Habitus and reflexivity in tandem? Insights from postcolonial Sri Lanka

Abstract

This paper contributes to the unresolved concern about the relationship between habitus and reflexivity. Using Sri Lanka, a postcolonial social-context as the research ground, the paper provides a contemporary interpretation of individuals' reflexive and habitual behaviour that displaces Bourdieu's concept of habitus as inappropriate for the representation of 21 st century social dynamics. While Sri Lanka is often labelled a traditional society, where habitual, routine, pre-reflexive action is thought to be more common, studies that question this generalised view appear to be largely absent. Therefore, based on a critical realist morphogenetic perspective that renders the analytical possibility of both routine and conscious action, this paper investigates the role of habitus and reflexivity through seventyfive work and life histories gathered from Sri Lanka. The findings suggest that even the reproduction of traditional practices have increasingly become a reflexive task; thus, this work supports the position that habitus fails to provide reliable guidance to understand social-action, even within a society labelled as traditional.

A critical realist exploration of entrepreneurship as complex, reflexive and myriad

“…Archer's framework demonstrates how individuals' everyday reflexivity can be used to explain the way individuals subjectively mediate the objective social influence upon themselves (Wimalasena and Marks 2019). Diversity in life-journeys results from the variety of involuntary life circumstances and the choices individuals subsequently make.…”

“…While these four dominant reflexive modalities enable understanding the dynamics involve in the patterning of life-journeys, Archer allows much flexibility in that individuals may shift their initial reflexive orientations in responding to social influence. Individuals also may practice provisional reflexive modes as a response to synchronic and diachronic factors during the course of life (Wimalasena 2017;Wimalasena and Marks 2019). While Archer's morphogenic framework can yield useful insights into contemporary social action, her approach is not without criticism, as discussed below.…”

“…While most of these trades were ascribed with low-caste status, some individuals succeeded in becoming renowned entrepreneurs, representing new middle-class, challenging their birth-ascribed identities to some extent (Jayewardena 2007). What has emerged today therefore is the complex coexistence of a traditional social system characterized by agriculture, tradition and caste, and a more modern Westernized market economy-based society typified by social class (Wimalasena and Marks 2019).…”

“…Individuals are oriented to different reflexive modes with distinct ultimate life concerns and consciously craft their life journeys in diverse ways to satisfy these. In accomplishing a life of their own, individuals may also practice provisional reflexive modes if that enables satisfying ultimate life concerns: a theoretical position that makes the MA a non-deterministic methodological approach (Wimalasena and Marks 2019). Archer thus provides a typology of reflexivity in which she assumes that not all agents approach their lives in the same way.…”

The practice of informal tourism entrepreneurs: a Bourdieusian perspective

“…This hysteresis effect happens when the habitus lags behind the changes in the social structure and habitus needs to catch up. Although Bourdieu argues that in such circumstances habitus might become dysfunctional leading to failure, he does not provide further explanation on how individuals can respond to this discrepancy (Wimalasena & Marks, 2019).…”