Nicole Norris Case

Nicole Norris

Professor Holz

Diversity in America

June 21, 2012

Cultural Capital (More or Less)

After interviewing my male subject, I found that we have many things that make us similar. For starters, we are both non-traditional college students taking the same diversity course at the same time each week. We both have siblings and we are both part of the working class. We both question authority when needed although neither one of us is working full-time right now. We are both focusing on our goals as college students and are both striving to do our work in this class so we can receive the credits needed to move on in our college careers. My male subject and I are lovers of seafood and we do not like white bread. We both are believers in a higher power and we both actually read novels.

Some of the things that make my male subject and me different are that he actually owns and rides a motorcycle and I am only at the dreaming stage. He has 2 sisters to my one, but I have quite a few more step-siblings than he. Both of our parents went to high school; however, neither one of his parents finished. Both of my parents finished high-school and my mother attended and graduated from Business College. My male subject and I have also elected to go different routes in our college majors. He is majoring in Computer Information Systems and me, Sociology and Social Work. We both like Dodges, but he drives a pick-up and I drive a car. I guess, since this paragraph is about differences, I can mention that he is white male and I am black female.

Academically, cultural capital is defined as "forms of knowledge, both tangible and intangible, that have value in a given society in relation to status and power." The text book defines cultural capital as "The status characteristics that can determine a person's social opportunity." Cultural capital defines how people (human) engage each other (social) and their resources (economic). Whether the culture of an organization is good or bad - cultural capital is created when values, traditions, beliefs and language become the currency to leverage other types of capital. In social situations, cultural capital gives one a leg up based on knowledge, experience and education.

Right now, I believe