An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology

I'm an aspiring historian, not a sociologist. Bourdieu's work, however, is of such a caliber that it transcends arbitrary academic boundaries. It's essential reading for anyone who's interested in the ontology and epistemology of humankind.He's difficult to read, though. That's one of the reasons this book is so valuable. Loic Wacquant (no sociological slouch himself) has undertaken to provide an exposition of Bourdieu's ideas without trivializing them. Some of those ideas that struck a chord with me include replacing the false antinomy of structure/agent with notions of "field" and "habitus" (structure and agency's relationship to one another); cultural capital and symbolic power (more balanced perspectives on the philosophy/sociology of language); and the inherent bias of the intellectual qua intellectual (apart from race, class, etc). Bourdieu is definitely postmodern, but once the reader grasps the technically precise language in which they are articulated, his ideas are surprisingly down-to-earth. P.B. would probably not much like that I write this--he abhors the intuitive in social science--but that's what comes of thinking well and writing carefully. This is a job well done by Wacquant. I highly recommend it for serious students.

This book consists of three parts. In the first part Wacquant offers a general summary of the key points and works in Bourdieu's oeuvre. The second part is an extremely entertaining interview with Bourdieu. Here, Bourdieu demonstrates that he is far from a cold scientist of social culture. Of particular interest, is Bourdieu's reflections on his book 'Homo Academus' which is an internal critique of the French Academy. In these passages, Bourdieu's comments reflect his passionate committment to his work, and in the ways that his own interest and investment in a social field must (somehow) become an object of reflection. Also, Bourdieu's comments reflect his great passion for art despite his own analysis of art strictly in terms of cultural capital and social status. At times, Bourdieu is dazzling. The final section is a transcription of a seminar, again, on the practice of sociology that remains conscientious of its position and limitations.This book also includes an extensive bibliography of Bourdieu's writings up to 1992, as well as another bibliography of relevent external sources and commentaries.