Outline Of A Sociological Theory Of Art Perception Summary

Bourdieu believed that one’s social class and the differences between those social classes are defined by their educational attainment, knowledge, and their cultural tastes. Therefore, he states that power is acquired through educational attainment, the internalization of that knowledge, and through the ability to understand the cultural tastes of the power elite. In Bourdieu’s article, Outline of a Sociological Theory of Art Perception, talks about the need for one to understand the cultural code in order to decipher any piece of artwork habitually and perfectly. When an individual gain the ability to decipher artwork, he is given a skill called artistic competence. This skill of artistic competence is most often found in the rich and power

In “Social Space and the Genesis of Groups”, Bourdieu introduces his ideas of a social space and fields. A field is a setting in which social classes and their social positions are located. A social space is the combination of multiple fields in to an all-encompassing field. One’s position in a social space is decided based on the distribution of capital in a field. He says that this creates a system in which power is judged by one’s social capital, cultural capital, economic capital, and by their symbolic capital. Cultural capital is capital that refers to non-financial assets that promote social mobility such as education and intellect. On the contrary, economic capital is the representation of one’s monetary financial wealth. Social capital is the institutions, relationships, and norms that shape the worth and measure of a society's social interactions. Finally, while social capital is capital that one receives at birth based on the family they are with, symbolic capital is capital that one gains through one’s life achievments. With these forms of capital, social classes become classified as agents in a field. These agents occupy similar positions in their respective fields and are likeliy to have similar disopositions and interests. This process of field and position development creates a social world, wherein a field becomes an subjective structure that expresses the state of symbolic power

He says that during this time, prisoners were subjected to punishment. These forms of punishment included public execution and torture. This form of punishment allowed the king to reestablish his authority and power. Moreover, this form of power reproduction produced fear of the punishment in criminals. Inversely though, public execution backfired due to the fact that many citizens began to place blame and shame on the executioner and the king, rather than the criminal. This shift in public opinion on torturing and public executions represents a change on the economy of punishment in society. The result of this change was the creation of a prison system that enforces disciplinary power. This form of power is achieved by three primary techniques of control: hierarchical observation, normalizing judgment, and the examination. This disciplinary power is achieved by using the panopticon system. A panopticon, a building with a tower at the center from which it is possible to see each cell in which a prisoner or schoolboy is incarcerated. This creates a system wherein all prisoners are constantly visible, to the point where they become segregated into solitude. This creates a prison system where power is taken by force and used against prisoners. In other words, this new system creates causes individuals to become their own mental police due to the feasr of contstantly being watched, over the