Here We Are: Past and Present

Blog- 6 Here I Am:  Now and Past

PatBc

9.27.11

            Bourdieu (Structures, Habitat, Practices, 1990) argues that individual agency is determined by habitus.  Each of us acts out complex roles that are played out in a particular manner through a compilation of structured dispositions or traits.  It is the dispositions that determine how we view and practice a particular role, many of which are designed through cultural and community interactions.  I realize that many of these actions are based on meaningful connections gained through introspection, many of which are the outcomes through academic and spiritual study.  Looking beyond me through others’ actions is important yet I am not quite sure if it completely defines who I am.

            Reflexivity (Babcock, Reflexivity: Definitions and discriminations) truly helps to make meaning of connections with others and can alter our acceptance of others and self even through conflicting perspectives.  For instance Lawless (“I was afraid someone like you…an outsider…would misunderstand”, 1992) gained new insight into defining roles of women and men.   She tried desperately to make meaning of the roles and practices of the pastor as a female only to discover greater awareness of her dispositions through the conflicts of perception of the pastor and her codified society (Swartz,   Habitus:  A cultural Theory of Action, 1997) Lawless’ habitus deeply grounded in academic behaviors limited her understanding of Sister Anna. 

 

The researcher’s effect in study is dependent on the relationship with the interviewee.   Christensen (Mac and Gravy,) conveys this view through a window of warmth, caring, and understanding of the complex roles of his mother.   He observes his mother in both subjective and objective views through her various roles predicated by habitus. Her habitus shaped by the varied experiences of the institutions and female dispositions distinct through individual responses.   The mother’s roles took on deep meanings that affected her family’s social interactions and the family would react to her roles dependent on the behavior she depicted.  Her mood was affected not only by the dad’s dominant provider role but also the house and neighborhood.  However, she portrayed another person who came to life through the rituals of cooking Sicilian dishes triggered by vivid and positive memories of cooking within her mother’s kitchen.  As researchers, we must be cognizant of our roles yet build relationships with the interviewees that allow for greater depths into the understanding of others, self, and society