Abstract
The paper deals with the sociology of literature of Pierre Bourdieu, one of the most influential figures in contemporary sociology of art. Initially, Bourdieu intended to overcome dichotomy of formalistic and contextual approaches, to transcend both the subjectivism and objectivism and to situate culture within broader social context and power relations. The sociologist suggested a systematic approach to literary practise and elaborated a theory of fields, the key terms of which are field, habitus, economic, social, cultural and symbolic capital, struggles, stake, structural homology, positions, dispositions, domination, strategy etc. The specificity of the literary field is defined mostly by the concepts of relative autonomy and “reversed” economy. Bourdieu examines the social positions of individuals and institutions involved in making cultural products (writers, publishers, critics, readers etc.), the social conditions, circulation and consumption of literary works. In this conceptual framework, literary text gains a specific status as the independent object of analysis (even such literary features as genre, narrative devices, types of characters etc. have special social meaning and function), what distinguishes Bourdieu from many his predecessors. His practical researches bring together various methods and combine empirical analysis with a strong theoretical frame. Numerous contemporary projects of sociology of culture are based on Bourdieu’s ideas. Some issues, however, have been brought for discussion, especially the universality of the notions and the concept of autonomy. Bourdieu constructed a powerful, highly theoretically structured model for interpretation of literature. It integrates every element of culture and provides tools for revealing their complex dialectical relations. Bourdieu’s sociology of literature might be a beneficial mode of analysis for Lithuanian literary scholars.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
-
Audronė Kučinskienė,
Cicero about Translation: Exploring the Meaning of Words
,
Literatūra: Vol. 54 No. 3 (2012): the Classics
-
Adolphe Haberer,
Intertextuality in Theory and Practice
,
Literatūra: Vol. 49 No. 5 (2007): Special Issue
-
Linara Bartkuvienė,
Virginia Woolf’s Aesthetics of Modern Fiction: Search for form in a Short Story “The Mark on the Wall”
,
Literatūra: Vol. 47 No. 4 (2005): World Literatures
-
Илья Дементьев,
Oxxxymiron and Pushkin: An Intertextual Analysis of the Rap Album Gorgorod
,
Literatūra: Vol. 60 No. 2 (2018): Russian Literature
-
Rūta Šlapkauskaitė,
An Intertextual Reading of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
,
Literatūra: Vol. 46 No. 5 (2004): Special Issue
-
Loreta Jakonytė,
Pierre Bourdieu’s Sociology of Literature
,
Literatūra: Vol. 47 No. 1 (2005): Lithuanian Literature
-
Inga Litvinavičienė,
Les aspects sociologiques dans l’oeuvre d’Annie Ernaux
,
Literatūra: Vol. 49 No. 5 (2007): Special Issue
-
Dalia Čiočytė,
The Literary Experience of God in Death’s Vicinity in the Works of Freedom Fighter Bronius Krivickas
,
Literatūra: Vol. 62 No. 1 (2020): Literature
-
Алена-София Ивинская,
Галина Михайлова,
Литовская поэзия в переводах Анны Ахматовой: культурологический аспект
,
Literatūra: Vol. 58 No. 2 (2016): Russian Literature
-
Małgorzata Kamecka,
History and Identity according to Leïla Sebbar
,
Literatūra: Vol. 61 No. 4 (2019): Literature