Bourdieu and the Literary Field : Paragraph Volume 35, Number 1

This book examines Bourdieu's theory of the literary field.

Pierre Bourdieu and the Literary Field brings together leading specialists from across disciplines and national borders to reflect on the contribution of one of the twentieth century''s pre-eminent sociologists to literary studies, and brings us up to date with developments in his wake. The authors examine and present Bourdieu''s theory of the literary field, the mediations that occur between ''literature'' and ''society'', its re-applications to the field of Chinese literature and its extension to ''world literary space''. They also explore Bourdieu''s approach to literature ''in practice'', which sometimes deviates from his stringent methodological prescriptions - shedding new light not only on Bourdieu''s work on literature, but also on his sociology more generally. This book is of particular interest to researchers and students in the fields of literary studies, cultural studies and sociology.