Date: Mon, 01 Feb 1999 13:47:51 +0000
From: "J.F.Myles" <j.f.myles-AT-durham.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: bourdieu and language




it is probably wrong to say the debate between essentially realist approaches
to language and class and constructivist approaches is pointless - there is
still much work to be done in the theoretical sense. however, there seems to
be a sense of distinct problems facing sociologists of language and scholars
like Bernstein who essentially remain concerned with debates within
linguistics. what i am saying is that Bourdieu has been provocative in his
attacks on ethnomethodology and the so-called 'subjectivist' epistemology of
phenomenology as a whole. yet where are the reprises from ethnomethodologists?
what i am looking for is a way of informing Bourdieu's approach to language
and class so that a greater sense of, or account is taken of, agency comes
through. Judith Butler in exciteable speech has had a go but she isnt
concerned with generating sociological concepts which will serve to objectify
this area of practice.
Ethnomethodolgy may well present a means for generating such concepts.  There
seems to be enough debate in education sociology and linguistics, both in the
work of Bernstein himself and commentators like Harker and May, and recent
work by Dell Hymes.
john

Karl Maton wrote:

> Hi John,
>
> Just an aside - why is this topic pointless?  And it seems to me that much
> of the work has done this only implicitly.  Most of it is just a fairly
> pointless attempt (to echo your description) to say X is better than Y,
> and fails to use or develop either. I also get the impression from your
> email that there's lots of discussion about Bernstein and Bourdieu, but
> I'm not aware of all that much, since the 1970s (which is long ago, given
> Bernstein's development and Bourdieu's translations).
>
> On your question ... this probably doesn't help much, but though I don't
> know about Bourdieu and language, there is to be an interesting paper by
> Bernstein in BJSE which touches on everyday talk and its relations to
> pedagogic discourse.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Karl
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Karl Maton
> School of Education, 17 Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1QA
> Tel. + 44 (0) 1223 336288
> Fax: + 44 (0) 1223 332894
> email: kam13-AT-cam.ac.uk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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HTML VERSION:

Karl Maton wrote:

Hi John,

Just an aside - why is this topic pointless?  And it seems to me that much
of the work has done this only implicitly.  Most of it is just a fairly
pointless attempt (to echo your description) to say X is better than Y,
and fails to use or develop either. I also get the impression from your
email that there's lots of discussion about Bernstein and Bourdieu, but
I'm not aware of all that much, since the 1970s (which is long ago, given
Bernstein's development and Bourdieu's translations).

On your question ... this probably doesn't help much, but though I don't
know about Bourdieu and language, there is to be an interesting paper by
Bernstein in BJSE which touches on everyday talk and its relations to
pedagogic discourse.

Best wishes,

Karl

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Karl Maton
School of Education, 17 Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1QA
Tel. + 44 (0) 1223 336288
Fax: + 44 (0) 1223 332894
email: kam13-AT-cam.ac.uk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

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