An Introduction to the work of Pierre Bourdieu : The practice of theory / edited by Richard Harker, Cheleen Mahar and Chris Wilkes

Contributor(s):

Harker, Richard [ed.]

Publication details: London : MacMillan, 1990Description: XIV, 247 pISBN:

0333524764

Summary: The book which results is therefore not a disparate collection of papers, whose only claim to commonality is that they deal with Bourdieu in some way. Rather, it is an integrated exposition of his method, which begins with an introduction to his intellectual project and his central ideas, before branching out in several directions following the trends in his own empirical work. The book concludes by reviewing the criticisms which have been addressed to his analyses, pulls together what we have had to say relating his work to sorne of the contemporary concerns of Anglo-American sociology, and outlines his present projects. Each chapter was drafted by individual authors, redrafted in the light of criticisms and comments from all contributors, and finally reviewed by the editors. This introduction is followed by an exposition of his conceptual apparatus and method in Chapter 1. Chapter 2, which provides an introduction to Bourdieu through an analysis of both his work and his career, is based on interviews between Mahar and Bourdieu, and with various other sources, using the multi-level approach Bourdieu often uses in his work, most notably in Distinction (1984). In line with the strictures of Bourdieu's method, we then attempt to bring this conceptual apparatus to life by applying it to specific fields of practice in the following chapters. lndeed, we are in full accord with Wacquant (1986) who argues that it is necessary to see the 'conceptual artillery' at work, as it were, in order to fully understand it. Following the broad chronology of Bourdieu's own work, Chapter 3 reviews his ethnographic contribution, beginning with his early work in Algeria. Chapter 4 canvasses his position on education, again an early concem for Bourdieu, andan area in which he made his early reputation. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 follow Bourdieu into three persistent areas of concem to him, constituting three of the major themes which frame bis work. Chapter 5 examines the connection Bourdieu's work on class has with the Marxist tradition; Chapter 6 follows Bourdieu into another field of analysis, looking this time at aesthetics; Chapter 7 looks at Bourdieu's interest in language and its relation to power. In Chapter 8, the story comes full circle. Using a new translation of the 1982 inaugurallecture Bourdieu gave to the College de France, it shows how reflexivity is at the heart of Bourdieu's sociological enterprise by providing a gloss of Bourdieu on Bourdieu. The book is concluded by a review of criticism, new work and commentary in Chapter 9. (Font: Introducció)

Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Copy number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Book	Centre d' Informació i Documentació del CERC Magatzem	General	M 0216	1	Exclòs de préstec		1900003061

Acknowledgements -- Notes on the Contributors -- Editors’ Introduction -- The basic theoretical position / Cheleen Mahar, Richard Harker, Chris Wilkes -- Pierre Bourdieu: the intellectual project / Cheleen Mahar -- Bourdieu and ethnography: reflexivity, politics and praxis / Henry Barnard -- Bourdieu: education and reproduction / Richard Harker -- Bourdieu's class / Chris Wilkes -- Making distinctions: the eye of the beholder / John Codd -- Language, truth and power: Bourdieu's Ministerium / Ivan Snook -- Bourdieu on Bourdieu: learning the lesson of the Leçon / Ian Duncan -- Conclusion: critique / The Friday Morning Group -- Bibliography -- Indexes

There are no comments on this title.

to post a comment.

Click on an image to view it in the image viewer