Internet Exercises

Bourdieu thought that consumer culture is stratified on the basis of social class. One significant marker for status is the kind of automobile that someone drives. Go to the website of automobiles.com (http://www.automobiles.com) and select "research, price and compare."

1. Select Price and choose a price range. What do the cars in this price range have in common? What do you think they "say" about the people who drive these types of cars?
2. Select Vehicle Class and choose a class of vehicles. What do the cars in this class have in common? What do you think they "say" about the people who drive this class of car? Look at the section on "Vehicles for your lifestyle." Did you say something similar?
3. Based on what you know about Bourdieu's theory and what you know about Mass Society theory, which do you think better explains how people choose cars?
4. Automobiles are stratified by price and are also differentiated by function. How do you think functional differentiation could fit into Bourdieu's theory of distinction?

Go to the website at http://www.io.com/~wwwave/ and answer the following questions about the relationship between oppression and resistance.

1. What are the designers of the 3^rd WWWAVE website resisting?
2. What forces put women in the position they are in?
3. How can women resist oppression?