Reading Pierre Bourdieu in a Dual Context Essays from India and France [Hardcover]

This collection of articles is based on an Indo-French seminar on Pierre Bourdieu held to honour the work of this innovative social thinker who died in January 2002. It discusses the crises of imperial societies; the concept of state for Bourdieu and Foucault; Bourdieus theory of the symbolic; literature and politics during the German occupation; symbolic violence and masculine dominance in the Vichy regime; the notion of habitus, performance and womens experience in everyday life; Bourdieu and anthropology; and violence in the Bombay riots. Students and teachers alike will find it a stimulating read.

Introduction by the Editors 1. The Crises of Imperial Societies  2. Thinking the State with Bourdieu and Foucault  3. Bourdieus Theory of the Symbolic: Traditions and Innovations  4. The Field of Indian Knowledge in France in the 1930s  5. Literature and Politics During the German Occupation  6. Symbolic Violence and Masculine dominance in the Vichy Regime  7. Habitus, Performance and Womens Experience in Everyday Life  8. Pierre Bourdieu and Anthropology  9. Documents and Testimony: Violence in the Bombay Riots.  Index

Roland Lardinois teaches at the CNRS, Paris.

Meenakshi Thapan teaches in the Department of Sociology, University of Delhi.