Pierre Bourdieu - Language and Symbolic Power

Language and Symbolic

Power

Pierre Bourdieu

Edited and Introduced by

John B. Thompson

Translated by Gino Raymond and

Matthew Adamson

Polity Press

Copyright General Introduction, Introductions to Parts I and 11, chapters 1, 2, 3 , 4, 5, 6, 10: Librairie Artbeme Fayard 1982

Copyright Appendix to Part I, chapters 7, 8, 9, 11: Pierre Bourdieu 1983, ; I I 1 1./,

1977, 1981, 1984, 1984

1

A.1

7 9

Copyright Editor's Introduction: John B. Thompson 1991

This English translation copyright Polity Press 1991

First published 1991 by Polity Press

in association with Basil Blackwell

Polity Press, 65 Bridge Street, Cambridge CB2 lUR, UK

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Basil B lackwell Ltd,

108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 IJF. UK

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Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

ISBN 0 7456 0097 2

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is-avaHaple from the British Library.

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Typeset in 10! on 12pt Times New Roman

by Wearside Tradespools, Fulwell, Sunderland

Printed in Great Britain by

T.J. Press Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall.

Contents

Preface

Editor's Introduction

General Introduction

Part I The Economy of Linguistic Exchanges

Introduction

1 The Production and Reproduction of Legitimate Language

2 Price Formation and the Anticipation of Profits Appendix: Did You Say 'Popular'?

Part 11 The Social Institution of Symbolic Power Introduction

3 Authorized Language: The Social Conditions for the Effectiveness of Ritual Discourse

4 Rites of Institution

5 Description and Prescription: The Conditions of Possibility and the Limits of Political Effectiveness 6 Censorship and the Imposition of Form

Part ill Symbolic Power and the Political Field 7 On Symbolic Power

8 Political Representation: Elements for a Theory of the Political Field

9 Delegation and Political Fetishism

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Vll

1

32

37

43

66

90

105

107

117

127

137

163

171

203

.

VI

Contents

10 Identity and Representation: Elements for a Critical Reflection on the Idea of Region

11 Social Space and the Genesis of 'Classes'

Notes

Index

220

229

252

292

Preface

Most of the material in this volume appeared in French in a book entitled Ce que parler veul dire: /'economie des echanges linguistiques (Paris: Librairie Artheme Fa yard, 1982). However, this English volume differs in certain respects from the original French book; two short essays have been left out, and five other pieces have been added. Hence Language and Symbolic Power is to some extent a new volume which does not have a direct counterpart in French. The original French book is itself a collection of essays, some of which are slightly modified versions of articles which had been published previously. Full bibliographical details of each chapter are given below.

1

2

3

'The Production and Reproduction of Legitimate Language', written in summer 1980, was originally published as 'La produc tion et la reproduction de la langue legitime', in Ce que par/er veut dire, pp. 23-58.

'Price Formation and the Anticipation of Profits', written in summer 1980, was originally published as 'La formation des prix et !'anticipation des profits', in Ce que par/er veut dire, pp.

59-95.

Appendix to Part I, 'Did you say "Popular"?', was originally published as 'Vous avez dit "populaire"?', Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales, 46 (March 1983), pp. 98-105.

'Authorized Language: The Social Conditions for the Effective ness of Ritual Discourse' was originally published as 'Le langage autorise. Note sur les conditions sociales de l'efficacite du Preface

.

IX

9

10

11

'Delegation and Political Fetishism' (based on a lecture given to the Association des etudiants protestancs de Paris on 7 June 1983) was originally published as 'La delegation et le fetichisme politique', Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales, 52-53 (June 1984), pp. 49-55.

'Identity and Representation: Elements for a Critical Reflection on the Idea of Region' was originally published as 'La force de la representation', in Ce que parler veuc dire, pp. 13~8. This text is a modified version of an earlier essay, 'L 'Identite et la representation. Elements pour une reflexion critique sur !'idee de region', Acres de la recherche en sciences sociales, 35

(November 1980), pp. 63-72. In this translation, the earlier title has been retained.

'Social Space and the Genesis of "Classes''' was originally published as 'Espace social et genese des "classes"', Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales, 52-53 (June 1984), pp. 3-12. An abridged version of this text was presented as the Vorlesungen zu den Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften at the University of Frankfurt in February 1984; a slightly different version appeared in English under the title 'The social space and the genesis of groups', translated by Richard Nice, Theory and Society, 14 (1985), pp. 723-44.

The 'General introduction' and tbe introductions to parts 1 and li were first published in Ce que par/er veut dire, pp. 7-10, 13-21 and 99-101 respectively.

The 'General introduction', the introductions to parts I and li and chapters 1-6 were translated by Gino Raymond. Chapters 7-11 were translated by Matthew Adamson.

J.B.T.

Cambridge, June 1990

Vlll

Preface

4

5

6

7

8

discours rituel', Actes de la recherche en sciences socia/es, H

(November 1975), pp. 183-90, and reprinted in Ce que par/er veut dire, pp. 103-19.

'Rites of Institution' (transcript of a lecture given at a confer ence on 'Rites of Passage Today' at Neuchatel in October 1981) was originally published as 'Les rites d'institution', Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales, 43 (June 1982), pp. 58-63, and reprinted in Ce que parler veut dire, pp. 121-34.

'Description and Prescription: The Conditions of Possibility and the Limits of Political Effectiveness' was originally published as 'Decrire et prescrire. Note sur les conditions de possibilite et les limites de l'efficacite politique', Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales, 30 (May 1981), pp. 69-74, and reprinted in Ce que par/er veut dire, pp. 149-61.