Table of Contents

Main Points

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Habitus

One of the main points illustrated about Practice theory by Bordieu in the article “Structures, Habitus, Practices” is the concept of habitus. Habitus is explained in the article to be “systems of durable, transposable dispositions, structured structures predisposed to function as structuring structures, that is as a principles which generate and organize practices and representations that can be objectively adapted to their outcomes without presupposing a conscious aiming at ends or an express mastery of the operations necessary in order to attain them.” In laments terms, habitus can be defined as being the collective set of practices and habits that an individual or collective group partakes in on a day to day basis. By looking at how habitus materializes, we can see the similarities between individuals and classes who are more likely to undergo the same experiences and understand how these have become homogenized to become a symbol of a culture. 

Key Figures

Pierre Bourdieu

Sherry Ortner

Key Texts

Outline of a Theory of Practice by Pierre Bordieu

Practice theory seeks to find the context of events that a structuralist theory is unable to address and/or explain. Pierre Bordieu's Outline of a Theory of Practice is centralized on habitus, unconscious behavior that is constructed and limited by an individual's previous experiences, or as Bordieu defines it "spontaneity without consciousness or will" (56).  In direct contrast to structuralism, practice theory believes social structures to be set forth and defined by the action's of the people, in particular habitus. He theorizes that, to an extent, structures also influence one's habitus, but only in regards to social "norms" that have already been set fourth by society. In this respect, habitus and institutionalization coexist in self-perpetuating cycles.

Anthropology and Social Theory: Culture, Power and the Acting Subject by Sherry Ortner 

Sherry Ortner’s Anthropology and Social Theory draws on Practice Theory to offer solutions to modern problems. On page 3 of the book she writes that Practice Theory suggests restoring "the actor to the social process without losing sight of the larger structures that constrain (but also enable) social action". In this book Ortner rethinks key concepts of culture, agency and subjectivity in order to apply them to anthropology in the twenty-first century. The book is comprised of seven essays, both of interpretive and theoretical nature. She argues that the concept of culture needs to be reconfigured and suggests applying elements of Practice Theory in order to do this. She stresses the notion of human agency and demonstrates how social theories must build upon one another in order to be relevant in modern contexts. 

Central Problems in Social Theory: Action, Structure, and Contradiction in Social Analysis by Anthony Gidden 



Critiques

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