From 'Champs' to 'Fields': The Transnational Circulation of a Sociological Concept

Abstract

Fields have become a key concept in sociological research. This paper compares the development and reception of two central sociological theories of fields: Bourdieu’s “champs,” developed in France, and DiMaggio and Powell’s “organizational fields” in the United States. The article first examines internal differences between champs and organizational fields. We argue that, in spite of their similar topographical approach, the concepts provide different perspectives on micro-foundations, field boundaries, and dynamics of social change. Then, drawing on a data set of citation patterns in top U.S. and French sociology journals, we analyze the diffusion and reception of the two concepts in their national context. We show that the citations for “champs” in France are consistent with Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic position-takings in scientific fields, whereas the diffusion of “organizational fields” in the United States resembles neo-institutionalist findings about rituals of deference and isomorphism. The paper discusses this homology between the U.S. and French sociological fields and the theory of field as it unfolded in each national context, before concluding that the two concepts are difficult to reconcile.