Cultural Conflict: The Implications of Changing Dispositions Among the Upwardly Mobile

The accounts of upwardly mobile professionals can shed light on conflict and cultural dispositions (what Bourdieu referred to as habitus). There are currently few empirical studies investigating the specific aspects of the habitus that might change or the implications of these changes on cross-class...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociological forum (Randolph, N.J.) N.J.), 2018-12, Vol.33 (4), p.877-899
Main Authors: Curl, Heather, Lareau, Annette, Wu, Tina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
Black white relations
Bourdieu, Pierre (1930-2002)
Changes
class conflict
Communication
Cultural conflict
culture
family
Friendship
Habitus
Health education
Health information
Healthy food
kinship
Language
Relatives
Social mobility
White people
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Summary:The accounts of upwardly mobile professionals can shed light on conflict and cultural dispositions (what Bourdieu referred to as habitus). There are currently few empirical studies investigating the specific aspects of the habitus that might change or the implications of these changes on cross-class relationships. Drawing on qualitative interviews with a total of 30 white and African American upwardly mobile individuals, we explore three ways in which upwardly mobile individuals experience a shift in their habitus and the implications of these changes on interactions with family members, friends, and colleagues. Specifically, upwardly mobile professionals report significant change in their dispositions toward new experiences and "horizons," food and health, and language and communication. These changes foster "flashpoints" of conflict with non-upwardly mobile family members. We find that whites and African Americans report very similar types of conflicts, but African Americans in our study downplay the conflict more than their white counterparts.
ISSN:0884-8971
1573-7861
DOI:10.1111/socf.12461