Pierre Bourdieu's Field Theory Research Articles

Illusio der Autonomie: Carolin Amlingers Studie über literarische Arbeit

Carolin Amlinger's <i>Schreiben. Eine Soziologie literarischer Arbeit</i> is a large-scale, but still coherent analysis of contemporary literary production in Germany. Inspired by Pierre Bourdieu's field theory, trained in critical theory, and based on interviews with authors she interpreted using qualitative methods, Amlinger combines three approaches: a history of the (West) German literary market and the development of the literary public sphere from 1871 to the recent present, an account of institutions in the present-day German literary scene, and an analysis of the habitus of contemporary authors. Amlinger shows how literary work today is characterized by a blurring of the boundaries between market and public. According to her observation, this development goes hand in hand with an essentialization of authorship – an understanding that justifies precarious work with the promise of creative self-realization. As the review argues, this results in an analytical balancing act: on the one hand, to show how literary writing and the notion of it are reshaped, and at the same time to remain sensitive to the resistance of literary practices and to concepts of authorship that oppose a neoliberal notion of labor. Amlinger's refraining from complementing authors' self-conceptions with observations of actual practices and the products of literary labor make it difficult for the study to consistently pursue both perspectives.

Between scientific legitimation and cultural legitimation: transformations in the field of Integrative and Complementary Practices

The National Policy on Integrative and Complementary Practices (NPICP) was published 15 years ago, and between 2017 and 2018 it saw two phases of growth and increased from 5 to 29 modalities of Integrative and Complementary Practices (ICP), namely an increase of 24 new practices within a year. The scope of this article is to understand the conditions for such transformations in the ICPs in the Unified Health System (SUS), reflecting upon how social actors interpret these changes. Thus, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight interlocutors, analyzed in the light of Pierre Bourdieu's field theory. The results show that the expansion of the NPICP, motivated by political-institutional factors, is comprehended in two matrices of thought that are related to the cultural and scientific legitimation of the ICPs in the SUS. The conclusion drawn is that the rapid expansion of the NPICP generated a crisis in the field, showing the need for a restructuring dialogue with its social bases.

How does home ownership affect migrants’ sense of relative deprivation? An investigation based on field theory

BackgroundChina is continuing to witness rising numbers of migrants (e.g., individuals migrating from rural to urban areas), and alongside this are the social restrictions and institutional barriers migrants face. Such restrictions and barriers are a consequence of the long-standing urban-rural dualist system and can create a sense of relative deprivation among migrants—that is, dissatisfaction when migrants perceive they are at a disadvantage compared with local residents of an area. Objective and methodBased on Pierre Bourdieu's field theory, the current study used data from the 2017 Chinese General Social Survey (N = 1849) to explore the mechanism through which migrants' home ownership or non-ownership in the migration process affects their sense of relative deprivation. To do so, a ranked regression and parallel multiple mediation model were developed. Additionally, a heterogeneity analysis was conducted to account for the region in which migrants lived and their age. ResultsThe results revealed that home ownership significantly reduced migrants' relative deprivation. Moreover, the perception of economic and symbolic capital was found to play a role in the effects of wealth and class, respectively. From the heterogeneity analysis, the direct and mediated effects of housing attributes on migrants’ relative deprivation were more significant for migrants in the eastern versus central and western regions of China, as well as among new-versus older-generation migrants. ConclusionTo improve the feasibility of home ownership among migrants and, thus, alleviate their relative deprivation in the inflow area, relevant policies (e.g., improving the housing system pathway) should be developed and implemented.

The overview of Bourdieu's literary field theory

The 1960s - 1970s were marked by the dynamism of the Western intellectual milieu, especially with the flourishing of new theoretical trends in the social sciences and humanities. Pierre Bourdieu's field theory appeared as an intellectual response to pre-existing theoretical trends, including Structuralism, Marxism, or Émile Durkheim's concept of collective consciousness, etc. Starting from the theoretical principle of social cognition, considered as an authentic form of non-consciousness, Bourdieu dealt with the social relationships established between social conditions and positions. Accordingly, the social relationships are more realistic than the subjects participating in those ones. Thereby, he proposed structural mechanisms of dominance and competition to prove the existence of the social game. The space of the social game is what Bourdieu calls "field". There are different fields corresponding to different social sectors. This article outlines in general the process of forming the literary field theory. It aims to show the relationships between the literary field and others in Bourdieu’s sociological system as well as his contributions to the landscape of the contemporary literary theory.

El campo del pensamiento decolonial latinoamericano / The field of Latin American decolonial thought

El objetivo de este trabajo es abordar el pensamiento crítico latinoamericano desde la perspectiva de la teoría de los campos de Pierre Bourdieu. En ese sentido, el pensamiento crítico es considerado como el objeto de estudio y el campo como la metodología para analizarlo. El pensamiento crítico latinoamericano ha atravesado por varias etapas, sólo la última, identificada como pensamiento decolonial es la que se considera para poner a revisión. Los extractos de la teoría de los campos utilizados para encontrar los objetos del juego del pensamiento decolonial permiten identificar la modernidad-colonialidad y las relaciones saber-poder como elementos constitutivos en la nueva etapa del campo del pensamiento latinoamericano. El ejercicio de observación del enfoque decolonial comprueba que el trabajo intelectual en América Latina para explicar la realidad del conjunto de países de la región, conocido como pensamiento crítico latinoamericano, conforma un campo en el sentido bourdiano. The objective of this work is to approach Latin American critical thinking from the perspective of Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory. In that sense, critical thinking is considered as the object of study and the field as the methodology to analyze it. Latin American critical thinking has gone through several stages, only the last one, identified as decolonial thinking, is what is considered to do the analysis. Excerpts from the theory of the fields used to find the objects of the game of decolonial thinking allow us to identify modernity-coloniality and knowledge-power relations as constitutive in the new stage of the Latin American thought field. The decolonial thought review exercise proves that intellectual work in Latin America to explain the reality of the region’s group of countries, known as Latin American critical thinking, forms a field in the Bourdian sense.

Lucha de poder en la reestructuración del posgrado en pedagogía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 1996-1998 / Power struggle in the restructuring of the graduate program in pedagogy, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 1996-1998

Este trabajo fue elaborado como producto de una investigación más amplia, donde uno de los objetivos de la indagación fue reconstruir y comprender el proceso de integración que vivieron los académicos que dieron origen al Programa Único de Posgrado en Pedagogía, como consecuencia de la reforma al Reglamento General de Estudios de Posgrado de 1996 en la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). La reconstrucción histórica de la reestructuración del posgrado requirió identificar y describir el entramado de relaciones que se entretejieron durante este periodo de cambio, a partir de la experiencia y relato de los académicos, por lo que, se utilizó la entrevista semiestructurada como dispositivo metodológico para acercarme a informantes clave y reconstruir la historia de la creación del Programa Único de Posgrado en Pedagogía de la UNAM, sus objetivos, directrices, orientaciones, actores, estrategias, ideas centrales, conflictos, posicionamientos, acuerdos, desacuerdos, etc. Esta etapa de transformación es analizada desde la perspectiva de la teoría de los campos de Pierre Bourdieu, por la lucha de poder que enfrentan los protagonistas, se analizan los elementos que les permitieron su incorporación al campo, los haberes que pusieron en juego para posicionarse dentro del Comité de Reestructuración y la disputa de poder por pertenecer al nuevo programa de posgrado; fue un proceso de reforma, rivalidad, conocimiento y desconocimiento entre las distintas entidades, donde finalmente se puede develar cómo cambió la correlación de fuerzas durante la integración académica. This work was elaborated as a product of a broader investigation, where one of the objectives of the investigation was to reconstruct and comprehend the process of academic integration experienced by academics, postgraduate professors from the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (FFyL), the Center of Studies on the University (today IISUE) and the National School of Professional Studies Aragón (today FES Aragón), all academic entities of the National Autonomous College of Mexico (UNAM), in the creation of the Postgraduate One Program in Pedagogy as a consequence of the reform’s provisions to the General Regulations for Postgraduate Studies of 1996. A semi-structured interview was conducted as a methodological device to approach key informants, members of the 1997-98 Postgraduate Restructuring Committee, and members of the Academic Committee, who would help me to reconstruct the history of the creation of UNAM’s Postgraduate One Program in Pedagogy, its objectives, guidelines, orientations, participants, strategies, central ideas, conflicts, positions, agreements, disagreements, etc. The reconstruction of the reform process required identifying and describing the framework of the relations that interweaved during this period, and that allows us to build and rebuild the process of change, based on the academic’s experience and story. This process is analyzed from the perspective of Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory for the power struggle that the protagonists face. Analyzes the elements which permit their incorporation to the field, the abilities brought into play to position inside the Restructuring Committee and the power dispute for belonging and conforming the new Postgraduate Program; a process of rivalry reform, knowledge, and ignorance between their participants, where it can finally be revealed how the correlation of forces in the academic integration process changed. The study started from the assumption that the institutional intentions of the 1996 postgraduate reform were one thing, regarding the integration of entities with related fields of knowledge with the purpose of potentiating resources, specifically enriching the academic establishment, through its permanent interaction between schools, faculties, centers, and research institutes; and how they assumed it, how they understood it and what implications the articulation of these academic entities had.

Different Histories, Different Narratives: ICT Uses As “Habitus”?

History forms narratives, narratives form media uses? The present paper formulates a theoretical proposal, that of considering the uses of information and communication technologies (ICT), particularly social media, as habitus , inspired by Pierre Bourdieu's Field Theory. My thesis draws on research conducted on the professional network LinkedIn. It examines the way two discussion groups, held by Greek and French migrants respectively, use this platform. The comparative approach raises the question of habitus as praxis related to situated and ideologically charged socio-historical representations of migration. The online discursive practices of each group suggest the existence of an illusio common to their members regarding the relevance and the objective of the discussions. Different forms (eidos) of illusio seem to operate as different symbolic capitals that shape the groups. Following Pierre Bourdieu's theory, my ultimate assumption is that these divergences are related to the positions that Greece and France hold within the international migration field. For informations about the copyright protection, see : https://iafor.org/iafor-publications-and-license-agreement/

Climate state: Science-state struggles and the formation of climate science in the US from the 1930s to 1960s.

This article has two aims: first, to understand the co-production of climate science and the state, and second, to provide a test case for Pierre Bourdieu's field theory. To these ends, the article reconstructs the historical formation of a US climate science field, with an analytic focus on inter-field dynamics and heterogeneous networking practices. Drawing from primary- and secondary-source materials, the historical analysis focuses on relations between scientists and state actors from the 1930s to the 1960s. The account shows how actors with positions linking scientific and bureaucratic fields constructed critical nodes and 'hinges' that co-produced war-making and state expansion on the one hand, and a relatively autonomous climate science field on the other. The analysis explains the emergence of climate science by focusing on the WWII-era transformation of meteorology and oceanography into distinct disciplines, the emergence of 'basic' research as a central principle of post-war government, and the formation of a climate science field by the 1960s centered on computerized modeling and populated by an interdisciplinary scientific elite. The article concludes by indicating how these processes led to the subsequent development of climate change as a science-state conundrum that has reorganized the climate science field in recent decades.

“Her” Photographer: The Roanoke Live-Shot Murders and Visual Communication's Place in the Newsroom

This study analyzed coverage of the shootings of two journalists in Virginia in 2015. Coverage of journalism by journalists, or metajournalistic discourse, makes it possible to examine the way an interpretive community represents and reproduces professional norms. Working with the framework of Pierre Bourdieu's field theory, the analysis considers the way journalistic specialists maintain their identity, professional boundaries, and hierarchal relationships. This analysis focuses on how visual journalism, in particular, is presented to the news audience. Based on our findings, we argue that coverage of the Roanoke live-shot murders provides insight into the way journalism maintains its authority by highlighting affect and diminishing its constructed dimension.

Increasing Research Requirements for Tenure at Teaching Universities: Mission Creep or Mission Critical?

What social forces are driving the increase in research requirements for tenure at teaching universities? Engaging Pierre Bourdieu's field theory, this case study examines a state comprehensive university, at multiple levels of analysis, and via multiple methods. Field theory is a viable alternative to neoinstitutional theory for higher education scholars. The methods used are quantitative content analysis, qualitative discursive analysis and interviews. The study provides a detailed account of whether economic or cultural forces are the stronger influence on the trend to increase research requirements. Economic factors, such as national enrollment trends, do not necessarily have a strong effect on individual institutions, Also, the drive to increase research is not always initiated by administrators, as suggested by the academic-economy argument. Instead, faculty preferences, at the department level, tend to favor of the teacher-scholar model. This varies by academic discipline. The trend to increase research requirements is moving from the ground up, as faculty preferences become part of university manuals and eventually university missions. It is is suggested that it is mission critical for teaching universities to recognize the worth of integrating teaching and research. Teaching and research are theorized as two sides of a coin. The production and dissemination of knowledge is a key source of legitimacy for professors. This core cultural value may be more important than short-term regard for economic gains.

A formação pedagógica no ensino superior e o papel da pós-graduação stricto sensu

Desenvolvemos este trabalho com base na ideia de que ser docente no ensino superior não é apenas uma questão de domínio de conteúdo, de expertise em determinado campo. A prática pedagógica em tal nível de ensino é complexa, contextualizada, muitas vezes imprevisível e se configura por escolhas éticas e políticas. Nesse sentido, entendemos que a docência demanda um processo formativo que pode ter como fase inicial a pós-graduação stricto sensu. A partir de tal discussão, estabelecemos como objetivo estudar o modo como a formação pedagógica é tratada no âmbito das políticas públicas para o ensino superior, mais especificamente no que tange à pós-graduação stricto sensu. Para tanto, valemo-nos de dois referenciais metodológicos: a teoria dos campos de Pierre Bourdieu e a análise crítica do discurso de Norman Fairclough. A compreensão da pós-graduação como um campo científico e a análise do Plano Nacional de Pós-Graduação indicaram que esse nível de formação superior está basicamente voltado para a acumulação de capital científico e para a formação de habitus científico, tudo isso em meio a um silêncio sobre a dimensão do ensino no fazer e ser docente. Concluímos que há a necessidade de desenvolver uma cultura de valorização do ensino na universidade, processo este que pode ter na valorização de um capital pedagógico e na formação de um habitus pedagógico na pós-graduação stricto sensu uma fase de grande relevância.

Formação pedagógica na pós-graduação stricto sensu em saúde coletiva

The scope of this research is to discuss the relevance and need for pedagogical training of university lecturers in the Public Health field. The contention is that college teaching is a practice that requires specific training, since it is characterized by complex elements that transcend the mastery of given content. Considering stricto sensu graduate studies as an important stage in the training of future university lecturers, an attempt was made to identify and analyze the subjects and practices of pedagogical training in academic masters and doctorate programs in Public Health. To achieve the research aim, this work was based on Pierre Bourdieu's field theory and on Tomaz Tadeu da Silva's curriculum theory. Results indicate that the programs do not consider the aspect of teacher training as a major issue. With regard to the Public Health field approximately 61% of masters and 38% of doctorate programs have pedagogical training subjects/practices. Furthermore, there is a tendency for technical-instrumental training, which is in line with the history of the Public Health field. The conclusion is that there is a need to develop a culture that values college and graduate Public Health teaching, considering the complexity of pedagogical practice in all its dimensions.

The Journalistic Field and the City: Some Practical and Organizational Tales about theToronto Star's New Deal for Cities

This article presents Pierre Bourdieu's field theory as a way to approach the under–theorized relationship of journalism and the city. The concept of field provides a way to conceive of the conditions of possibility for what journalists do in, through, and in relation to the urban. Bringing this concept together with practice theory and organizational sociology, I examine four practical and organizational tales–two narratives and two episodes–related to the Toronto Star's New Deal for Cities campaign. These tales demonstrate how journalistic practices are not only performed in and distinctively oriented towards urban space, but also are at the same time regulated by, oriented towards, and positioned in the journalistic field. I highlight how journalistic practices take place in multiple organizational sites, through changing regimes of managerial authority and legitimacy, and with shifting positioning in and orientations to the journalistic field and other social fields of the city.

LABOUR, NEW MEDIA AND THE INSTITUTIONAL RESTRUCTURING OF JOURNALISM

Thousands of news workers were laid off in the United Kingdom and North America in 2008–2009. While daily newspapers were particularly affected, labour cuts also hit broadcasters and news magazines. Popular commentary has often attempted to explain the cuts as a result of Internet competition, aging audiences for news and a slumping global economy. Optimists suggest the rise of new media practices such as blogging and citizen journalism have, despite the contraction of newsrooms, expanded the range of information and opinion available to citizens. This paper is an attempt to clarify what is an unquestionably chaotic moment in journalism. Our focus is the labour of reporting—the quotidian work of gathering information of public interest and packaging it into a story. The paper uses Pierre Bourdieu's field theory to contextualize the use of new media technologies by amateur and professional journalists in an attempt to understand the power relations that inform the work of reporting. We argue that labour rationalization in combination with the use of new technologies, shrinking audiences, 24-hour news cycles, and intensified hyper-commercialization is fundamentally reorganizing the division of labour in newsrooms. Importantly, we argue there is little empirical evidence to suggest that unpaid citizen journalists will replace the lost labour of reporting—the work of collecting information, synthesizing it and presenting it for public consumption via storytelling.

Good Neighbours? Fan/producer relationships and the broadcasting field

Much work on media fandom has considered the relationships between fans and those responsible for creating the object of fandom, particularly the interactions between fans and producers of television shows. This paper considers fan/producer relationships within online fandom of the Australian soap opera Neighbours to examine how such interactions function within soap fandom. I suggest that the often fierce clashes between fans and creators of fan objects can be better understood through application of Pierre Bourdieu's field theory. Fields are always characterized by struggles over legitimacy and bids for dominance and this paper argues that fan/producer relationships can be better understood if we consider them as agents who occupy positions within the ‘broadcasting field’ and engage in often fierce clashes over their positions within the field and the ‘appropriate’ behaviours associated with them.

Studying the Sociology of Journalists: The Journalistic Field and the News World

AbstractThis article makes a case for a socially situated and theoretically sophisticated approach to the sociological study of journalists. This is urgently needed for us to understand the increasingly complex news production environment and the rapidly evolving nature of journalistic practice. Two theoretical approaches to studying the sociology of journalists are outlined and discussed. The first is a development of Pierre Bourdieu's field theory; the second – the ‘news world’ approach – emerges from the social worlds approach commonly associated with Howard S. Becker. Each approach on its own shows considerable promise for the analysis of the increasingly complex news media environment. The article concludes that the journalistic field and the news world approaches could be combined to create a new framework for the sociological study of journalism that would provide a way forward for the important empirical research on journalists that is now needed.

Paying the Field: The Cultural Economy of Afrikaans at Naspers

This study aims to broaden the analytical scope of critical political economy as a research paradigm. The unclear, and politically problematic, postapartheid positioning of the biggest media company in South Africa, Naspers, and the Afrikaans language is analyzed. The analysis treats Naspers in relation to its original constituents, Afrikaner nationalists and Afrikaans culture, as well as the historic transformation of its two oldest, and arguably most prominent, print publications—Die Burger and Huisgenoot. A qualitative content analysis was undertaken, using concepts from Pierre Bourdieu's field theory and Partha Chatterjee's critical theory of (post)colonial nationalism. This study argues that the relationship between Naspers and Afrikaans was determined by the nature of nationalism and the requirements of capitalism to which it is linked. Given the present historical context, and ideologically speaking from a cultural economy point of view, this analysis concludes that Afrikaans has become less profitable for Naspers.

Paying the Field: The Cultural Economy of Afrikaans at Naspers

This study aims to broaden the analytical scope of critical political economy as a research paradigm. The unclear, and politically problematic, postapartheid positioning of the biggest media company in South Africa, Naspers, and the Afrikaans language is analyzed. The analysis treats Naspers in relation to its original constituents, Afrikaner nationalists and Afrikaans culture, as well as the historic transformation of its two oldest, and arguably most prominent, print publications—Die Burger and Huisgenoot. A qualitative content analysis was undertaken, using concepts from Pierre Bourdieu's field theory and Partha Chatterjee's critical theory of (post)colonial nationalism. This study argues that the relationship between Naspers and Afrikaans was determined by the nature of nationalism and the requirements of capitalism to which it is linked. Given the present historical context, and ideologically speaking from a cultural economy point of view, this analysis concludes that Afrikaans has become less profitable for Naspers.