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Bourdieu’s Relational Method in Theory and in Practice: From Fields and Capitals to Networks and Institutions (and Back Again)

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Applying Relational Sociology

Abstract

One of Pierre Bourdieu’s key meta-theoretical assertions is that sociologists should embrace a relational rather than a substantialist approach. On the first page of Practical Reason, Bourdieu describes “what I believe to be most essential in my work” (1998, p. vii) by pointing to two fundamental qualities, a specific philosophy of action (articulated in his inter-related suite of concepts—field, habitus, and capital) and a particular philosophy of science “that one could call relational in that it accords primacy to relations” (p. vii). Bourdieu explains, “I refer here … to the opposition suggested by Ernst Cassirer between ‘substantial concepts’ and ‘functional or relational concepts’ ” (p. 3).2 According to Bourdieu, a substantialist approach privileges things rather than relations and, as such, has a tendency to reify the social order, to essentialize social phenomena, and to embody a positivist orientation to social research. In contrast, Bourdieu holds up the ideal of a relational analysis. A key tenet of Bourdieu’s relationalism is that objects under investigation are seen in context, as a part of a whole. Their meaningfulness is determined not by the characteristic properties, attributes, or essences of the thing itself, but rather with reference to the field of objects, practices, or activities within which they are embedded.

This paper was originally drafted for an American Sociological Association session on “The Sociology of Pierre Bourdieu,” organized by David Swartz (Washington D.C., 2000). It was revived, reinvigorated and rewritten under the editorial advice of Kees van Rees and Hugo Verdaasdonk a few years later and then finally revised again and published here through the good efforts and editorial advice of François Dépelteau and Christopher Powell. Thanks to each of these people for their editorial help and encouragement. Thanks also to Michael Bourgeois, Peter Cebon, Mustafa Emirbayer, Noah Friedkin, Roger Friedland, Corinne Kirchner, Michael McQuarrie, José A. Rodríguez, Marc Ventresca, and ElliotWeininger for helpful written comments on some version of this essay. Special thanks to Natalie Mohr for drawing the figures. Research on this paper has partially been supported by a grant from the UCSB Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research. Contact info: mohr@soc.ucsb.edu.

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  1. John W. Mohr
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Mohr, J.W. (2013). Bourdieu’s Relational Method in Theory and in Practice: From Fields and Capitals to Networks and Institutions (and Back Again). In: Dépelteau, F., Powell, C. (eds) Applying Relational Sociology. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137407009_5

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