Current Issues of Sociological Studies on the Flattening of Culture

The Relationship between Habitus and Cultural Capital Based on Personal History

Abstract

Based on the usefulness of personal history research, this paper analyzes the life history of one actor（the author）from childhood to graduate school and describes how the actor’s upbringing and relationships were connected to a particular taste of popular music. In doing so, we examine the applicability of Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus and cultural capital and explore why habitus is called a “structuring structure.” The tastes in popular music, which were originally accidental to the individual, become a marker confirming one’s own social distribution by being associated with class habitus, creating a subjective sense of boundaries. Moreover, musical works are represented as class-identified, thus strengthening the certainty of an objective class structure.

I discuss these mechanisms and address the question of whether musical works can be considered cultural capital in today’s information society. Cultural works, which have increased dramatically due to the diffusion and production power of the Internet, no longer represent a hierarchical distinction or systematic order. While arguments still support the cultural omnibores theory, which discusses the relationship between culture and hierarchy, the theory of shima-uchu-ka has also emerged, holding that society consists of a number of closed circles that share interests, and the flat culture theory, which describes cultural works that have become easily accessible and less expensive to collect. This research examines the validity of these frameworks and considers current issues in the sociology of culture.