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Cultural Conflict: The Implications of Changing Dispositions Among the Upwardly Mobile
Author(s) -
Curl Heather,
Lareau Annette,
Wu Tina
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
sociological forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.937
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1573-7861
pISSN - 0884-8971
DOI - 10.1111/socf.12461
Subject(s) - habitus , sociology , white (mutation) , social psychology , qualitative research , psychology , gender studies , cultural capital , social science , biochemistry , chemistry , gene
The accounts of upwardly mobile professionals can shed light on conflict and cultural dispositions (what Bourdieu referred to as habitus). There are currently few empirical studies investigating the specific aspects of the habitus that might change or the implications of these changes on cross‐class relationships. Drawing on qualitative interviews with a total of 30 white and African American upwardly mobile individuals, we explore three ways in which upwardly mobile individuals experience a shift in their habitus and the implications of these changes on interactions with family members, friends, and colleagues. Specifically, upwardly mobile professionals report significant change in their dispositions toward new experiences and “horizons,” food and health, and language and communication. These changes foster “flashpoints” of conflict with non‐upwardly mobile family members. We find that whites and African Americans report very similar types of conflicts, but African Americans in our study downplay the conflict more than their white counterparts.