Bourdieu, Habitus and Field

Winner of the Cheryl Frank Memorial Prize 2024 from the International Association for Critical Realism.
This innovative book argues that establishing an ontological framework makes a substantial difference to Pierre Bourdieu's core concepts of habitus and field. In doing so it addresses the charges of determinism, tautology, and circularity that have long been directed at habitus and field. Teasing out Bourdieu's ontology, the book offers a novel critical realist reading of Bourdieu, arguing that while Bourdieu explored the epistemological basis of his key concepts, he neglects their ontological underpinnings, and that elaborating on this adds a layer of depth and complexity which enriches Bourdieu's project. In addition to articulating the synergies between Roy Bhaskar's critical realism and Bourdieu's oeuvre, this book extends Bourdieu's insights in new and exciting directions by developing an ontologically informed Bourdieusian account of institutions as explored through the lens of institutional racism and by outlining a unique methodological approach to habitus.

Draws parallels between Bourdieu's practice-based approach to habitus and critical realist ontology Argues that habitus is a critical concept at the intersection of structure and agency Links meta-theory to empirical problems, showing how ontological questions inform social analysis

Autorentext

Sadiya Akram is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Sadiya's research is concerned with race and racism, concepts of agency and political mobilisation. The socio-political thought of Pierre Bourdieu is a focal point of her work.

Inhalt
Chapter 1. Bourdieu: From Epistemology to Ontology.- Chapter 2. Critical Realism: Ontology in an Era of Ontological Scepticism.- Chapter 3. Habitus: A Critical Realist Interpretation.- Chapter 4. Fields: Bourdieu and Beyond.- Chapter 5. A Bourdieusian Approach to Institutions.- Chapter 6. Habitus: From Theory to Method? A Six-point Heuristic.- Chapter 7. Taking Bourdieu into the World.