The Dialectic of Objectification and Embodiment
From WikEd
According to Bourdieu, in the case of uninstitutionalized education, i.e. where no clear division of tasks exists between specialized agents, the practical expertise, defined by the modus operandi (the method of procedure), is transmitted in a practice based way. Thus a child gains this mastery by imitating the other people’s behaviors, not from the “models”. In all communities, children especially attend the postures and gestures of adults such as facial expressions, ways of sitting, walking, speaking, since these behaviors convey social meanings and values to be proficient adults. Although schemes transform from practice to practice without consciousness, this does not imply that habitus are gained by a mechanical trial and error type learning scheme. The principle generating conduct enables a child to pick up the rationale in the infinitely diverse acts of life, instead of memorizing every single one of them, which is similar to learning the algorithm of a numerical series instead of memorizing every single number in this series.
All societies present “structural exercises” for transmitting the forms of practical mastery which contain both apprenticeship by learning unconsciously from the master’s practices and explicit transmission of knowledge. Then children observe the kinship relations and relationships with the mother and the father which leads to internalization of the ‘schemes of the sexual division of labour and of the division of sexual labour’.
The dialectic relationship between body and space can be seen in the oppositions of all aspects of life: the opposition between the right hand and the left hand, between nif and haram, between man and woman is extended to the spatial division of male spaces which are assembly, the market, or the fields and female spaces which are the house, the kitchen or the garden. This division of space also constitutes the practices and representations of male and female world which influence the perception, thought and action in the early stages of learning process.
The internal space of the house and relationships of this internal space to the external space is an environment in which children learn the relation of body and space in their culture. Bourdieu talks about the relationships between man and woman by using the analogy of the Kabyle house. The dark, damp house with food, children, and utensils stands for woman body and the outwards towards the fields and market is for the male body. The opposite position of male and female orientation can also be seen in their attitude toward their psychology and sexuality. For example, in every man dominant culture, the men seem not to care about the sexual desires of the women but they are also afraid of female’s gossip about their sexuality. And women according to Erikson restrict their verbal expressions by talking on the male’s sexuality rather than their own desires. The child develops his/her sexual identity, a very important part of social identity, at the same time when they realize the sexual division of the work. According to the psychologist the child acquire this ability at very early ages, about they are five years old, and they allocate the domestic works to the women and economic works to the men. Moreover, children perceive their father as more powerful, competent and severe while their mothers as more emotional, agreeable and kinder.
Bodily disposition reflects the contrast attributed to man and woman by the system of values. For example, in the tribes of Algeria, the man of honour is exemplified as a heather which would break rather than bent. His posture is straight and pace is steady. He does not walk too fast, sign of trailing back, or too slow, sign of hesitation. He is determined and he knows what he is doing and where he is going, regardless of the obstacles he might face. He looks straight in the eye of the person he meets, not above or below the person. So the man has a direct, and outward character. The woman on the other hand is supposed to be inward, modest and restraint are her virtues. She walks with a slight forward bend, looking down, her eyes concentrating where her next step would be. She must be careful of hear dress not to reveal her body, especially the head scarf should be knotted. In short, men’s posture reflects the outward character, and women’s posture reflects the inward character that the society ascribes to them.
All societies that want to protect and transmit their culture treat the body as a memory and inscribe the seemingly most insignificant details to it in the form of dress or the verbal and physical manners. Such an inscription is beyond the consciousness and it can not be touched by any deliberate transformation. This implicit pedagogy is most efficient since the whole ethnic, metaphysic, or political philosophy is transmitted through such simple acts as “standing straight” or “not holding a knife with the left hand”. In this logic, each technique of the body makes up a part of the whole philosophy and at the same time suggests the whole philosophical system. Therefore, even the most insignificant circumstances encompass very general principles. This is also similar in the pedagogic reason which succeeds to obtain the most essential by seeming to the insignificant. These insignificant acts are indeed manifestations of the submission to the established order. Such ideas are reflected in everyday sayings such as “It would not cost him anything to …”, or “it would not hurt him to”.
Habitus is governed by mediation rather than by mechanical determinism. As a system structures to particular conditions, the habitus bring into existence only thoughts, actions, and practices that are consistent with those conditions. This concept is equally paradoxical when considered only through determinism or freedom, conditioning or creativity. The endless capacity of the habitus to bring forth ideas, expressions, and actions, which are products of the historical and social conditions, secures it not only from simple mechanical repetitions but also from creation of unpredictable novelty.
- Question:
1) How does the infinite possibilities of the habitus in terms of thoughts, expressions, or actions protect it from mechanistic repetitions or creative novelties?
