Habitus

Formally, Bourdieu defines habitus as a property of social agents (whether individuals, groups or institutions) that comprises a "structured and structuring structure" (1994d: 170).

It is "structured" by one's past and present circumstances, such as family upbringing and educational experiences.
It is "structuring" in that one's habitus helps to shape one's present and future practices.

It is a "structure" in that it is sysematically ordered rather than random or unpatterned. This "sturcutre" comprises a system of dispositions which generate perceptions, appreciations and practices (1990c:53). The term "disposition" is crucial for brining together these ideas of structure and tendency:

"It expresses first the result of an organizing action, with a meaning close to that of words such as structure; it also designates a way of being, a habitual state (especially of the body) and, in particular, a predisposition, tendency, propensity, or inclination. (1977b: 214).

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"Unconscious relationship" between a habitus and a field.

[(habitus)(capital)] + field = practice.


Practice results from relations between one's dispositions (habitus) and one's position in a field (capital), within the current state of play of that social arena (field).
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