“I UNDERSTOOD EVERYTHING, AND I UNDERSTOOD NOTHING”: ON THE USES OF LITERATURE IN PIERRE BOURDIEU’S SOCIOLOGY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37834/Keywords:
Pierre Bourdieu, sociology, literature, fiction, knowledgeAbstract
This paper analyzes the link between works of literature and works of sociology in Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical oeuvre. Starting from Bourdieu’s premise that sociology and literature share the same referent (society) but confront it in entirely different ways, the paper analyzes the epistemological capacities of literary texts and their specific ability to bring about new and original knowledge about social reality. The paper is divided into two parts. The first part explores the different uses of literature in Bourdieu’s books and papers. The second part is a close reading of the first chapter of The Rules of Art (“Flaubert, Analyst of Flaubert”), in which Bourdieu elaborates on the epistemological potential of literary works.
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