Why Cultural Capital Is Fluid

The concept of social class has been around for ages and is still a part of today’s society. Social class is not only based on the individual’s wealth but also on their social standing such as; monarchs, priests, nobles, merchants, and peasant class. The peasant class was practically ignored, which means that the higher classes would only pay attention to each other. This can be the case in society today, there are some people who feel that their career makes them higher than a janitor. Even though humans have been around for centuries, social class is still a big issue.

Each of these groups is stratified into its own class; the group of people ranked most closely to them in property, power, and prestige. A person’s position in the stratification system affects everything about their life, from what they think and expect in life to how they see the world, as well as what opportunities they will have access to. Although, your status is still assigned at birth, but you have the chance at upward social mobility based on material possessions that you acquire, or things that you achieve. Or you may be on the other end of the spectrum and experience downward social

Society is set up into a hierarchical triangle that essentially determines social class. A social class is any person or group of people with the same educational, social or economical status. Social class can be broken down into many different categories such as race, age, gender, economic status, educational status and many more. Social class can be measured in many different ways such as financial status, family values, appearance, and demeanor. In America there are six main economical social classes which are the: Very poor, Poor, Working class, Middle class, Upper middle class, and the ruling class.

Social stratification also ties in with social location because depending on one’s social location one is thrown into, their class system is assigned, “…any society will consist of levels that relate to each other in terms of superordination and subordination, be it in power, privilege or prestige” (78). This is a system of ranking, and one’s position is usually determined though economic criteria. One’s level may change however; “…a class society is one in which there is typically a high degree of social mobility” (79). A persons class position will determine their life experiences based on their opportunities available, Max Weber explain that “ones class position yields certain probabilities or life chances…” (79). Role theory explains how one’s actions and identity is socially bestowed and sustained. A role is defined as “a typified response to a typified

Social class is defined as 'people having the same social or economic status' (Wordnet). In contemporary American society, social class is based on the amount of money and property you have and also prestige. Prestige is given to a person through the line of work or the family that they come from. For example, upper-upper class member Jennifer Lopez reeks of prestige not only because she has millions of dollars in her bank account, but she has very expensive luxuries, cars, and houses.

Pierre Bourdieu developed the concept of cultural capital in order to attempt to explain the differences in educational outcomes in France during the 1960’s. Cultural capital is theorised as the forms of knowledge, skill, education; any advantages a person has which, give them a higher status in society, including high expectations (Nick Stevenson, 1995.pp.46-48). This differentiates economic and social status from the class agenda which, is rigidly sustained through an exclusive cycle. Cultural capital itself can be used in analysis of the class system, and how the dominant aesthetic and ideology is sustained from generation to generation.

Social class: social class is normally linked to a person’s income and the sort of job they do. People may discriminate against other people because they are of a different social class to themselves.

Class is important as it can determine various aspects that will have a significant impact and influence on how people’s lives are shaped. Feminists have argued for other things to be included such as social divisions to show how they intersect with class. Economic inequalities can have an impact on class as they can determine a person’s status, wealth, income and lifestyle. Class is important as social inequalities exists amongst the rich and poor. Important social factors include poverty, health and education. A person’s identity is just as important as their class. People may face discrimination due to their identity, whether that may be due to their gender, age, ethnicity or disability. Social mobility is where people are in a different social class now from which they were brought up in. However sociologists argue that class is less important in contemporary society today than it once used to be.

Social class refers to the system of stratification of the different groups of people in a society. These different forms of classification are, in most instances, based on gender ethnicity and age. Social class makes everyone’s lives extremely different. For example: How long one can expect to live. In a wide range of ways, from success, to one’s health class, social class influences people’s lives (Grusky,2003).

People may think that social classes have an effect on what influences there how they are treated and what relationships they have, others may believe it has to do with success. The way people are treated can be based on anything from there beliefs, relationship, succeeds, and most importantly where belong in the social classes. It is very important what relationships you have and how others treat you based on your class because it sets your reputation. Overall, no matter what traits you have,who you know, where you come from, your class is very important and can play a big role someone's life. A person's social class can change from being in the lower to higher class, however it can also change from being in the higher to lower class as well. A thousand Splendid Suns is a novel written by Khaled Hosseini in which ideas are being analysed between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, relationships, and taliban control.

Social class describes the different "layers" that exist in society. These "layers," or classes in society, are a division that civilization has been running on ever since the beginning of mankind. In most modern societies, our system of social class division is one of opportunity. We experience a good deal of social mobility, where people through generations or in their own lifetime can move up or down the social scale. By examining the many different perceptions of social class along with S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, it is illustrated that social class has an impact on people while they are growing up, and will usually deny them from rising above adversity.

In reality class always matters and it shapes our interests in life. We all come from different background and ethnicity. I believe that class is shaped mainly by income and occupation. However, many people think if a person is wealthy, therefore, he belongs in the upper class. But there are other factors that define class and it is more than just how much money you have. It can be the network of people that surrounds, traditions, and academic status that can also define class. Many of it has to do in which family you have been born and network that creates it. All of my family members have been born and raised in Russia; they completed universities, got jobs, and had enough income to support a family. “Each of us is born into a family with a particular class identity and class history—sometimes it is a mixed or hybrid identity—but almost always it is part of a network of other relationships—to other families in a community, to work and jobs, and to institutions” (Zandy 112).

Social class is defined as a label that categorizes individuals based on their economic status, wealth, and

Social Class is a division of a society based on social and economic status. In today’s society there are three main social groups in America: upper, middle, and lower class; these rankings are contributed by mass amounts of factors, but one of the main factors that people cannot control is their race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity, likewise as gender, can also play a part in a variety of other concerns such as, education level, income, and where you reside.

Class is the relative location of a person or group within a larger society based on wealth power, prestige, or other valued resources. In other words, class can be defined as a socioeconomic status in which one’s capital defines their class position thus giving us a ranking of financial status. This categorization of class position is based on economic status that can be determined through income, profession, or inherited wealth. Blue collar (working class), white collar, and upper class (professional services) are the three class categories based on economic status. This class structure is society’s way of determining between the haves and have-nots. One’s ability to be aware of the class system and one’s place within it is known as class consciousness or class standing.