The (non)accumulation of capital: Explicating the relationship of structure and agency in the lives of poor black men

The concepts of habitus and capital are crucial in the research tradition o f social and cultural reproduction. This article applies both terms to an a nalysis of aspects of the life histories of low-income African American men . In exploring how their past experiences relate to their present-day statu ses as nonmobile individuals, this article also revisits and redefines the utility of habitus and capital as conceptual devices for the study of socia l inequality. It expands the empirical terrain covered by the concept of ca pital to include that which allows low-income individuals to manage their e xistence in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities while also hinderin g their mobility in the broader social world. One implication of this appro ach is an improved cultural analysis of low-income individuals. The improve ment lies in that their behavior can be better understood as reflections of their readings of social reality, which are based upon the material and id eational resources that they have accumulated throughout their lives, and n ot simply as manifestations of flawed value-systems or normative orientatio ns.