Capital

  There are some sociological concepts and theories that I have great respect for and have fallen in love with.  One of these concepts that I find most fascinating was written by Bourdieu, which that in a nutshell states that there are three types of capital which people have on varying levels and the interplay of these determines your social standing.  The three types are divided into social capital, (who you know and their connections), cultural capital, (what you know about culture i.e. art/music) and the rather straightforward economic capital. This is an oversimplification of the theory but it will suffice so that my story makes sense to those who are unfamiliar with Bourdieu.
            The morning started out with a simple lecture in which we discussing the climate and culture of recent Turkish politics. Then Elif asked what we would like to do over the last few days so that we had a little background on the papers that we will write when we get back.  Sarah said she was thinking about writing on journalism and the lack of free speech in Turkish media.  Elif mentioned that she had a friend that works for ATV (one of the major Turkish networks) and she would give him a call. This is when the capital exchange and for me the magic happened. Elif has a good deal of social capital because of her experiences as an educator and as a native of Istanbul and is able to leverage some types of capital for others.  This was the case which allowed us to visit the news station, she used her social capital to gain us admission and we in turn from the experience gained cultural and social capital.  This was a super interesting experience for me particularly because it’s a theory that has made sense to me and seeing it work in action was a validation of sorts. 
            When we actually arrived at the station it felt like we were treated like very important people.  This was due to the fact that Elif’s friend is a producer and has large amounts of social capital in the station as well as in Turkey in general.  We were given the chance to interview an executive editor as well as an anchor and a journalist.  Throughout the conversations with the staff at the station we gained insight into how the news media functions and its role in national politics as well an experience that not many people have the opportunity to indulge in.  This unique experience resulted in an increase of the cultural capital for the group.  Now that I have seen the exchange of the forms of capital as laid out by Bourdieu I have a deeper respect for the field of sociology.  It is now readily apparent to me that I have chosen the perfect field for myself and I am excited to more of the theoretical transform into reality.