FORMS OF CAPITAL AND SOCIAL-STRUCTURE IN CULTURAL FIELDS - EXAMINING BOURDIEU SOCIAL TOPOGRAPHY

This article tests one key assumption of Bourdieu's theory of culture fields: that actors are positioned in a ''topography'' of social relat ions according to their endowments of economic, social, and cultural c apital. Blockmodeling procedures are used to analyze data on German wr iters and to identify a social structure in which positions vary accor ding to the types and amounts of capital accumulated. A strong split b etween elite and marginal writers dominates the social structure, and even the fundamental distinction between high and low culture is embed ded in this bipartition. Significant differences in both cultural and social capital distinguish elite from nonelite positions; within this bipartition, pronounced differences in cultural capital separate high and low culture. Relative to cultural and social capital, economic cap ital plays a lesser role in understanding the social structure of cult ural fields.