An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology

Citation

Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. J. D. (1992). An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology. University of Chicago Press.

Chapter Summary

The book is about 350 pages and has three parts of different kinds: a systematic exposition by Loïc Wacquant, a dialogue between Wacquant and Bourdieu, and a transcribed seminar led by Bourdieu. Two prefaces, one by each author, come first, and three appendixes by Wacquant, notes and a bibliography come last. The publisher describes the aim as a systematic and accessible overview that gives "interpretive keys" to the internal logic of Bourdieu's work.

Prefaces

Bourdieu and Wacquant each contribute a preface. The publisher presents the volume as intended for an English-speaking audience that lacked a single introduction to Bourdieu's wide-ranging work.

Part I, Chapters 1–7: Toward a Social Praxeology: The Structure and Logic of Bourdieu's Sociology (Loïc J. D. Wacquant)

Wacquant sets out the structure of Bourdieu's theory of knowledge, practice and society. The seven chapters are titled "Beyond the Antinomy of Social Physics and Social Phenomenology", "Classification Struggles and the Dialectic of Social and Mental Structures", "Methodological Relationalism", "The Fuzzy Logic of Practical Sense", "Against Theoreticism and Methodologism: Total Social Science", "Epistemic Reflexivity" and "Reason, Ethics, and Politics". The titles move from the opposition between social physics and social phenomenology, through classification struggles, relational method and practical sense, to epistemic reflexivity and the questions of reason, ethics and politics.

Part II, Chapters 1–7: The Purpose of Reflexive Sociology (The Chicago Workshop)

This part is a dialogue between Bourdieu and Wacquant. According to the publisher, they discuss the central concepts of Bourdieu's work, confront the main objections and criticisms it has met, and outline his views of the relation of sociology to philosophy, economics, history and politics. The chapters are "Sociology as Socioanalysis", "The Unique and the Invariant", "The Logic of Fields", "Interest, Habitus, Rationality", "Language, Gender, and Symbolic Violence", "For a Realpolitik of Reason" and "The Personal is Social".

Part III, Chapters 1–5: The Practice of Reflexive Sociology (The Paris Workshop)

The final part captures Bourdieu in the seminar room, addressing how to practise the craft of reflexive sociology. The chapters are "Handing Down a Trade", "Thinking Relationally", "A Radical Doubt", "Double Bind and Conversion" and "Participant Objectivation". The publisher stresses that the book as a whole pays attention to method, in particular to Bourdieu's manner of posing problems in a way that allows knowledge to be transferred from one area of inquiry to another.

Appendixes

Wacquant adds three appendixes: "How to Read Bourdieu", a selection of articles from the journal Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales, and selected recent writings on Bourdieu.

Key Concepts

Part I

• Social praxeology: the term in the title of Part I for the structure and logic of Bourdieu's sociology.
• Methodological relationalism: the principle named in Chapter 3 of Part I; Part III returns to it under the heading "Thinking Relationally".
• Practical sense: the subject of Chapter 4 of Part I, under the heading "The Fuzzy Logic of Practical Sense".
• Epistemic reflexivity: the topic of Chapter 6 of Part I and, in the publisher's words, the inclusion of a theory of intellectual practice as an integral component of a theory of society.

Parts II and III

• Socioanalysis: the framing of sociology in the first chapter of Part II.
• Field: the subject of "The Logic of Fields".
• Habitus, interest and rationality: the cluster of concepts discussed together in Chapter 4 of Part II.
• Symbolic violence: treated with language and gender in Chapter 5 of Part II.
• Participant objectivation: the title of the closing chapter of Part III.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Three registers in one book. The exposition, the dialogue and the workshop give three ways into the same body of work: a reader can study the structure of the theory in Part I, hear the author answer objections in Part II, and see the method in use in Part III.
• The author's own voice on his critics. The publisher highlights that Bourdieu himself, in dialogue, confronts the main objections and criticisms his work has met, something a purely secondary introduction cannot offer.
• Reference aids. Wacquant's appendix "How to Read Bourdieu" and the notes and extensive bibliography help a reader plan further reading.
• Reviewers' judgment. Charles Camic, in Contemporary Sociology, called the book "a valuable sourcebook" for those seeking to deepen their understanding of Bourdieu's work. A review in the Canadian Journal of Sociology said it provides a clear medium for understanding a sophisticated and at times difficult approach to sociological inquiry.

Limitations

• Not an introduction to sociology. Despite its title, the book is an introduction to one author's work. A reader without a first sociology course or some classical theory will find the Part I chapter titles demanding.
• Dated. The book appeared in 1992, so it does not cover Bourdieu's later writing or the extensive secondary literature since.
• Presented from within the programme. The book is co-authored with Bourdieu and its exposition is by his collaborator, and the objections in Part II are put and answered within their dialogue; independent critiques need other sources.

Where It Fits in the Course

In the introductory sociology course this is the most specialised book, and it is best read after a general text. Introduction to Sociology 3e and Giddens and Sutton's Sociology are broad introductions to the discipline; Bauman and May's Thinking Sociologically and C. Wright Mills's The Sociological Imagination are shorter, more argumentative statements of what a sociological way of thinking is. Bourdieu and Wacquant take the question of how sociologists should think further by asking how the sociologist's own position bears on the work.

Joas and Knöbl's Social Theory: Twenty Introductory Lectures is a survey of social theory since the Second World War, the period of Bourdieu's work, and supplies broader context; reading it first or alongside is useful. Readers who want to go from this book to Bourdieu's own works can use the appendix "How to Read Bourdieu".

How to Use This Book

The book is suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduate students and researchers who want a systematic route into Bourdieu. An introductory sociology course and some acquaintance with classical theory are the helpful preparation; prior reading of Bourdieu is not essential.

A practical plan:

• Start with the prefaces and Part I, taking the seven chapters slowly; they set out the vocabulary used in the rest of the book. Part II, whose dialogue form is a different kind of text, is a possible alternative entry point.
• Read Part II for the central concepts: field, habitus, interest, rationality and symbolic violence appear in chapter titles, and the Chicago workshop discusses objections as well.
• Use Part III as a practical lesson if you are planning a research project; the chapters on thinking relationally, radical doubt and participant objectivation are where the book turns to method.
• Finish with the appendixes to choose which of Bourdieu's works to read next.