The Sociology of Cultural Participation In France 30 Years After ‘Distinction
Résumé
Thirty years after Distinction, Bourdieu’s influence remains particularly strong, if not hegemonic in the field of cultural sociology in France. But this influence is also controversial. First, right at the end of the 1980's various authors, partially influenced by the British cultural studies movement, addressed what they called the “legitimist” bias of Bourdieu's cultural sociology, emphasizing popular culture autonomy and dignity. A second critical reassessment took place at the end of the 1990's and focus more on the postulated unity of cultural dispositions that goes along with the habitus concept. Finally, Bourdieu's legacy has been largely although indirectly addressed in recent years through the prism of the omnivorous argument and the identification of emerging forms of cultural capital that no longer correspond to the canonical definition of the “humanities”.