“Shadow Boxing”: Reflections on Bourdieu and Language

Abstract

The article begins in a reflexive mode, situating its author in relation to language and to the work of Pierre Bourdieu. This position is then used to raise pertinent issues concerning the reception of Bourdieu’s writings in the field of Anglo-Saxon academia. The author’s interpretation of the main precepts of Bourdieu’s approach to language is set out, leading towards a critical consideration of Simon Susen's “Bourdieusian reflections on language: Unavoidable conditions of the real speech situation”. The focus of coverage is on Susen’s language in examining philosophical issues underlying Bourdieu’s own conception of language. Acknowledgement is made of the merits of Susen’s theoretical framework, whilst insisting on “practical necessity” as an integral part of any consideration of Bourdieu’s method. The term “shadow boxing” is used to suggest that, whilst many scholars in the humanities and social sciences find it easy to attack Bourdieu, few criticisms seem to stick. Finally, the paper argues that the fact that Bourdieu remains elusive can be regarded as both a strength and a weakness of his theory of practice, considered here with respect to language.