 THE MIDDLE CLASSES AND THEIR ARISTOCRATIC OTHERSSteph Lawler Journal of Cultural Economy, 2008, vol. 1, issue 3, 245-261 Abstract: This article considers English middle-classness in terms of identity, dispositions and manners, in the context of a project of middle-class self-distinction from the aristocracy. Taking as a case study broadsheet press coverage of the break-up of the relationship between Prince William and Kate Middleton, it examines the ways in which such coverage uses the concept of ‘class’ in two senses: as an artificial system, and as a (naturalized) property of the person. These two meanings of class slide into each other, so that class contempt can be used against persons who are seen to lack the appropriate, ‘natural’ qualities. Using Bourdieu's concept of habitus and its related notion of ‘generative forgetting’, I argue that the naturalization of middle-classed dispositions is an important means through which class is deployed in contemporary England. When (as in this case study) some challenge is seen to be mounted to this naturalization, a whole symbolic economy of taste and manners is seen as being undermined and the anxieties around middle-class existence are revealed. Date: 2008 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:jculte:v:1:y:2008:i:3:p:245-261 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/17530350802476954 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Cultural Economy is currently edited by Michael Pryke, Joe Deville, Tony Bennett, Liz McFall and Melinda Cooper More articles in Journal of Cultural Economy from Taylor & Francis Journals |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.