This exploratory study examined the life-histories of 21 men who were mature (27 years +), full-time students in two Scottish ancient universities. Most were first-generation entrants. Individual semi-structured interviews asked about the men's origins and lives so far. The aim was to understand men as gendered beings, and to consider the dynamics that had impacted on their lives. Though useful findings in their own right, the research also used this data to consider sociological theories of contemporary identity/ies, and to contemplate Bourdieu's theories of social-class reproduction. The legacy of trying to promote equal opportunities through education made Scotland an important test-bed for widening participation. Ancient universities were selected to throw dimensions of educational inclusion/exclusion into relief. Researching male 'first-generation' students responded to concerns that men from manual origins should return to education given the dissolution of their traditional roles. The research found few 'hybrid' identities, as experienced by first-generation students in other research. This may reflect the men's complex cultural trajectories prior to university, and distancing from former working-class origins. Adopting 'student' identities held few problems. 'Traditional' students were seen as insecure, and mature students as providing a valuable contribution to the institution. For older men, student-hood fulfilled a latent ambition. For others, 'student' added a more positive aspect to their previous identities. The post-modem celebration of playful identities was dismissed, as even playful uptakes revealed politically darker sides. There was more support for the self-reflexive identity project, which was gendered in that (with some notable exceptions) it was constructed in the context of traditional gender relationships. Bourdieu's conceptual framework was useful in explaining these 'divergent trajectories'. The Catholic community could be seen to promote a class-fraction habitus, which valued education, commitment and social networks. Residing in university-rich cities reduced the cultural distance between the men and HE, whilst the 'flexible' labour market created spaces where men from manual origins worked alongside undergraduate and graduate others. Such influences were compatible with Bourdieu' s theories. However, there was another influence that Bourdieu was less successful at explaining. The matrimonial field did not operate with the logic of other fields. Graduate women formed long-term relationships with these men, despite significant differences in their capitals. For Bourdieu, class endogemony is a key part of class reproduction. That is challenged here; human emotion cannot be reduced to simple logic. Furthermore, cities offer importance spaces for the reconfiguration of gender (as well as class) dynamics.

This study scrutinizes the mothering experiences of professional women living in istanbul. It is about class based mothering experiences of professional women, who are being influenced from both mothering and professionalisation ideology. It analyses many different aspects of mothering experience starting from the pregnancy period to the decision making about the socialization of children through their relation with the changing understanding of control on mothering experience. It is argued that professional understanding of mothering necessitates being successful and this necessity is supported by the mothering ideology assigning women as the primary responsible parent from child caring. Professional women, who have been considered as advantageous because of both their class positioning and professional role in the labor market, continue to experience the burden of the gendered structure of parenting. On the other hand, they have an active role in the reproduction of gender and class based structure.

Class-making from a Bourdieusian perspective is an ongoing process based on cultural consumption connected with a specific class. Despite significant research on cultural consumption, little attention has been paid to the internal processes that can influence class-making. Previous research showed that the emerging cultural middle class is more prone than other classes to expect others to “look down on” their media practices. Based on various media and sociological theories, this thesis explored the relationships between the emerging cultural middle class, their media consumption and internal processes of stigma. Consequently, twenty qualitative in-depth interviews with the emerging cultural middle class were conducted that explored three research questions: how does the emerging cultural middle class describe their media practices, how they think about their media practices and what they believe others think of their practices and what are the imagined social origins of the stigmatization of their media practices. Results showed that the sample was digital cultural omnivores – consuming a range of media practices. Simultaneously, they were characterized by a self-reflexivity and self-criticism, implementing the self-stigma in the form of negative beliefs and thoughts about their media practices. The anticipated stigma was connected with practices that were “unproductive” (e.g. wasting time on social media), practices that the sample was not doing (e.g. not consuming the news) and taste-related practices (e.g. listening to jazz). Furthermore, three social origins of anticipated stigma were identified – based on generational distinctions, upper positions in the social space and other lifestyles. Summarizing, this study not only explored the media consumption of the emerging cultural middle class but also the presence of internal processes that influence cultural consumption and thus the process of class-making. By being anxious and self-reflexive regarding their media practices, they “maintained rank” and adapted to the logic of the “cultural” fields they aspired to enter.

社會大眾普遍認為台灣乃是一個開放的社會，階級之間存在著流動的可能。然而，由文獻資料以及近期報導皆可發現，台灣的工人確實存在著階級流動障礙，這使得工人階級複製的現象產生。 階級複製不僅確保了資本主義的生產，更延續優勢階級的利益。在此過程中，意識形態扮演了重要角色。對此，文化馬克思主義主張以「文化」作為分析的類別，以瞭解特定階級的常識與生活方式，並進而解構意識形態對特定階級的作用。本研究藉由文獻資料與個案訪談方法，探討工人家庭與學校教育所傳遞的意識形態在階級複製過程中的作用。 雖然，現今本研究無法發掘這些受訪的工人階級，具有後馬克思主義所提的真正解放特質的反抗。然而，即使如此，以葛蘭西的觀點來看，我們可以相信工人階級潛藏的工人意識，將可藉由知識份子的表達與行動而被激發成形。觀察近來台灣的社會運動，我們知道已有知識份子起而行動，進行改革了，而這正是台灣社會開始改變的基礎。 / It is generally believed that Taiwan is an open society in which it is possible to move among classes. However, according to both recent news reports and research literature, there are in fact substantial barriers against class mobility, which, in turn, lead to the emergence of the phenomenon of working class reproduction. Class reproduction not only ensures the proper functioning of the capitalist production process, but also the preservation of the interest of the privileged classes. In this process, ideology plays an important role. Regarding this, cultural Marxism proposes using “culture” as a category for analysis in order to understand the common sense and life style of specific classes and to further deconstruct the effect of ideology on those classes. In this study, we use both reference materials from the literature as well as case studies to investigate the effect of ideology transmitted through working class families and school education on the process of class reproduction. Even though our research cannot ascertain if the working class people interviewed indeed possess the “authentic emancipatory promise” as proposed by the post-Marxists, we still could believe, in accordance to Gramsci’s point of view, the hidden class consciousness of the workers will be realized through stimulation by the expressions and actions of the intellectuals. Through observations of recent social movements in Taiwan, we realize members of the intelligentsia have already started to act to introduce reforms. This will sow the seed for the beginning of a wave of change in the Taiwanese society.

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