This Article Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Garrett, P. M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The Relevance of Bourdieu for Social Work

A Reflection on Obstacles and Omissions

National University of Ireland, Galway, Republic of Ireland, PM.Garrett{at}nuigalway.ie

• Summary: The article welcomes social work's seemingly new interest in Pierre Bourdieu. However, it is important to recognize the problems inherent in his mammoth contribution.

• Findings: First, Bourdieu can often present his readers with challenges which make it difficult to grasp his core arguments. Here, major obstacles include: Bourdieu's prose style; the sheer scale of his `output' and related matters; the fact that most readers (perhaps especially those situated outside the French intellectual field and its associated cultural milieu) might fail to recognize key contextual factors only hinted at in his work; the misleading labels frequently attached to Bourdieu (for example, `Marxist' or `postmodernist'). The second area of difficulty relates to aspects of the theoretical content of Bourdieu's contribution. It is argued that his lack of engagement, even flawed contributions, relating to issues pivoting on multiculturalism, `race' and ethnicity is important. Furthermore, Bourdieu's conceptual apparatus possibly lays too great an emphasis on the dulled passivity of social actors, particularly the working class. Finally, his ideas on the function of the state can be viewed as problematic.

• Applications : If social work is going to evolve a more Bourdieusian form of theory and practice then there is a need to take into account the insights which his work provides and to address the problems which it presents.

Key Words: habitus/capital/field • Marxism • multiculturalism • the state • working class

Journal of Social Work, Vol. 7, No. 3, 355-379 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1468017307084076


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?