Pierre Bourdieu as Theorist of the Digital

• In Event: 022 - Regular Session. Internet and Society

Abstract

Pierre Bourdieu is known for his research in the areas of education and cultural stratification that led to a number of theoretical contributions informing the sociology of inequality. Bourdieu’s concepts of the field, capital and habitus have become central to many treatments of inequality and stratification, but they also hold much promise for what is increasingly known as “digital sociology.” Beginning even before his death in 2002, Bourdieu’s ideas have had a major impact in research on and with “the digital.” Here, a review of both Bourdieusian sociology of the digital (the application of traditional sociological methods to digital topics) and digital sociology (the application of digital technologies to advance sociological methodology) shows the impact of Bourdieu’s theoretical and methodological contributions during the early stages of the Information Revolution. We suggest that the success of Bourdieu’s ideas in what would have been for him foreign terrain is a result of his theories' grounding in empirical research, philosophical underpinnings, and interdisciplinary influences.

Authors

• Gabe Ignatow, University of North Texas

• Laura Robinson, Santa Clara University