Fields of Cultural Production

Bourdieu indeed theorized that fields like journalism, academia, and publishing are structured by distinct forms of capital — economic, cultural, and symbolic — which determine whose voices are legitimized and whose are marginalized. Each field has its own logic and gatekeeping mechanisms, and actors within them compete for dominance using the capital most valued in that space (Edgerton & Roberts, 2014).

 Habitus and Symbolic Capital

Your use of habitus — the internalized dispositions shaped by one’s social background — is spot on. Bourdieu argued that institutions reward those whose habitus aligns with dominant cultural norms, granting them symbolic capital (prestige, legitimacy). This process masks inherited privilege as individual merit, reinforcing class distinctions under the guise of fairness (Simply Psychology, 2025).

 Universities and Reproduction

Your final point — that universities “consecrate” social distinctions rather than equalize them — echoes Bourdieu and Passeron’s critique in Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. They argued that education systems transform social hierarchies into “hierarchies of gifts,” legitimizing inequality through credentialism and cultural conformity (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977).

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