Outline of a Theory of Practice (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) [Hardcover]

Pierre Bourdieu (Author), Richard Nice (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology | Publication Date: June 24, 1977

Outline of a Theory of Practice is recognized as a major theoretical text on the foundations of anthropology and sociology. Pierre Bourdieu, a distinguished French anthropologist, develops a theory of practice which is simultaneously a critique of the methods and postures of social science and a general account of how human action should be understood. With his central concept of the habitus, the principle which negotiates between objective structures and practices, Bourdieu is able to transcend the dichotomies which have shaped theoretical thinking about the social world. The author draws on his fieldwork in Kabylia (Algeria) to illustrate his theoretical propositions. With detailed study of matrimonial strategies and the role of rite and myth, he analyses the dialectical process of the 'incorporation of structures' and the objectification of habitus, whereby social formations tend to reproduce themselves. A rigorous consistent materialist approach lays the foundations for a theory of symbolic capital and, through analysis of the different modes of domination, a theory of symbolic power.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'[Outline of a theory of practice] can be highly recommended as a complex and often beautifully written piece of philosophical literature.' The Times Higher Education Supplement

'Few bodies of work are so systematic, so comprehensive, so creative, so fertile as Bourdieu's. Few theorists glide so adroitly between levels and styles of analysis, and few reach so keenly to the heart of so many analytic issues.' American Journal of Sociology

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (June 24, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521211786
• ISBN-13: 978-0521211789
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,770,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002) was one of the most influential social scientists of the twentieth century. A professor of sociology at the Collège de France, he is the author of thirty-six books, including Distinction, named one of the twentieth century's ten most important works of sociology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent ideas, a lot of ethnography, October 28, 2000

By 

Benjamin R. Bates (Athens, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Outline of a Theory of Practice (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) (Paperback)

For anyone interested in cultural studies or in ethnology/ anthropology/ sociology, _Outline_ is a must read.

Bourdieu, a teacher of Foucault, has been rated France's 2nd most influential scholar (after Foucault) and for good reason. In _Outline_, Bourdieu provides a well-grounded introduction to his main concepts and gives a great deal of supporting detail to support his interpretations.

At times, his descriptions of the Kabyle culture seem to be far too long for persons who are reading him as a general social theorist. If you do not have a deep-rooted love of sociology or other culturally-immersive social sciences, you might prefer his _Logic of Practice_, which has less ethnology in it, or _Practical Reason_, which has nearly none.

If you are a student of culture, however, you will find these extended examples to be excellent background material and useful illustrations of Bourdieu's concepts.

In terms of writing style, Bourdieu is uneconomical, but the payoff is worth slogging through his difficult prose.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Theory in Ethnography, April 24, 2010

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Lazy reviewer (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outline of a Theory of Practice (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) (Paperback)

As far as I know, this is Bourdieu's best book; the rest is mainly an elaboration of this early work. It is indeed very dense, in large part because it is aiming to doing two things at once: write deep, insightful ethnography about Kabyle society, and simultaneously develop ever-deepening theory amazingly well exemplified by the ethnography. Achieving either of those goals is difficult; achieving both at once, as fully as Bourdieu did, is astonishing and unsurpassed.

25 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bourdieu kicks Foucault's ..., December 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Outline of a Theory of Practice (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) (Paperback)

How could anyone put Foucault above Bourdieu? Bourdieu has a rigorous sociology behind his work & provides a real theoretical groundwork to reconcile materialist, interpretive/symbolic and interactionist perspectives. Foucault on the other hand has led anthropologists down a slippery slope of prevarication, vagueness, grandstanding and an obsession with a hollow & impoverished idea of what constitutes a "critical" stance.