Laboring for the Man: Augmenting Authority in a Voluntary Association
Rethinking Power in Organizations, Institutions, and Markets
ISBN: 978-1-78052-664-5, eISBN: 978-1-78052-665-2
Publication date: 5 April 2012
Abstract
Drawing on Bourdieu's field, habitus, and capital, I show how disparate experiences and “dispositions” shaped several departments’ development in the organization behind the annual Burning Man event. Observations and interviews with organizers and members indicated that in departments with hierarchical professional norms or total institution-like conditions, members privileged their capital over others’ capital to enhance their authority and departmental solidarity. For another department, the availability of multiple practices in their field fostered disagreement, forcing members to articulate stances. These comparisons uncover conditions that exacerbate conflicts over authority and show how members use different types of capital to augment their authority.
Keywords
Citation
Chen, K.K. (2012), "Laboring for the Man: Augmenting Authority in a Voluntary Association", Courpasson, D., Golsorkhi, D. and Sallaz, J.J. (Ed.) Rethinking Power in Organizations, Institutions, and Markets (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 34), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 135-164. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X(2012)0000034008
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited