Table of Contents

PART ONE: INTERPRETATIVE STUDIES
Situating Bourdieu
Cultural Theory and Sociological Perspectives
Bourdieu′s Cultural Theory
Bourdieu, Postmodernism, Modernity
The Historical Genesis of Bourdieu′s Cultural Theory
PART TWO: CRITICAL INVESTIGATIONS
Bourdieu and Modern Art
The Case of Impressionism
The Popular and the Middlebrow
Bourdieu, the Popular and the Periphery
Conclusion

Reviews

`This book acknowledges the relative lack of interest in, or the fairly selective reception of, the work of Bourdieu in the Anglo-American world, especially with regard to his sociology of culture. The book is therefore an attempt to introduce Bourdieu′s analysis of cultural phenomena (in particular of literature and painting), as well as an invitation to remedy the virtual absence of any critical debate regarding some of his more antagonistic claims. The author portrays Bourdieu′s theory as comprehensive and sophisticated, less idealistic in its reserved attitude towards French post structuralism than it is truly synthetic in its formulation of classical social theory in the wake of late capitalism. The monograph′s inclusion in the series Theory, Culture & Society reflects this concern with the resurgence of interest in cultural theory within the contemporary domains of social science and of the humanities in general′ - Pragmatics