Socio-symbolic homologies: Exploring Paul Willis’ theory of cultural forms

Abstract

Thirty years have passed since Paul Willis formulated a theory of cultural forms in the appendix to his seminal work Profane Culture. In this article we are driven by the conviction that Willis’ theory is a forgotten treasure trove that needs to be recovered, challenged and developed. The argument is guided by three aims. First, we provide a construction of the theory’s main content. Second, we search for possibilities of enlarging the content and scope of his theory. Third, we reconstruct one of the basic underlying arguments of Willis’ theory, that cultural items in themselves carry a given meaning in relation to social groups. In so doing we partly reconstruct Willis’ understanding of ‘objective’ possibilities as something essentially given in time and space. We utilize the example of the car make Cadillac to demonstrate that cultural items also attract because they are already occupied by socioculturally constructed systems of meaning.

Inovação no mercado de baixa renda: um estudo com base na produção simbólica e reprodução cultural

“…Symbolic production can be perceived through symbolic articulations, which express meanings of decision in interpersonal and inter-organizational relationships between peers and within hierarchical structures in society and in the market (McCracken, 1986(McCracken, , 1990. In other words, symbolic articulations are not direct representations of reality, they are symbolizations of how individuals understand themselves and relate within a culturally constituted society (Trondman et al, 2011), these aspects influence the way people buy embedded in society.…”

“…The anthropological notes on symbolic meanings are related to the recent literature on consumer behavior because consumers share meanings in products that reflect their cultural values. The symbolic use of the products lies in the consumer's ability to decode the meanings of the products and assign their own values to the identity sought to them (Belk, 1988(Belk, , 2005Tsai, 2005;Trondman et al, 2011). Therefore, symbolic production can be considered an antecedent to the adoption of innovation.…”

“…Culture is an ongoing process of construction, deconstruction and reconstruction of meanings, that is, it has the connotation of a con-tinuous cycle of "re-production", hence, cultural reproduction (Jenks, 1993;Sahlins, 1976). Consumption based on culture is symbolic representations that form a set of beliefs and values affecting the existence and social behavior of individuals (Wattanasuwan, 2005;Trondman et al, 2011). Thus, culture is the formation of the relations of human actions, understood as symbolic articulations that produce symbolic meanings constructed collectively in society and culturally reproduced in the market (Tsai, 2005;Cross and Street, 2009), consequently affecting the level of innovation adoption.…”

“…Thus, cultural reproduction is expressed through the engagement and interaction of individuals and organizations, in society and in the market. This engagement is represented by consumption, based on representations of physical and symbolic aspects which society and the market reproduce according to their cultural logic (Douglas and Isherwood, 1996;Trondman et al, 2011). Through these representations and cultural reproductions, acquisitions indicate the opinions of individuals and organizations (Belk, 2005;Tsai, 2005).…”

Learning to stay in school: Selection, retention and identity processes in a Danish vocational educational training programme of basic health and care

“…In our work, we are inspired by the British tradition of Cultural Studies (Thompson 1980;Hall and Jefferson 2006;Hall 1996;Skeggs 2002;Mac and Ghaill 1988) and, more specifically, the work of Paul Willis (1977;1978) and the recent discussions on and revisions of his work (Dolby and Dimitriadis 2004;Willis 2004;Trondman, Lund and Lund 2011). Generally, we will use Willis' seminal work, Learning to Labor, as a historical contrast to understand the situation of today -as also Arnot (2004), Apple (2004) and Weis (2004) have done.…”