way that suits both me and my desired environment.
On my own, I do not have this particular kind of cultural capital, but my friend
justusgirlz---a key person in my social network---does.Her cultural capital in this area is so deep and so strong that not only can she tell me where to shop and how to look (and what a kick plate is and why some suits need patent leather pumps while others need matte pumps), she also knows, just off the top of her head, that Neiman Marcus has only two (covert) outlet stores in the United States and one of them is in Short Hills, New Jersey, about 15 minutes away.
(Neiman Marcus is like Nordstrom's or Lord & Taylor's, only snootier. I once saw a mother with twin three-year-olds walking around the furrier section of the Dallas Neiman Marcus with both children sporting identical fur coats. I thought this was the stupidest thing I had ever seen, and it really turned me off to high-end shopping. But this was in Dallas, during the oil-boom years, and there was a lot of that kind of thing going around.)
So we are going to the Neiman Marcus outlet today, to look carefully and practice my fledgling skills. As we go,
justusgirlz is tutoring me in what to look for and how to combine different elements. Today, she explained, she will not walk through the store and just pull things out for me. I will do that, and she will critique my choices. When I make a choice, I will explain why I made it before she gives me feedback (that's my idea). Over the course of a half hour, I think I can make significantly more progress.Without
justusgirlz or someone like her, I would not be able to do this successfully. With her help, I can even learn how to do it myself.This is how social capital mediates between cultural capital and agency.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-03-26 12:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-26 12:53 am (UTC)grinning
no subject
Date: 2012-03-26 12:59 am (UTC)Foolish me.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-26 05:41 am (UTC)