Sociology 2240E Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Existence Precedes Essence, Pierre Bourdieu, Louis Althusser
30 Apr 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Symbols, power, and the reproduction of group inequality
Friday, March 9, 2018
9:32 AM
Pierre Bourdieu
• Sociologist, anthropologist, philosopher (student of Louis Althusser)
• Taught at College de France
• Began his research while a conscript in the French army in Algeria
• Ends up being one of foremost public intellectuals in France
Last week
• Mead provided us insight into how we construct meaning and mutual understanding in social life
• Individuality is tied to sociality
o Become impossible for an individual to stand totally outside of society
o Ourselves and our existence is contingent with our relationship with other people, it is only
under the conditions of co-creation of meaning that we can know who we are
• But: under what conditions does meaning-construction occur?
o And what about the power relations underlying these processes
• Bourdieu directs us to the power relations and politics of meaning that shape the production of
culture and knowledge
Overview
(insert pic overview)
• Bourdieu suggests that there are multiple overlapping fields within society (between the powerful
and non-powerful)
This week
• Core theoretical influences
o Basic equation: synthesis of classical sociology +existentialism
o Durkheim: structural concern with social reproduction, analysis of symbolic structures
o Marx: concerns with capital, class domination, structural violence
o Weber: concern with social action, meaning
o Existentialism:
• Sartre: 'existence precedes essence'; in itself/for-itself distinctions
• Merleau-ponty: phenomenological analysis, concern with the body and action,
dispositions
• Taken together, lead to these 3 questions:
o 1: how do we explain the mechanisms of social reproduction? What role do human agents
play
• How do we examine social structure but also social agency
o 2: what role does culture have in those processes have in social reproduction?
o 3: what about agency? What are the possibilities for confronting and critiquing unjust social
relations
Point of departure
• The fast versions of his answers: video
• Bourdieu's key points on sociological inquiry:
o His conception of sociology reflects many of our recurring course themes and questions:
• Search for laws -the 'wheel of science'
• 'how is it that' x occurs -what is the meaning of this
Point of departure: Bourdieu's key points
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Symbols, power, and the reproduction of group inequality. Sociologist, anthropologist, philosopher (student of louis althusser: taught at college de france, began his research while a conscript in the french army in algeria, ends up being one of foremost public intellectuals in france. Last week: mead provided us insight into how we construct meaning and mutual understanding in social life. Overview (insert pic overview: bourdieu suggests that there are multiple overlapping fields within society (between the powerful and non-powerful) This week: core theoretical influences, basic equation: synthesis of classical sociology +existentialism, durkheim: structural concern with social reproduction, analysis of symbolic structures, marx: concerns with capital, class domination, structural violence, weber: concern with social action, meaning, existentialism: What are the possibilities for confronting and critiquing unjust social relations. Point of departure: the fast versions of his answers: video, bourdieu"s key points on sociological inquiry, his conception of sociology reflects many of our recurring course themes and questions:
