Abstract
Background: My short story “Macbeth of Kelantan" was written in conversation with my sociological and qualitative study, which used Pierre Bourdieu’s cultural capital theory to explore how various reading practices are valued, and the extent to which they are stratified by individual and group dispositions–or ,in Bourdesian terms, “habitus”. The study addressed why and how reading matters to an individual”s personal, private, and political lives. “Macbeth of Kelantan” drew on key themes that emerged from the critical component of the study. Aspects of the story were originally part of its accompanying piece “How to Read Shakespeare in the Post-Atomic Age” –a multi-ethnic Australian work of short-fiction that explores the value assigned to reading Shakespeare across generations.
Contribution: “Macbeth of Kelantan” contributes to a growing body of interdisciplinary research that uses Bourdesian theory outside of sociology, in order to explore how agents act relationally within specific social spaces. This narrative illustrates how individuals learn the “logic” of a game (Bourdieu 1984:110) or deploy the appropriate cultural capital to enter a field and then position themselves in an advantageous position. The story draws upon a key research finding, that while marginalised reading practices are acknowledged and valorised in specific micro-fields, they lack meaning in the broader field of power when they are not recognised by a formal institution, such as a school or university.
Significance: This story documents how those on the periphery of the colonial and post-colonial spaces have engaged with and disavowed various reading practices. More specifically, it examines the racialised positions of colonial subjects, and how symbolic violence is internalised by individuals belonging to dominated groups. Imaginative writing such as “Macbeth of Kelantan” furthers understanding of the complex interplay between agency and structures –habitus and institutions–across geo-political spaces. Notably, the inclusion of my research and writing at the 2018 AAWP conference legitimises a narrative that would have otherwise been positioned beyond the boundaries of Australian literature.
Contribution: “Macbeth of Kelantan” contributes to a growing body of interdisciplinary research that uses Bourdesian theory outside of sociology, in order to explore how agents act relationally within specific social spaces. This narrative illustrates how individuals learn the “logic” of a game (Bourdieu 1984:110) or deploy the appropriate cultural capital to enter a field and then position themselves in an advantageous position. The story draws upon a key research finding, that while marginalised reading practices are acknowledged and valorised in specific micro-fields, they lack meaning in the broader field of power when they are not recognised by a formal institution, such as a school or university.
Significance: This story documents how those on the periphery of the colonial and post-colonial spaces have engaged with and disavowed various reading practices. More specifically, it examines the racialised positions of colonial subjects, and how symbolic violence is internalised by individuals belonging to dominated groups. Imaginative writing such as “Macbeth of Kelantan” furthers understanding of the complex interplay between agency and structures –habitus and institutions–across geo-political spaces. Notably, the inclusion of my research and writing at the 2018 AAWP conference legitimises a narrative that would have otherwise been positioned beyond the boundaries of Australian literature.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | TEXT: Journal of Writing and Writing Courses |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | Special issue 57 |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |
