Oh Mon Dieu....I mean Bourdieu,

After the discussion last week regarding signified and signifier, the meaning of a work, and even beauty…..(anne-claire J ). It was interesting to see the different take this week. It delved into much of what Moustapha was saying in that yes there may be an underlying meaning behind certain things but in the end it is us, the audience, the people buying the books, the people reading the works, that interpret it as we see fit. The view that we take on is not only influenced by our experiences and knowledge but lack there. Not many people, including myself, may understand the works of many well-known authors in literature. It is not for lack of trying but perhaps lack of previous experience (in my case… I will own up to that), lack of education, or even lack of interest.

Either way, it is us who decide what is great and what is not….of course, one could argue that there are other external factors that come into play, especially now of days. With all the hoop-la in the world, it seems that many authors have gained a large amount of exposure and fame due to their financial benefactors and supporters. Such attention can turn the sales of a book from 100s to 1,000s to millions in little to no time at all. Of course, this then leads to the questions: Do the sales of a book determine its value against other books? Which then leads to…what is the value of a book and how is it truly established?

I feel that Bourdieu would say that the value of the book relies on people’s tastes, which are sometimes shaped by the social order they have created for themselves or have come to accept as truth…. or am I way off?

I found his take on social order to be very interesting. I can admit that I myself have come to seeing things in certain ways due to personal experiences within society. For example, while working at a private school in Houston, I came to learn what real “designer” bags, shoes, and clothes looked like and meant to the mothers of the children attending our school. And, I even witnessed many instances in which parents spoke differently to one another after looking at artificial things such as one’s attire, car, etc. They seemed to have categorized other people into social classes lower than their own. All I can say is that I hope never to be a member of such a group…or am I part of one and don’t know it Bourdieu?