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Pierre Bourdieu

 Pierre Bourdieu Dies at 71
 French Sociologist, Philosopher.




From News Services, Washington Post, Saturday, January 26, 2002; Page B06
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ARIS -- Pierre Bourdieu, 71, an internationally renowned French sociologist and philosopher who ventured outside the academic world to join protest movements, died of cancer Jan. 23 at a hospital here.

Mr. Bourdieu, who trained as a philosopher and was also a noted anthropologist, is widely regarded as having profoundly reshaped sociological study since the 1960s.

His writings ranged widely over culture, art, politics, education, the media and literature. Later in life, he was involved in the struggle against social injustices, supporting striking rail workers, students and the homeless. He also joined anti-globalization protests and once said he believed "sociology is a combat sport."

Many of the nation's top politicians paid tribute to Mr. Bourdieu, and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin described him as "a master of contemporary sociology and a great figure in the intellectual life of our country."

In a statement, Jospin said Mr. Bourdieu was the pioneer of "a school of thought devoted to piercing criticisms of capitalist society."

Jose Bove, the French farmer-turned-activist who ransacked a McDonald's restaurant in a 1999 anti-globalization protest, told France-Inter radio that Mr. Bourdieu "was an active sociologist . . . who shed light on the reality of our society."

Mr. Bourdieu was born in the Bearn region of southwest France. He lived for many years in Algeria, where he studied traditional farming and the ethnic Berber culture.

Much of Mr. Bourdieu's early writing focused on culture and education. He argued that success in school or society depended on an individual's ability to conform to the social ethos of the dominant class.

Other works touched on literature, politics, poverty and gender inequality. In 1997's "On Television," he described television as a "symbolic instrument of oppression."

Mr. Bourdieu, a trenchant critic of capitalist society, began his academic career at Algiers University in 1958 when Algerian rebels were fighting for independence from French colonial rule.

His main work, "Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste," published in 1984, remains one of the defining studies of the relationships between consumer behavior and social class.

He had held the post of professor of sociology at the College de France, the country's most prestigious academic institute, since 1981.


OBITUARIE
Pierre Bourdieu, 71; Sociologist and Philosopher.

From Times Staff and Wire Reports, LA Times, January 27, 2002.

Pierre Bourdieu, an internationally renowned French sociologist and philosopher who ventured outside the academic world to join protest movements, has died of cancer in Paris, his publisher said. He was 71.

Bourdieu, whose works dealt with subjects ranging from the 1960s social upheavals in France to the influence of television and the media, died Wednesday at a hospital in Paris, the Seuil publishing house said.

Much of his work was concerned with the nature of social status, or "symbolic capital." Later in life, Bourdieu was involved in the struggle against social injustice, supporting striking rail workers, students and the homeless. He also joined anti-globalization protests and once called sociology "a combat sport."

Many of the nation's top politicians paid tribute to Bourdieu, whose death was front-page news in the newspaper Le Monde. Prime Minister Lionel Jospin described Bourdieu as "a master of contemporary sociology and a great figure in the intellectual life of our country."

Bourdieu held a pessimistic view of social mobility, believing that most people enter adulthood with the social and economic limitations that determine their ultimate rank in life.

"The point of my work is to show that culture and education aren't simply hobbies or minor influences," he told the New York Times recently. "They are hugely important in the affirmation of differences between groups and social classes and in the reproduction of those differences."

He tested his ideas through field studies and wrote about 30 books over a 40-year career.

Jose Bove, the French farmer-turned-activist who ransacked a McDonald's restaurant in a 1999 anti-globalization protest, told France-Inter radio that Bourdieu "was an active sociologist ... who shed light on the reality of our society."

Although Bourdieu would later argue that education was an instrument of privilege, his own early experience proved to the contrary. Born in 1930 in the Bearn region of southwest France, he was the son of an itinerant sharecropper turned postman who did not complete high school. An exceptional student, Bourdieu won admission to the elite Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, which produced many French intellectuals. He lived for many years in Algeria, where he studied traditional farming and ethnic Berber culture.

His major works included "Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste," published in France in 1979 and in the United States in 1984. It was named one of the 20th century's 10 most important works of sociology by the International Sociological Assn. Other works touched on literature, politics, poverty and gender inequality. In "On Television," he called TV a "symbolic instrument of oppression."

Since 1981, he had held the chair of sociology at the prestigious College de France.

He is survived by his wife and three children.


Pierre Bourdieu

       
 

   
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