Challenging Bourdieu’s Theory: Dialogic Interaction as a Means to Provide Access to Highbrow Culture for All

Abstract

According to Bourdieu, class position is related to cultural capital, taste, and preferences. Accordingly, the author states that, because of their “habitus,” those from high social classes have higher cultural capital and preferences for highbrow culture, which gives them more chances to succeed in life. On the contrary, those from low social classes have lower cultural capital because of their lowbrow cultural preferences, which makes it more difficult for them to achieve in a system that favors the dominant classes. Through the review of articles on Dialogic Literary Gatherings published in peer-reviewed journals, this article aims to provide more insights on how the principles of dialogic learning occur. The results of the review challenge Bourdieu’s concept of “habitus,” providing evidence of how socioeconomic status (SES) is not determinant to cultural capital.

Promoting high‐quality interactions among early childhood education minority students: a case study of dialogic literary gatherings

“…Understanding classical literature is not exclusive to the elite (Torras- Gómez et al, 2021); adults without basic education, children in primary and their families enjoy reading classic works (Ruiz-Eugenio et al, 2023). Participants are well aware of the intrinsic value of literary classics as tools to reflect on their experiences and imagine and work towards any possible future (Torras- Gómez et al, 2021). Lenhart et al (2023) concluded using a longitudinal study that among diverse types of literature, the results of their research do confirm that reading modern classic literature predicts more prosocial behaviour and better social adjustment in the future, with no such beneficial effects observed for nonfiction and other types of literature.…”

“…DLGs have been widely analysed and shown to promote high-quality instructional, emotional and social interactions in adult and primary education (Fernández-Villardón et al, 2021;Soler, 2015). Previous research has also found that DLGs can promote prosocial behaviour, better integration of students with disabilities and social inclusion of vulnerable groups in primary education (Molina, 2015;Villardón-Gallego et al, 2018).…”

“It was Very Liberating”. Dialogic Literary Gatherings Supporting Mental Health Literacy

“…Reading and commenting on a classic book in DLGs lead to experiencing works of art that, contrary to what is often claimed, are accessible to everyone, not just to those belonging to the so-called high culture (Soler-Gallart, 2017;Torras-Gómez et al, 2021;Lopez de Aguileta, 2021). Research has shown that DLG promotes language and communication skills García et al, 2017a;López de Aguileta, 2019;Santiago-Garabieta et al, 2022) as well as relationships of friendship and respect that are felt to be enriching (Flecha, 2015), a sense of community (García et al, 2017a), solidarity (García-Carrión, 2015), prosocial behaviour (Villardón-Gallego et al, 2018) and improvements in terms of emotional well-being, self-concept and self-esteem of the participants García et al, 2017a), so that it helps to overcome stereotypes (García et al, 2017a) and especially people with more difficult life trajectories live a truly inclusive experience in DLGs (Flecha, 2015).…”

Dialogic Literary Gatherings: Opening Up Spaces of Meaning Creation and Social Transformation for Roma People

“…DLGs break the social stereotype that non-academic people cannot read, enjoy and debate classic literature (Torras- Gómez et al, 2021).With the creation of DLGs, Flecha and adult participants with no academic studies showed that dialogue is a key to social transformation. Roma participants like Antonio, whose story will be shared later, show that engaging in dialogues that connect the best literary works with their own life experiences and sentiments contributes to crafting desired futures for themselves and their families (Aubert, 2015;Munté, 2015), despite concepts such as habitus which hinder their educational and social success.…”

“…DLGs are among the Successful Educational Actions (SEAs) which are improving academic achievements and social cohesion among Roma communities, contributing to reducing the already existing inequalities among such vulnerable community (Flecha & Soler, 2013). In spite of racist and reproductionist stereotypes that portray Roma families as not interested in education, research has shown that when they are included in SEAs which seek all children's academic and social success, they are key agents of social change for the Roma community and society at large (Aiello et al, 2019;Girbés-Peco et al, 2019;Khalfaoui et al, 2020;Munté et al, 2020) Envisioning all human beings' potentialities rather than focusing on reproductionist speeches, DLGs transform their own expectations and selfimage by opening up a dialogic space to read, debate and enjoy some of the best literary works of all time (Torras- Gómez et al, 2021).…”