<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The objective of this paper is to examine in which way the use of the oral and written discourse in Julian Barnes’s novel The Sense of an Ending (2011) reflects, on the one hand, a social hierarchy based on classificatory cultural, intellectual, and educational competencies and resources and, on the other, dominance strategies and power relations developed among the principal actors. It will be investigated how trivial discussions and letters exchanged between friends are deployed in order to sustain or eliminate control over the other(s) and indicate status positions. The proposed methodological framework of analysis is founded on Bourdieu’s approach to cultural capital, according to which cultural preferences are markers of social stratification, while highbrow aesthetic judgment is both a means to, and a stake in, upward social mobility. Foucault’s theory of a “decentralised” and ubiquitous power, dispersed at all levels and defined as an action directed to other people’s actions, will also be applied.</p>
</abstract>

The objective of this paper is to examine in which way the use of the oral and written discourse in Julian Barnes’s novel The Sense of an Ending (2011) reflects, on the one hand, a social hierarchy based on classificatory cultural, intellectual, and educational competencies and resources and, on the other, dominance strategies and power relations developed among the principal actors. It will be investigated how trivial discussions and letters exchanged between friends are deployed in order to sustain or eliminate control over the other(s) and indicate status positions. The proposed methodological framework of analysis is founded on Bourdieu’s approach to cultural capital, according to which cultural preferences are markers of social stratification, while highbrow aesthetic judgment is both a means to, and a stake in, upward social mobility. Foucault’s theory of a “decentralised” and ubiquitous power, dispersed at all levels and defined as an action directed to other people’s actions, will also be applied.

Discourse, Cultural Capital and Power Relations in Julian Barnes’s <italic>The Sense of an Ending</italic>

Prague Journal of English Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Discourse, Cultural Capital and Power Relations in Julian Barnes’s 

The objective of this paper is to examine in which way the use of the oral and written discourse in Julian Barnes’s novel The Sense of an Ending (2011)...

Discourse, Cultural Capital and Power Relations in Julian Barnes’s The Sense of an Ending

Published Online: Oct 05, 2021

Page range: 91 - 107

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pjes-2021-0006

Keywords
Julian Barnes, discourse, cultural capital, power

© 2021 Eleftheria Karagianni, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Discourse, Cultural Capital and Power Relations in Julian Barnes’s The Sense of an Ending

Published Online: Oct 05, 2021

Page range: 91 - 107

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pjes-2021-0006

KeywordsJulian Barnes, discourse, cultural capital, power

© 2021 Eleftheria Karagianni, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Julian Barnes, discourse, cultural capital, power