Hotels and hoteliers on the coast

sociogenesis of the seafront occupation in Maceió-AL (1900-1979)

Abstract

The process of coastalization evokes the calculation of the coastal area’s carrying capacity. In this article, we use Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology to argue that a sociogenesis of coastal occupation precedes the calculation of its carrying capacity. We assume that the physical space of the coast is a reified social space, as it reflects the symbolic struggles of its social agents. We use prosopography to outline the initial contours of the social space of seaside hoteliers in Maceió, Alagoas, from 1900 to 1979. Our results show three typologies of hotels: The mansion hotel, the modern vertical hotel, and the beachfront resort, which occupy distinct positions in the field according to the distribution of capitals among the hoteliers. The determining factors that distinguish the social agents are cultural capital (education) and social capital (membership in hotel associations) on the horizontal axis, and hereditary, state, commercial, and matrimonial economic capital on the vertical axis.