File spoon-archives/bourdieu.archive/bourdieu_1996/96-12-01.092, message 109


Date: Tue, 05 Nov 1996 09:27:30 -0500
From: lampincj-AT-ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu (Christopher J. Lamping)
Subject: Re: Bourdieu and de Certeau, Habitus and Culture Change


>Maude Frances writes:
>
>>I've had a request from a colleague about any books or articles addressing
>>Bourdieu in relation to de Certeau and vice versa.
>>
>>Any suggestions?
>
>De Certeau comments on the concept of habitus in an article on "Foucault
>and Bourdieu", in Arts de faire, 1974 (it is no doubt translated). The
>issue addressed by de Certeau concerns the problem of agency in Foucault
>and Bourdieu, but I am not quite sure that de Certeau really understood
>what Bourdieu (in Esquisse d'une theorie de la pratique) was doing. I don't
>remember any substantial comment on de Certeau by Bourdieu.
>
>Carsten Sestoft
>University of Copenhagen
>


        yes, it's in _The Practice of Everyday Life_ (U of Cal. press
1984), and with the exceptions of E.V. Daniel, Joan Scott and (insofar as
they were doing much the same thing in different ways) E.P. Thompson really
'got' Bourdieu much before the mid 80's-- it's really kind of funny in
american anthropology-- from the publication of the _Outline..._, Bourdieu
is in seemingly _everyone's_ bibliography, and no one seemed to have any
idea what the bloody hell to do with him-- there's an academic _habitus_
for you!


       As for doing history-- I'd have to take issue with Paul Boyer-- true
enough we don't have the society right in front of us, but you don't have a
modern society right in front of you either.  In either case, what is at
play is not only empirico-historical research, but good imaginative
scholarship, what Thompson called 'learning how to listen to one's
sources'.  In that regard, I don't think Braudel is the best historian for
what one could do with Bourdieu-- have a look at about anything Natalie
Zemon Davis and E.P. Thompson have written.  Thompson, at least was a huge
Bourdieu fan in his own very British way, and while I've only come across
one instance of Bourdieu referring to Thompson, they tend to come up with
pretty similar things within plus or minus a year or two of each other.

cheers

Christopher J. Lamping
Department of History and Critical Theory of Religion
Vanderbilt University
email:lampincj-AT-ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu

     ****************************************************************
'The beast is real; but its reality exists within our own conformity and
fear.  We must acknowledge ourselves in the beast of history, for only so
can we break the spell of fear and reduce it to our own size.  And then we
must meet it as it is. As Simon said, "What else is there to do?"'

                --E.P. Thompson, 1960
     ****************************************************************


**********************************************************************
Contributions: bourdieu-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
Commands: majordomo-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
Requests: bourdieu-approval-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu


   

Driftline Main Page

 

Display software: ArchTracker © Malgosia Askanas, 2000-2005