Pierre Bourdieu, Social Transformation and 1960s British Drama
TL;DR: This article argued that Bourdieu's theory of practice offers both a model of transformation and social reproduction, however, it also claims that his account of cultural production is marred by two blind-spots.
Abstract: This article makes the controversial argument that Bourdieu’s theory of practice offers both a model of transformation and social reproduction. However, it also claims that his account of cultural production is marred by two blind-spots. First, it contends that Bourdieu has neglected key forms of material support, notably, that offered, post-war, from the ‘left hand of the state’. The subsequent New Wave of 1950s and 1960s British drama had authors who possessed neither economic capital nor certified cultural capital. Secondly, it interrogates Bourdieu’s conclusion that popular culture can never be source of canonized art. Adopting the view that Bourdieu focused too exclusively on legitimate culture, it seeks to contrast his theories on this point with the approach developed by Raymond Williams. The last section sketches a Bourdieusian analysis of Bourdieu. It reads his writings in the light of the different origins of the British and French fields of cultural studies.
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TL;DR: The enormously energetic working-class reading cultures occupying the core of Jonathan Rose's magnificent study grew up from rather unpromising roots as discussed by the authors, where the authorities, fully in awe of the power of the word, worked themselves into frenzies about books, burning dummy tomes and imprisoning booksellers.
Abstract: The enormously energetic working-class reading cultures occupying the core of Jonathan Rose’s magnificent study grew up from rather unpromising roots. For long periods, reading, like publishing, could be a dangerous business. In the sixteenth century, Thomas Cranmer had ‘proposed to confiscate heretical texts and prosecute bible readers’; and, as Rose informs us, ‘at least twenty people were burned for discussing heresy between 1539 to 1546’. We can see where Cranmer was coming from: just like Carlo Ginzburg’s Mennochio the Miller, in The Cheese and the Worms (Routledge & Kegan Paul; London, 1980), those who could read might develop critical, political views or levelling tendencies. Robert Darnton’s Forbidden Bestsellers of Pre-Revolutionary France (W.W. Norton; New York and London, 1995) shows that the authorities, fully in awe of the power of the word, worked themselves into frenzies about books, burning dummy tomes and imprisoning booksellers. In these early times, publishing and reading might have carried a health warning.
187 citations
134 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that "leadership" is a label of the managerialist project of the state, leadership should be thought of as a disruptive practice, and Bourdieusian theory can enable this thinking, but not as it is frequently mobilized in the educational administration literature.
Abstract: Despite the ‘practice’ turn in the broader management literature, very little work in educational administration has engaged in a theoretical discussion about what constitutes leadership practice. Theoretically informed by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this paper contributes to the long-established critical tradition in the educational administration literature, to argue that: (i) ‘leadership’ is a label of the managerialist project of the state; (ii) leadership should be thought of as a disruptive practice; and (iii) Bourdieusian theory can enable this thinking, but not as it is frequently mobilised in the educational administration literature. The alternative put forth in this paper is not merely replacing one external narrative (managerialism) with another (Bourdieusian), but rather advancing a theoretical position on what is leadership that paves a way forward for a research programme.
29 citations
Cites background from "Pierre Bourdieu, Social Transformat..."
...It is, however, to be noted that others (see Fowler 2012) suggest otherwise of Bourdieu’s work and argue that his theory of practice is one of both transformation and social reproduction....
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01 Jan 2018
TL;DR: page i Declaration and Acknowledgments page ii Table of
Abstract: page i Declaration and Acknowledgments page ii Table of
14 citations
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14,683 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1977
TL;DR: In this paper, Williams extended the theme of Raymond Williams's earlier work in literary and cultural analysis by outlining a theory of "cultural materialism" which integrates Marxist theories of language with literature.
Abstract: This book extends the theme of Raymond Williams's earlier work in literary and cultural analysis. He analyses previous contributions to a Marxist theory of literature from Marx himself to Lukacs, Althusser, and Goldmann, and develops his own approach by outlining a theory of 'cultural materialism' which integrates Marxist theories of language with Marxist theories of literature. Williams moves from a review of the growth of the concepts of literature and idealogy to a redefinition of 'determinism' and 'hegemony'. His incisive discussion of the 'social material process' of cultural activity culminates in a re-examination of the problems of alignment and commitment and of the creative practice in individual authors and wider social groups.
4,655 citations
Book•
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01 Jan 1961
TL;DR: The 20th century is a stage in a long revolution which began two centuries ago, transforming men and institutions and overturning conventional ideas - political, economic, and cultural.
Abstract: This volume explains the 20th century as a stage in a long revolution which began two centuries ago, transforming men and institutions and overturning conventional ideas - political, economic and cultural. The author begins by examining creativity itself and moves on to analyze social concepts and trace the history of education, the press, the novel and drama. The book is a sequel to his book, "Culture and Society" and reinterprets the dominant values of British life and literature. Other books by Raymond Williams include "The Country and the City", "The English Novel From Dickens to Lawrence" and "Modern Tragedy".
2,064 citations
2,019 citations
"Pierre Bourdieu, Social Transformat..." refers background in this paper
...Both stressed that the key historical invention credited to working-class culture has been its collectivist politics and morality, animated by mutual aid (Bourdieu, 1984 [1979]: 32–4, 149, 154, 169–208; Bourdieu et al., 1999: 317–20, 331; Williams, 1993: 93)....
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...Both agree that the tiny number of proletarian novels are a peripheral dynamic within this culture (Bourdieu, 1984 [1979]: 32–4; Williams, 1961: 313–14).9 Strikingly, both were influenced by the Bakhtin school (Bourdieu, 1984 [1979]: 491, 604; Williams, 1977: 39–43)....
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...Both men possessed an anthropological understanding of culture, refusing to equate it with elite ideas of minority distinction (Eldridge and Eldridge, 1994: 72–3, 79, 87, Bourdieu, 1984 [1979]: 100–1)....
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