The Field of Cultural Production

The Field of Cultural Production brings together Bourdieu's
most important writings on art, literature and aesthetics. Bourdieu
develops a highly original approach to the study of literary and
artistic works, addressing many of the key issues that have
preoccupied literary, art and cultural criticism in the late
twentieth century: aesthetic value and judgement, the social
contexts of cultural practice, the role of intellectuals and
artists, and the structures of literary and artistic authority.

Bourdieu elaborates a theory of the cultural field which
situates artistic works within the social conditions of their
production, circulation and consumption. He examines the
individuals in institutions involved in making products: not only
the writers and artists, but also the publishers, critics, dealers,
galleries and academies. He analyses the structure of the cultural
field itself, as well as its position within the broader social
structures of power.

The essays gathered together in this volume examine a variety of
substantive topics, including Flaubert's point of view, Manet's
aesthetic revolution, the historical creation of the pure gaze, and
the relationship between art and power. The Field of Cultural
Production will be of interest to students and scholars from a
wide range of disciplines: sociology and social theory, literature,
art and cultural studies.