Ku biograficznemu badaniu doświadczenia klasy ludowej. Krytyka metodologicznego podejścia Pierre’a Bourdieu
Towards a Biographical Study of Working Class Experience. The Critique of Pierre Bourdieu’s Methodological Approach

Summary/Abstract: Pierre Bourdieu uses biographical sources to a very limited extent, providing an incomplete image of popular classes (including the representation of the author’s own socialization). The use of autobiographical sources from different cultures and historical periods makes it possible to discuss the relatively stable cultural patterns within the popular class. The article compares two autobiographical images: the classical work of Richard Hoggart on the British working (popular) class in the mid-twentieth century and the portrait of a modern working class in the USA created by Alfred Lubrano. A comparison of the two allows to distinguish seven groups of cultural patterns, connected with (1) the community life centered around the house, (2) values (seemingly paradoxical coexistence of conservatism and tolerance in popular class), (3) using body as a commodity, (4) accepted ways of communication, (5) three types of practicality, (6) culinary taste, and (7) ways of managing a household budget. This material allows to demonstrate the methodological possibilities offered by the extension of the methodological perspective of Pierre Bourdieu by the biographical approach.

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