Do you know that the ‘social reality’ begins to exist only when it is selected, designated, differentiated, legitimated and recognised?

A literature review to address: How is identity constituted through a Bourdieuian vision of habitus, social space and symbolic power?

The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, social space and symbolic power will first be discussed, to explain how different social groups could be created through the symbolic system and means of differentiation. Then, the British sociologist Mike Featherstone’s Lifestyle and Consumer Culture (1987) will then be reviewed to investigate how lifestyle and consumption choice can contribute to differentiate one’s identity. Last, the British cultural theorist Stuart Hall’s concept of representation will be examined and framed as a dialogue with Bourdieu’s idea of symbolic power, in order to provide an account of how common sense and meanings can be structured and produced through media representation within the symbolic system.

Available for pre-order. It will be delivered in March.