Table Of ContentC l a s s i f i c a t i o n
S t r u g g l e s
G E N E R A L S O C I O L O G Y , V O L U M E 1
L E C T U R E S A T T H E C O L L È G E D E F R A N C E ,
1 9 8 1 - 8 2
‘T H E A C T O F I N S T I T U T I O N O R C O N S T I T U T I O N is o n e of
those apparently useless a n d insignificant acts that is nonetheless
c h a r g e d w i t h the specific a n d f u n d a m e n t a l symbo lic effectiveness
o f t r a n s f o r m i n g t h e factual into t h e legal - t r a n s f o r m i n g the
a b s u r d brutum datum o f the “ that’s it” a n d the “ that’s h o w it is”,
into a “ this is h o w it m u s t b e ”. It is in the relations linking this
s y m b o l i c p o w e r o f constitution a n d institution to the a m b i g u i t y
o f the real w o r l d that there arises w h a t I w a n t to describe, n a m e l y
the struggle for t h e m o n o p o l y o f s y m b o l i c p o w e r , w h i c h is the
struggle for the p o w e r to legitimately enunciate the truth of the
world. T h i s struggle for truth, for the p o w e r to say w h a t exists
- since the p o w e r to state w h a t d o e s exist is always a w a y of saying
w h a t m u s t necessarily exist - this struggle for the m o n o p o l y of
performativity is the political struggle properly speaking. It is a
struggle for recognition, that is, for the imposition o f a f o r m o f
k n o w l e d g e o f the social w o r l d that people h a v e to a c k n o w l e d g e . ’
P I E R R E B O U R D I E U
C i J L
Cover design by Joâo 8icker I www.fba. design
Cover illustration: Jean-François Chalgrin (French. Paris 1739-1811).
Gift of Hr and Mrs Charles Wrightman, 1970
Printed in Great Britain
polity
poiitybooks.com 7 8 1 5 0 9 51327 7
P i e r r e B o u r d i e u
C l a s s i f i c a t i o n S t r u g g l e s
G e n e r a l S o c i o l o g y , V o l u m e 1
L e c t u r e s at t h e C o l l è g e d e F r a n c e ( 1 9 8 1 - 1 9 8 2 )
E d i t i o n established b y Patrick C h a m p a g n e , Julien D u v a l ,
F r a n c k P o u p e a u a n d M a r i e - C h r i s t i n e Rivière
T r a n s l a t e d b y Peter Collier
polity
First published in French in Sociologie générale. Volume I. Cours au Collège de France
(1981-1983) © Éditions Raisons d'Agir/Éditions d u Seuil. 2015
This English edition © Polity Press. 2018
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I S B N - 13: 978-1-5095-1327-7
A catalogue record for this b o ok is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bourdieu, Pierre, 1930-2002, author.
Title: Classification struggles : General sociology, volume 1 / Pierre
Bourdieu.
Other titles: Sociologie g?en?erale. V o l u m e 1. English
Description: Cambridge, U K ; Medford, M A : Polity Press, [2018] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: L C C N 2018019602 | I S B N 9781509513277 (hardback)
Subjects: L C S H : Sociology-Study and teaching (Higher)--France. |
Classification. | Sociology.
Classification: L C C H M 5 7 8 . F 8 B68213 2018 | D D C 301.071-dc23 L C record
available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018019602
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C l a s s i f i c a t i o n S t r u g g l e s
Editorial note
W i t h this b o o k , w e c o n t i n u e the publication o f Pierre B o u r d i e u ’s lec
tures at the Collège d e France. A f e w m o n t h s after his final lecture in
this institute in M a r c h 2001, B o u r d i e u published a c o n d e n s e d version
o f the last y e a r o f his teaching (2000-1), entitled Science of Science
and Reflexivity} Since his death, a further t w o v o l u m e s h a v e b e e n
published. On the State, in 2012, a n d Manet: A Symbolic Revolution,
in 2017, c o r r e s p o n d i n g to his lectures for 1 9 8 9 - 9 2 a n d 1 9 9 8 - 2 0 0 0
respectively.2 T h e present v o l u m e inaugurates the publication o f the
“course o f lectures o n general sociology’ that B o u r d i e u h a d c h o s e n for
the first five years o f his teaching at the Collège d e France. It presents
the lectures for the first year, that is, eight o n e - h o u r lectures given
b e t w e e n April a n d J u n e 1982. A s e c o n d v o l u m e , to a p p e a r later, will
contain the thirteen t w o - h o u r lectures delivered b e t w e e n O c t o b e r 1982
a n d J a n u a r y 1983. F u r t h e r v o l u m e s will collect the lectures f r o m the
three following years.
O u r edition o f this ‘course o f lectures o n general sociology’ follows
the editorial c o n v e n t i o n s that w e r e defined for the publication o f the
lectures o n the state, in o r d e r to reconcile fidelity w i t h readability.3 T h e
text published here is a transcription o f the lectures as they w e r e actu
ally delivered. H o w e v e r , in transposing f r o m the oral to the written
m o d e w e h a v e i ntro duced s o m e m i n o r revisions, while respecting the
a p p r o a c h that B o u r d i e u himself a d o p t e d w h e n h e revised his o w n lec
tures a n d s e m i n a r papers: m a k i n g stylistic corrections a n d s m o o t h i n g
the r o u g h e d g e s o f oral delivery (such as repetition, a n d other linguistic
tics). O n l y o n exceptional occasions h a v e w e s uppr essed the d e v e l o p
m e n t o f a n a r g u m e n t , s o m e t i m e s b e c a u s e it w a s t o o hastily improvised,
b u t m o r e often b e c a u s e the s o u n d recording w a s n o t clear e n o u g h for
us to establish a c o n v i n c i n g text. In general, w e h a v e placed inaudible
w o r d s a n d passages, o r interruptions to the recording, w h e r e w e w e r e
viii Editorial note
u n a b l e to obtain a secure reading, b e t w e e n square brackets [.. .].4 T h e
division o f the text into p a r a g r a p h s is the w o r k o f the editors, as are the
s u b h e a d i n g s a n d the punctuation. T h e ‘parentheses’ w h e r e B o u r d i e u
digresses f r o m his m a i n a r g u m e n t h a v e b e e n h a n d l e d in different w a y s ,
a c c o r d i n g to their length a n d their relation to the context. T h e shorter
o n e s h a v e b e e n placed b e t w e e n dashes. W h e n these digressions acquire
a certain a u t o n o m y a n d i m p l y a b r e a k in the thread o f the a r g u m e n t ,
they are placed b e t w e e n brackets, a n d w h e n o n e is really t o o long,
it m a y b e given the status o f a separate section in its o w n right. T h e
e n d n o t e s are m o s t l y o f three different kinds. S o m e m a i n l y indicate the
texts to w h i c h B o u r d i e u refers explicitly o r implicitly, w h e n it h a s b e e n
possible to identify t h e m ; in those cases w h e r e it s e e m e d helpful, short
q uota tions f r o m these texts h a v e b e e n a d d e d . O t h e r s a i m to indicate to
the reader those writings b y Bourd ieu, w h e t h e r predating o r postdat
ing the lectures, that d e v e l o p the points u n d e r discussion. T h e third
k i n d o f n ote provides contextual information, for e x a m p l e explaining
allusions w h i c h m i g h t escape the c o n t e m p o r a r y reader o r a reader
unfamiliar w i t h the F r e n c h cultural context o f the period.
W e h a v e r e p r o d u c e d in a n a p p e n d i x the s u m m a r i e s o f the lectures,
as published in L’Annuaire du Collège de France - cours et travaux.
Acknowledgements
T h e editors w o u l d like to t h a n k B r u n o A u e r b a c h , D o n a l d B r o a d y ,
C h r i s t o p h e Charle, J o h a n Heilbron, T h i b a u t Izard a n d R e m i L e n o i r
for their contributions to this b o o k .
