The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature [Paperback]

′As we have come to expect of him, Pierre Bourdieu′s lucid analysis of the field of cultural production once again provides us with key terms for understanding the issues at the forefront of current critical debate. His accounts of the economy of symbolic capital, and of cultural power relations will undoubtedly become classic formulations, shaping future work on the sociology of culture.′ Professor Lisa Jardine, University of London

The Field of Cultural Production brings together Bourdieu′s most important writings on art, literature and aesthetics. Bourdieu develops a highly original approach to the study of literary and artistic works, addressing many of the key issues that have preoccupied literary, art and cultural criticism in the late twentieth century: aesthetic value and judgement, the social contexts of cultural practice, the role of intellectuals and artists, and the structures of literary and artistic authority.

Bourdieu elaborates a theory of the cultural field which situates artistic works within the social conditions of their production, circulation and consumption. He examines the individuals in institutions involved in making products: not only the writers and artists, but also the publishers, critics, dealers, galleries and academies. He analyses the structure of the cultural field itself, as well as its position within the broader social structures of power.

The essays gathered together in this volume examine a variety of substantive topics, including Flaubert′s point of view, Manet′s aesthetic revolution, the historical creation of the pure gaze, and the relationship between art and power. The Field of Cultural Production will be of interest to students and scholars from a wide range of disciplines: sociology and social theory, literature, art and cultural studies.

The Field of Cultural Production brings together Bourdieu′s most important writings on art, literature and aesthetics. Bourdieu develops a highly original approach to the study of literary and artistic works, addressing many of the key issues that have preoccupied literary, art and cultural criticism in the late twentieth century: aesthetic value and judgement, the social contexts of cultural practice, the role of intellectuals and artists, and the structures of literary and artistic authority.

Bourdieu elaborates a theory of the cultural field which situates artistic works within the social conditions of their production, circulation and consumption. He examines the individuals in institutions involved in making products: not only the writers and artists, but also the publishers, critics, dealers, galleries and academies. He analyses the structure of the cultural field itself, as well as its position within the broader social structures of power.

The essays gathered together in this volume examine a variety of substantive topics, including Flaubert′s point of view, Manet′s aesthetic revolution, the historical creation of the pure gaze, and the relationship between art and power. The Field of Cultural Production will be of interest to students and scholars from a wide range of disciplines: sociology and social theory, literature, art and cultural studies.

Pierre Bourdieu was Professor of Sociology at the Collège de France