Date: Sun, 3 Nov 1996 21:54:25 -0500 (EST)
From: George Free <aw570-AT-freenet.toronto.on.ca>
Subject: Re: Habitus and Culture Change


On Sun, 3 Nov 1996, Paul Bayer wrote:

> I remain sceptical, whether one could (simply) apply a Bourdieu approach
> to prehistorian periods. Bourdieus approach is a modern one, result of
> empirical work in modern society. One must remember that Bourdieu hasn't
> developped a "general theory", but he insists that concepts such as
> "habitus", "field", "social space" etc. help to explain empirical
> material _and_ to ask the right questions.
> 
	Actually, you could say that Bourdieu's approach is a result of 
his empirical work in the study of traditional society (the Kabyle in 
Algeria). 
	It is important I think to remember the anthropological roots of 
Bourdieu's work. In effect, what he has done is apply anthropological 
methods to the study of modern society--leading him to question some of 
the structuralist biases inherent in anthropology.... and thus creating a 
more general anthropology (science of man).
	Also, while highly critical of "theoreticist theory," Bourdieu is 
also interested in identifying the invariants in his theory of practice. 
He refers to a "general science of the economy of practices," for 
example, and seeks to identify the invariants of the structure and 
functioning of social fields.

		regards,

		George Free		aw570-AT-torfree.net
		Toronto, Ontario
		Canada

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