Street talk and Bourdieusian criminology: Bringing narrative to field theory

Sveinung Sandberg,Jennifer Fleetwood

doi:10.1177/1748895816672909

Sveinung Sandberg, Jennifer Fleetwood

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895816672909

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Abstract

The work of Bourdieu has increasingly gained interest in criminology. His theoretical framework is rich and arguably the most sophisticated approach to social inequality and difference in sociology. It has however, been criticized for bias towards the structural aspects of social life, and for leaving little space for the constitutive, and creative role of language. We argue for the inclusion of narrative for understanding street fields. Based on qualitative interviews with 40 incarcerated drug dealers in Norway, we describe the narrative repertoire of the street field, including stories of crime business, violence, drugs and the ‘hard life’. The narrative repertoire is constituted by street capital, but also upholds and produces this form of capital. Street talk is embedded in objective social and economic structures and displayed in the actors’ habitus. Narratives bind the street field together: producing social practices and social structure.

Highlights

Anders was a mid-level amphetamine dealer with a long history of drug use and crime
A wide array of stories appeared in data that could have been categorized as street talk, but here we focus on those we consider to be most important for the street field
Bourdieusian studies of the street field illustrate the importance of social structure in shaping individual action, through the notions of street habitus, capital and field

Summary

Introduction

Anders was a mid-level amphetamine dealer with a long history of drug use and crime. He was in prison and committed to drug treatment at the time of the interview. A mid-level cannabis dealer with a similar life-story, stated: “What the fuck am I going to talk about? Anders and Henrik possessed a wide repertoire of stories and vocabularies– their street talk – borne of, and belonging to, the street field. These had been invaluable in the street, they formed an invisible barrier to mainstream society

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