Read: Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice

Note: This book can be quite difficult in places. As with many theoretical works, Bourdieu is engaged in a broad conversation with other scholars, some of whom you'll know quite well, and others whom you will not. The key, then, is not to get bogged down in detail, but to read the more theoretical/lit review kinds of sections with an eye to the key points that Bourdieu is raising. What I'm going to ask is that you at least glance over each chapter, but that you focus in particular on chapters 2 and 4. Here are some specific suggestions:

Chapter 1: This can be dense in places, so look it over simply to get a sense of how Bourdieu is positioning himself with respect to other approaches in anthropology. For example, what does he say about interpretive, meaning centered anthropology? What does he say about functionalism? How is Bourdieu questioning Mauss's analysis of the gift? What factors is he urging us to consider? Don't worry about the details of the parallel-cousin marriage example -- just get a sense of Bourdieu's basic point.

Chapter 2: Bourdieu outlines his theory of practice here. This is a key chapter. Pay attention to the questions he's asking and the model he's building to address them.

Chapter 3: Bourdieu provides examples here to show how everyday practices are connected to abstract ideologies, systems of classification, and social stuctures. The examples can get quite dense. Bourdieu is also directly engaged in a dialogue with structuralism, which we are not covering this semester. Look this chapter over briefly to get a general sense of what he's trying to do.

Chapter 4: This is a key chapter that brings together important terms in Bourdieu's notion of practice. Read it carefully and be prepared to compare it to Marx, Mauss, and Foucault.

Finally, as with our other more abstract readings this semester, it would be helpful to come to class with specific quotes and page references to addresss the questions below.

1. What is practice?

2. What is structure?

3. What is habitus?

4. What is doxa?

5. What is symbolic capital?

6. How does Bourdieu's theory of power compare to Marx or Foucault's?

7. How does Bourdieu revise Mauss's theory of the gift? Why is he critical of the focus on rules? What do you think of his ideas?

Question for Response Paper #7: Habitus and Agency
Bourdieu's key analytical concern is to relate individual practices and perceptions to broader social structures, particularly those connected to inequalities and power relations. His concept of habitus plays an important role in the model he develops to address this issue. Specifically, on page 79, he writes, "It is because subjects do not, strictly speaking, know what they are doing that what they do has more meaning than they know. The habitus is the universalizing mediation which causes an individual agent's practices, without either explicit reason or signifiying intent, to be none the less 'sensible' and 'reasonable.' That part of practices which remains obscure in the eyes of their own producers is the aspect by which they are objectively adjusted to other practices and to the stuctures of which the principle of their production is itself the product."

For this week's essay, you are to evaluate this statement. First, explain what you think Bourdieu means; pay particular attention to the concepts of practice, structure, agency, and habitus. Then, consider how he views the relationship between these terms. Finally, do you find that his model correctly captures this relationship? Why, why not, and with what significance?

For more information, contact: aleshkow@holycross.edu