Bourdieu once commented that what was needed was a 'new gaze' on the social world - a metanoia. This book describes this view and how to do it. Based on biographical detail and the socio-political contexts which surrounded him, it sets out his vision of society and culture.
Grounded on the distinction between traditional and modern worlds, it shows how ethnographic experience led Bourdieu to an intellectual epiphany. It demonstrates the growth of his conceptual tools and the emergence of 'field theory' in various contexts: Law, Religion, Fashion, Sport, Culture, Fine Art, Philosophy, Literature, and Politics. The book offers an up-to-date, extensive account of Bourdieu, his work and its significance. It centres on philosophical questions of social experience and intellectual practice. Based around his entire oeuvre, it features recent posthumous publications in French, providing important insights for the first time into his way of viewing the world.
Including issues of the State, Neoliberalism, and resistance, this book explores how the social, philosophical and political came together for Bourdieu to shape how we see ourselves, and our place in the contemporary world - a metanoia. Being both an introductory and advanced text, it is a valuable resource for the newcomer to Bourdieu as well as the experienced researcher. It will be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates, researchers of Bourdieu's work in the areas of Sociology, Media, Philosophy, Religion, Economics, Architecture, Cultural Studies, Education, Music, Journalism, Gender Studies, Politics, the Law, Fine Arts, and Linguistics.
About the Author: Michael Grenfell has held Chair positions in Ireland, Scotland and England, including 1904 Chair of Education in Trinity College Dublin, Adjunct Professor at the University of Canberra, Australia, and Research Director at the University of Southampton where he is now Emeritus Professor.
He has an extensive background of research in Language, Education and Culture with a special interest in the French social philosopher Pierre Bourdieu, with whom he worked on various projects including three periods as visiting scholar at the École des Hautes Études, Paris.
He has written several books and numerous articles on a range of topics in relation to Bourdieu and his work; including, Bourdieu: Agent Provocateur (2004); Arts Rules: Bourdieu and the Visual Arts (2007, with C. Hardy); Bourdieu, Language and Linguistics (2007); Bourdieu: Key Concepts (2014 - translated into Portugese, Spanish, Persian); Language, Ethnography and Education - Bourdieu and Literacy Studies (2012); Pierre Bourdieu and Education (2014); Bourdieu and Data Analysis (2014); and Bourdieu, Language-based Ethnographies and Reflexivity (2018).
