Date: Fri, 02 May 2003 11:45:32 +0100
From: "karl.maton" <karl.maton-AT-pop.ntlworld.com>
Subject: Re: Literary value, lasting over time



On this issue .... there's an interesting paper on the question of 
arbitrariness in Bourdieu's approach, it's

LiPuma, E. (1993). Culture and the concept of culture in a theory of 
practice. In: C. Calhoun, E. LiPuma & M. Postone (Eds.), Bourdieu: 
Critical perspectives, Cambridge: Polity Press.

I've been grappling with this issue of value, intrinsic or otherwise, in 
terms of knowledge rather than art, but the issue holds across the two 
topics.

There's a book review coming out I've done for the European Journal of 
Cultural Studies which also grapples with this again ... it'll be out 
sometime soon, I'll let you know when (I'll try to get it on pdf format 
and stick it on my website as journals can be hard to get hold of).

Karl Maton


David Gedin wrote:

> Hi Guenter,
>
> As far as I understand Bourdieu's view on art you are perfectly right, 
> but I also think he actually says something a little bit stronger. One 
> reason is that the idea that art has an intrinsic or universal value 
> is a rather specific and not at all general stand in aesthetics, what 
> you could call an "idealistic aesthetic". Without trying to map out 
> the whole minefield of different ideas about esthetical values, you 
> could instead for example state that the beauty of a piece of art is 
> how it expresses the mind of the artist or, opposite, "in the eye of 
> the beholder", not to forget the Marxist view that it reflects the 
> economical structure of society, and so forth. But Bourdieu's 
> starting-point is to regard taste as a weapon in the social struggle 
> for dominance, and "aesthetical value" is consequently whatever the 
> socially and (in our time) aesthetically dominant group in society 
> (that is, critics, artists, etc.) defines as "aesthetical value".
>
> I hope this makes sense.
>
> All the best
>
> David
>
>
>> Hello David,
>>
>> unfortunately I cannot answer your question but would like to ask one 
>> in return. I'm a psychologist and therefore rather a layman in the 
>> field of sociology, nevertheless I find Bourdieu fascinating and the 
>> work you are busy with is certainly very interesting. So, what is my 
>> question? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it a consequence of 
>> Bourdieu's sociology in general that works of art have no intrinsic 
>> or universal value, but only relative to a certain field resp. a 
>> certain social and historical context? Is this the "nihilistic view" 
>> you allude to?
>>
>> Regards
>> Guenter
>>
>>
>> David Gedin schrieb:
>>
>>> Hello everyone,
>>>
>>> I'm just finishing my theses about the creation of an autonomous 
>>> cultural field in Sweden in the end of the nineteen-century. (Though 
>>> I am only describing a part of the process.) A kind of Swedish, very 
>>> compact, rather humble, "Les rgles de l'art".
>>>
>>> During this work some questions have come up. One interesting 
>>> problem is if, and in what way artistic works maintains any value 
>>> over time. Though starting from a nihilistic esthetical view on, for 
>>> example, books, Bourdieu has some quite good theories why the 
>>> masterpieces actually are masterpieces ("L'education sentimentale", 
>>> "Les fleurs du mal", and so forth.) But does anyone know (or has a 
>>> theory of) any theory of Bourdieu that would explain the importance 
>>> of these works today, except as references (for consecration) or 
>>> because of their historical value (that is, for our understanding of 
>>> history)?
>>>
>>> With best wishes
>>>
>>> David Gedin
>>> University of Stockholm, Sweden
>>>
>>> David.Gedin-AT-telia.com
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
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-- 
With best wishes,

Karl

WHEN REPLYING:
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Karl Maton
School of Education, University of Cambridge

Email: karl.maton-AT-ntlworld.com
Email: matonianuk-AT-yahoo.co.uk
URL: http://www.KarlMaton.com

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This is your life and its ending one minute at a time.



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