An Introduction to Pierre Bourdieu: Field, Habitus, Cultural Capital

Pierre Bourdieu was, and still is today, a highly relevant figure in the field of sociology whose theories have been widely adopted across a diverse range of fields and disciplines (Korom, 2020). Translated into more than forty languages, his works have become standard points of reference in the fields of anthropology, linguistics, art history, cultural studies, politics, sociology, and beyond (Speller, 2011).

Given the multidisciplinary application of Bourdieu's thought and its versatility in the study of culture, the workshop aims to provide the participants with an overview of Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of field, habitus and cultural capital, opening the floor to a discussion on their relevance to said participants' individual research projects. The workshop will, therefore, not only illustrate Bourdieu’s theories by engaging with extracts from his own texts, but will also provide examples of how such theories were incorporated and applied in the study of culture.

The workshop will be divided into two parts: the first part will provide an overview of the three concepts (and their possible applications), while the second part will focus, instead, on how other PhD candidates can integrate these concepts into their own research projects.

This introduction will equip the participants with a deeper knowledge of Pierre  Bourdieu’s main concepts, while also offering useful theoretical and methodological insights on their applicability.

// Marco Presago