Bourdieu: A critical introduction

Throughout his career, French philosopher Pierre Bourdieu sought to interrogate what he described as the "social unconscious," the means by which power is held and transmitted across generations. Bourdieu's work has been hugely influential across the social sciences and humanities for decades, yet this book argues that few scholars are using his work to its full potential. Drawing on recently released lectures, this is a systematic account of Bourdieu's full body of work, from his early research in Algiers to his last lectures in Paris, showing how Bourdieu he continued to develop his concepts of habitus, field, capital, power and socio-cultural reproduction well into his later years. It also offers a nuanced reading of Bourdieu's thinking about education, class, language, knowledge and culture.