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Boundless Worlds: An Anthropological Approach to Movement
by Peter Wynn KirbyWhere lived experience of surroundings is shifting, visceral, and immersive, interpretation of social spaces tends to be static and remote. "Space" and "place" are also often analyzed without grappling much (if at all) with the social, political, and historical roots of spatial practice. This volume embarks upon the novel strategy of focusing on movement as a way of understanding social spaces, which offers a means to get beyond biases inherent in the social science of space. Ethnographic studies of social life in settings as varied as nomadic Mongolia and island Melanesia, as distinct as contemporary Tokyo and war-torn Palestine, challenge Western assumptions about the universality of "space" and allow concrete understanding of how life plays out over different socio-cultural topographies. In a world that is becoming increasingly "bounded" in many ways - despite enormous changes wrought by technological, ideological, and other social developments - Boundless Worlds urges a scholarly turn, away from the purely global, toward the human dimension of social lives lived in conditions of conflict, upheaval, remapping, and improvisation through movement.
The Bounds of Liberalism: The Fragility of Freedom
by Neville BrownThe core issue of this work is how far the West may need to modify or extend the liberal philosophy informing its responses to the multiple world crisis it is now attempting to deal with. Coming after the author's "Engaging the Cosmos: Astronomy, Philosophy & Faith" and "The Geography of Human Conflict", this text will complete a trilogy addressing very comprehensively the challenges of our times. It provides a review of the strengths and weaknesses of Social Liberalism that, broadly speaking, occupies the ground between moderate Right and moderate Left. The work is informed by the conviction that the world, half a century hence, will be either considerably better than now (freer, more peaceable, more enriching...) or else a good deal worse. Those concerned to effect the former outcome should promote the spread among emergent states of well-founded democracy. But they must also look stringently at how well democratic institutions may function in the mass societies of the West. History indicates that pell-mell cultural change, constant ecological impoverishment, and endless leap forwards in applied science may not augur well for stability and peace. The author's accepted expertise in History, International Security, Planetary Development and Applied Geophysics means he can address a variety of issues such as: climate change and resource depletion; community decay, data saturation, the future of universities, democratic devolution, leaders and led, and medical philosophy; and biowarfare, the management of Near Space, international currency, and a planetary ethos. It is contended that we are not approaching the "end of History" in any meaningful sense. Instead we are passing through, at accelerated pace, an evolutionary transition as impacting as that between the Old and New Stone Ages. Our perspectives on the immediate future may be honed by free-ranging speculation about what mankind can anticipate over the next few centuries.
The Bounds of Liberalism: The Fragility of Freedom
by Neville BrownThe core issue of this work is how far the West may need to modify or extend the liberal philosophy informing its responses to the multiple world crisis it is now attempting to deal with. Coming after the author's "Engaging the Cosmos: Astronomy, Philosophy & Faith" and "The Geography of Human Conflict", this text will complete a trilogy addressing very comprehensively the challenges of our times. It provides a review of the strengths and weaknesses of Social Liberalism that, broadly speaking, occupies the ground between moderate Right and moderate Left. The work is informed by the conviction that the world, half a century hence, will be either considerably better than now (freer, more peaceable, more enriching...) or else a good deal worse. Those concerned to effect the former outcome should promote the spread among emergent states of well-founded democracy. But they must also look stringently at how well democratic institutions may function in the mass societies of the West. History indicates that pell-mell cultural change, constant ecological impoverishment, and endless leap forwards in applied science may not augur well for stability and peace. The author's accepted expertise in History, International Security, Planetary Development and Applied Geophysics means he can address a variety of issues such as: climate change and resource depletion; community decay, data saturation, the future of universities, democratic devolution, leaders and led, and medical philosophy; and biowarfare, the management of Near Space, international currency, and a planetary ethos. It is contended that we are not approaching the "end of History" in any meaningful sense. Instead we are passing through, at accelerated pace, an evolutionary transition as impacting as that between the Old and New Stone Ages. Our perspectives on the immediate future may be honed by free-ranging speculation about what mankind can anticipate over the next few centuries.
The Bounds of Reason: Game Theory and the Unification of the Behavioral Sciences
by Herbert GintisGame theory is central to understanding human behavior and relevant to all of the behavioral sciences—from biology and economics, to anthropology and political science. However, as The Bounds of Reason demonstrates, game theory alone cannot fully explain human behavior and should instead complement other key concepts championed by the behavioral disciplines. Herbert Gintis shows that just as game theory without broader social theory is merely technical bravado, so social theory without game theory is a handicapped enterprise. This edition has been thoroughly revised and updated.Reinvigorating game theory, The Bounds of Reason offers innovative thinking for the behavioral sciences.
The Bounds of Reason: Game Theory and the Unification of the Behavioral Sciences
by Herbert GintisGame theory is central to understanding human behavior and relevant to all of the behavioral sciences—from biology and economics, to anthropology and political science. However, as The Bounds of Reason demonstrates, game theory alone cannot fully explain human behavior and should instead complement other key concepts championed by the behavioral disciplines. Herbert Gintis shows that just as game theory without broader social theory is merely technical bravado, so social theory without game theory is a handicapped enterprise. This edition has been thoroughly revised and updated.Reinvigorating game theory, The Bounds of Reason offers innovative thinking for the behavioral sciences.
Bourdieu: The Development of Bourdieu's Intellectual Heritage in Contemporary UK Sociology (Sociological Futures)
by Nicola Ingram Jessie Abrahams Ciaran Burke Jenny ThatcherThis book will give unique insight into how a new generation of Bourdieusian researchers apply Bourdieu to contemporary issues. It will provide a discussion of the working mechanisms of thinking through and/or with Bourdieu when analysing data. In each chapter, individual authors discuss and reflect upon their own research and the ways in which they put Bourdieu to work. The aim of this book is not to just to provide examples of the development of Bourdieusian research, but for each author to reflect on the ways in which they came across Bourdieu’s work, why it speaks to them (including a reflexive consideration of their own background), and the way in which it is thus useful in their thinking. Many of the authors were introduced to Bourdieu’s works after his death. The research problems which the individual authors tackle are contextualised in a different time and space to the one Bourdieu occupied when he was developing his conceptual framework. This book will demonstrate how his concepts can be applied as "thinking tools" to understand contemporary social reality. Throughout Bourdieu’s career, he argued that sociologists need to create an epistemological break, to abandon our common sense – or as much as we can – and to formulate findings from our results. In essence, we are putting Bourdieu to work to provide a structural constructivist approach to social reality anchored through empirical reflexivity.
Bourdieu: The Development of Bourdieu's Intellectual Heritage in Contemporary UK Sociology (Sociological Futures)
by Nicola Ingram Jessie Abrahams Ciaran Burke Jenny ThatcherThis book will give unique insight into how a new generation of Bourdieusian researchers apply Bourdieu to contemporary issues. It will provide a discussion of the working mechanisms of thinking through and/or with Bourdieu when analysing data. In each chapter, individual authors discuss and reflect upon their own research and the ways in which they put Bourdieu to work. The aim of this book is not to just to provide examples of the development of Bourdieusian research, but for each author to reflect on the ways in which they came across Bourdieu’s work, why it speaks to them (including a reflexive consideration of their own background), and the way in which it is thus useful in their thinking. Many of the authors were introduced to Bourdieu’s works after his death. The research problems which the individual authors tackle are contextualised in a different time and space to the one Bourdieu occupied when he was developing his conceptual framework. This book will demonstrate how his concepts can be applied as "thinking tools" to understand contemporary social reality. Throughout Bourdieu’s career, he argued that sociologists need to create an epistemological break, to abandon our common sense – or as much as we can – and to formulate findings from our results. In essence, we are putting Bourdieu to work to provide a structural constructivist approach to social reality anchored through empirical reflexivity.
Bourdieu and After: A Guide to Relational Phenomenology
by Will AtkinsonPierre Bourdieu was the most influential sociologist of the late 20th century. The framework he developed continues to inspire countless researchers across the globe and provokes intense debates long after his death. Novel concepts, innovative applications and countless elaborations spring up every day, bulking out and shaping a distinct, if not always entirely consistent, body of work that might be characterised as a recognisable tradition. For those coming to Bourdieu for the first time, therefore, and interested in using his ideas in their own research, it no longer makes sense to confine oneself to the ideas of the man himself. An overview of the varied ways his concepts and arguments have been deepened and updated to make sense of new times or to fill certain gaps, and how insights on seemingly disconnected topics weave together into a bigger picture, is not just desirable but essential. Bourdieu and After aims to provide exactly this overview. Working closely with Bourdieu’s own writings, but also covering a wide range of research and literature inspired by him, it aims to guide the reader through the key principles, the major and minor concepts and the concrete findings of Bourdieusian sociology as clearly and comprehensively as possible. It explains the difficult and often overlooked philosophical foundations, walks through the logic of famous terms like ‘field’, ‘habitus’ and ‘capital’ and demonstrates how they have been or can be used to provide powerful accounts of colonialism, the emergence of nation states and the rise of global social relations. It covers topics that Bourdieu was famous for analysing, like class and educational inequality, yet also traverses subjects on which he said little but that others influenced by him have tackled in depth, such as ethnicity, sexuality and family. Along the way Atkinson seeks to undermine some of the common criticisms levelled at Bourdieu while identifying remaining gaps and limitations. Rather than simply recognising the problems, however, Atkinson proposes possible solutions too – solutions that are facilitated, he argues, by characterising Bourdieusian sociology as what he calls ‘relational phenomenology’.
Bourdieu and After: A Guide to Relational Phenomenology
by Will AtkinsonPierre Bourdieu was the most influential sociologist of the late 20th century. The framework he developed continues to inspire countless researchers across the globe and provokes intense debates long after his death. Novel concepts, innovative applications and countless elaborations spring up every day, bulking out and shaping a distinct, if not always entirely consistent, body of work that might be characterised as a recognisable tradition. For those coming to Bourdieu for the first time, therefore, and interested in using his ideas in their own research, it no longer makes sense to confine oneself to the ideas of the man himself. An overview of the varied ways his concepts and arguments have been deepened and updated to make sense of new times or to fill certain gaps, and how insights on seemingly disconnected topics weave together into a bigger picture, is not just desirable but essential. Bourdieu and After aims to provide exactly this overview. Working closely with Bourdieu’s own writings, but also covering a wide range of research and literature inspired by him, it aims to guide the reader through the key principles, the major and minor concepts and the concrete findings of Bourdieusian sociology as clearly and comprehensively as possible. It explains the difficult and often overlooked philosophical foundations, walks through the logic of famous terms like ‘field’, ‘habitus’ and ‘capital’ and demonstrates how they have been or can be used to provide powerful accounts of colonialism, the emergence of nation states and the rise of global social relations. It covers topics that Bourdieu was famous for analysing, like class and educational inequality, yet also traverses subjects on which he said little but that others influenced by him have tackled in depth, such as ethnicity, sexuality and family. Along the way Atkinson seeks to undermine some of the common criticisms levelled at Bourdieu while identifying remaining gaps and limitations. Rather than simply recognising the problems, however, Atkinson proposes possible solutions too – solutions that are facilitated, he argues, by characterising Bourdieusian sociology as what he calls ‘relational phenomenology’.
Bourdieu and Social Space: Mobilities, Trajectories, Emplacements (Worlds in Motion #6)
by Deborah Reed-DanahayFrench sociologist and anthropologist Pierre Bourdieu’s relevance for studies of spatiality and mobility has received less attention than other aspects of his work. Here, Deborah Reed-Danahay argues that the concept of social space, central to Bourdieu’s ideas, addresses the structured inequalities that prevail in spatial choices and practices. She provides an ethnographically informed interpretation of social space that demonstrates its potential for new directions in studies of mobility, immobility, and emplacement. This book traces the links between habitus and social space across the span of Bourdieu’s writings, and places his work in dialogue with historical and contemporary approaches to mobility.
Bourdieu and Social Space: Mobilities, Trajectories, Emplacements (Worlds in Motion #6)
by Deborah Reed-DanahayFrench sociologist and anthropologist Pierre Bourdieu’s relevance for studies of spatiality and mobility has received less attention than other aspects of his work. Here, Deborah Reed-Danahay argues that the concept of social space, central to Bourdieu’s ideas, addresses the structured inequalities that prevail in spatial choices and practices. She provides an ethnographically informed interpretation of social space that demonstrates its potential for new directions in studies of mobility, immobility, and emplacement. This book traces the links between habitus and social space across the span of Bourdieu’s writings, and places his work in dialogue with historical and contemporary approaches to mobility.
Bourdieu, Habitus and Field: A Critical Realist Approach (Palgrave Studies in Relational Sociology)
by Sadiya AkramThis innovative book argues that establishing an ontological framework makes a substantial difference to Pierre Bourdieu’s core concepts of habitus and field. In doing so it addresses the charges of determinism, tautology, and circularity that have long been directed at habitus and field. Teasing out Bourdieu’s ontology, the book offers a novel critical realist reading of Bourdieu, arguing that while Bourdieu explored the epistemological basis of his key concepts, he neglects their ontological underpinnings, and that elaborating on this adds a layer of depth and complexity which enriches Bourdieu’s project. In addition to articulating the synergies between Roy Bhaskar’s critical realism and Bourdieu’s oeuvre, this book extends Bourdieu’s insights in new and exciting directions by developing an ontologically informed Bourdieusian account of institutions as explored through the lens of institutional racism and by outlining a unique methodological approach to habitus.
Bourdieu, Habitus and Social Research: The Art of Application
by Cristina Costa Mark MurphyThis collection brings together for the first time a set of researchers whose research methodologies centre on Bourdieu's concept of habitus. Full of insight and innovation, the book is an essential read for anyone wanting to know more about approaches to social theory and its application in research.
Bourdieu In Translation Studies: The Socio-cultural Dynamics Of Shakespeare Translation In Egypt (Routledge Advances In Translation And Interpreting Studies)
by Sameh HannaThis book explores the implications of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology of cultural production for the study of translation as a socio-cultural activity. Bourdieu’s work has continued to inspire research on translation in the last few years, though without a detailed, large-scale investigation that tests the viability of his conceptual tools and methodological assumptions. With focus on the Arabic translations of Shakespeare’s tragedies in Egypt, this book offers a detailed analysis of the theory of ‘fields of cultural production’ with the purpose of providing a fresh perspective on the genesis and development of drama translation in Arabic. The different cases of the Arabic translations of Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear and Othello lend themselves to sociological analysis, due to the complex socio-cultural dynamics that conditioned the translation decisions made by translators, theatre directors, actors/actresses and publishers. In challenging the mainstream history of Shakespeare translation into Arabic, which is mainly premised on the linguistic proximity between source and target texts, this book attempts a ‘social history’ of the ‘Arabic Shakespeare’ which takes as its foundational assumption the fact that translation is a socially-situated phenomenon that is only fully appreciated in its socio-cultural milieu. Through a detailed discussion of the production, dissemination and consumption of the Arabic translations of Shakespeare’s tragedies, Bourdieu in Translation Studies marks a significant contribution to both sociology of translation and the cultural history of modern Egypt.
Bourdieu In Translation Studies: The Socio-cultural Dynamics Of Shakespeare Translation In Egypt (Routledge Advances In Translation And Interpreting Studies)
by Sameh HannaThis book explores the implications of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology of cultural production for the study of translation as a socio-cultural activity. Bourdieu’s work has continued to inspire research on translation in the last few years, though without a detailed, large-scale investigation that tests the viability of his conceptual tools and methodological assumptions. With focus on the Arabic translations of Shakespeare’s tragedies in Egypt, this book offers a detailed analysis of the theory of ‘fields of cultural production’ with the purpose of providing a fresh perspective on the genesis and development of drama translation in Arabic. The different cases of the Arabic translations of Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear and Othello lend themselves to sociological analysis, due to the complex socio-cultural dynamics that conditioned the translation decisions made by translators, theatre directors, actors/actresses and publishers. In challenging the mainstream history of Shakespeare translation into Arabic, which is mainly premised on the linguistic proximity between source and target texts, this book attempts a ‘social history’ of the ‘Arabic Shakespeare’ which takes as its foundational assumption the fact that translation is a socially-situated phenomenon that is only fully appreciated in its socio-cultural milieu. Through a detailed discussion of the production, dissemination and consumption of the Arabic translations of Shakespeare’s tragedies, Bourdieu in Translation Studies marks a significant contribution to both sociology of translation and the cultural history of modern Egypt.
Bourdieu, Language and the Media
by J. MylesThis book engages with key theoretical and analytical issues in the field of media, communication and cultural studies. Using case studies of radio, internet, text messaging and photojournalism, it deploys Bourdieu's ideas to reveal how language in the media is implicated in broader social patterns of 'symbolic violence'.
The Bourdieu paradigm: The origins and evolution of an intellectual social project
by Derek RobbinsAnalysing the work of Schutz, Gurwitsch, Merleau-Ponty and Bourdieu, this book considers the historical development of competing philosophies of social science. It examines the relations between phenomenology, Gestalt psychology and empirical social science in the first half of the twentieth century and then explores the way in which Bourdieu responded to this legacy by advocating a form of reflexive social-scientific investigation, which would remain faithful to primary experience without disowning accumulated intellectualism. The book asks whether the Bourdieu ‘paradigm’ retains value beyond the French conditions of its production. It offers an analysis of the development of Bourdieu’s thought and practice which constitutes an invitation to readers generally to reassess the value of the western tradition of the social function of the detached intellectual for mass democratic societies.
The Bourdieu paradigm: The origins and evolution of an intellectual social project (G - Reference,information And Interdisciplinary Subjects Ser.)
by Derek RobbinsAnalysing the work of Schutz, Gurwitsch, Merleau-Ponty and Bourdieu, this book considers the historical development of competing philosophies of social science. It examines the relations between phenomenology, Gestalt psychology and empirical social science in the first half of the twentieth century and then explores the way in which Bourdieu responded to this legacy by advocating a form of reflexive social-scientific investigation, which would remain faithful to primary experience without disowning accumulated intellectualism. The book asks whether the Bourdieu ‘paradigm’ retains value beyond the French conditions of its production. It offers an analysis of the development of Bourdieu’s thought and practice which constitutes an invitation to readers generally to reassess the value of the western tradition of the social function of the detached intellectual for mass democratic societies.
Bourdieu’s Field Theory and the Social Sciences
by James Albright Deborah Hartman Jacqueline WidinHighlighting the conceptual work at the heart of Pierre Bourdieu's reflexive sociology, this cutting edge collection operationalizes Bourdieusian concepts in field analysis. Offering a unique range of explorations and reflections utilizing field analysis, the eighteen chapters by prominent Bourdieusian scholars and early career scholars synthesize key insights and challenges scholars face when going 'beyond the fields we know'. The chapters offer examples from discipline contexts as diverse as cultural studies, poetry, welfare systems, water management, education, journalism and surfing and provide demonstrations of theorizing within practical examples of field analysis. One of the foremost social philosophers and sociologists of the twentieth century, Bourdieu is widely known in cultural studies and education and his approaches are increasingly being taken up in health, social work, anthropology, family studies, journalism, communication studies and other disciplines where an analysis of the interplay between individuals and social structures is relevant. With its unique interdisciplinary focus, this book provides a useful guide to doing field analysis and working with Bourdieusian methods research, as well as key reading for methodology courses at post-graduate level.
Bourdieu’s Field Theory and the Social Sciences (PDF)
by James Albright Deborah Hartman Jacqueline WidinHighlighting the conceptual work at the heart of Pierre Bourdieu’s reflexive sociology, this cutting edge collection operationalizes Bourdieusian concepts in field analysis. Offering a unique range of explorations and reflections utilizing field analysis, the eighteen chapters by prominent Bourdieusian scholars and early career scholars synthesize key insights and challenges scholars face when going ‘beyond the fields we know’. The chapters offer examples from discipline contexts as diverse as cultural studies, poetry, welfare systems, water management, education, journalism and surfing and provide demonstrations of theorizing within practical examples of field analysis. One of the foremost social philosophers and sociologists of the twentieth century, Bourdieu is widely known in cultural studies and education and his approaches are increasingly being taken up in health, social work, anthropology, family studies, journalism, communication studies and other disciplines where an analysis of the interplay between individuals and social structures is relevant. With its unique interdisciplinary focus, this book provides a useful guide to doing field analysis and working with Bourdieusian methods research, as well as key reading for methodology courses at post-graduate level.
Bourdieu's Philosophy and Sociology of Science: A Critical Appraisal (Routledge Studies in Social and Political Thought)
by Kyung-Man KimThis book explores Pierre Bourdieu's philosophy and sociology of science, which, though central to his thought, have been largely neglected in critical examinations of his work. Addressing the resultant confusion that surrounds Bourdieu's sociologized philosophy of science, it expounds his epistemology and sociology of science, situating it within the context of Anglo-American post-positivist philosophy of science and shedding light on the critique of relativist sociology of science that emerges from his field theory. From a detailed critique of Bourdieu's reflexive sociology and his attempt to enhance the uneasy epistemic status of the social sciences, the author draws on the thought of Jürgen Habermas to suggest critical ethnography as a way of going beyond Bourdieu’s critical theory. As such, Bourdieu's Philosophy and Sociology of Science will appeal to sociologists, philosophers, and scholars across the social sciences with interests in the work of Bourdieu and the sociology and philosophy of science.
Bourdieu's Philosophy and Sociology of Science: A Critical Appraisal (Routledge Studies in Social and Political Thought)
by Kyung-Man KimThis book explores Pierre Bourdieu's philosophy and sociology of science, which, though central to his thought, have been largely neglected in critical examinations of his work. Addressing the resultant confusion that surrounds Bourdieu's sociologized philosophy of science, it expounds his epistemology and sociology of science, situating it within the context of Anglo-American post-positivist philosophy of science and shedding light on the critique of relativist sociology of science that emerges from his field theory. From a detailed critique of Bourdieu's reflexive sociology and his attempt to enhance the uneasy epistemic status of the social sciences, the author draws on the thought of Jürgen Habermas to suggest critical ethnography as a way of going beyond Bourdieu’s critical theory. As such, Bourdieu's Philosophy and Sociology of Science will appeal to sociologists, philosophers, and scholars across the social sciences with interests in the work of Bourdieu and the sociology and philosophy of science.
Bourdieu's Secret Admirer in the Caucasus: A World-System Biography
by Georgi M. DerluguianBourdieu's Secret Admirer in the Caucasus is a gripping account of the developmental dynamics involved in the collapse of Soviet socialism. Fusing a narrative of human agency to his critical discussion of structural forces, Georgi M. Derluguian reconstructs from firsthand accounts the life story of Musa Shanib—who from a small town in the Caucasus grew to be a prominent leader in the Chechen revolution. In his examination of Shanib and his keen interest in the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu, Derluguian discerns how and why this dissident intellectual became a nationalist warlord. Exploring globalization, democratization, ethnic identity, and international terrorism, Derluguian contextualizes Shanib's personal trajectory from de-Stalinization through the nationalist rebellions of the 1990s, to the recent rise in Islamic militancy. He masterfully reveals not only how external economic and political forces affect the former Soviet republics but how those forces are in turn shaped by the individuals, institutions, ethnicities, and social networks that make up those societies. Drawing on the work of Charles Tilly, Immanuel Wallerstein, and, of course, Bourdieu, Derluguian's explanation of the recent ethnic wars and terrorist acts in Russia succeeds in illuminating the role of human agency in shaping history.
Bourdieu's Theory of Social Fields: Concepts and Applications (Routledge Advances in Sociology)
by Mathieu Hilgers Eric MangezBourdieu’s theory of social fields is one of his key contributions to social sciences and humanities. However, it has never been subjected to genuine critical examination. This book fills that gap and offers a clear and wide-ranging introduction to the theory. It includes a critical discussion of its methodology and relevance in different subject areas in the social sciences and humanities. Part I "theoretical investigations" offers a theoretical account of the theory, while also identifying some of its limitations and discussing several strategies to overcome them. Part II "Education, culture and organization" presents the theory at work and highlights its advantages and disadvantages. The focus in Part III devoted to "The State" is on the formation and evolution of the State and public policy in different contexts. The chapters show the usefulness of field theory in describing, explaining and understanding the functioning of the State at different stages in its historical trajectory including its recent redefinition with the advent of the neoliberal age. A last chapter outlines a postcolonial use of the theory of fields.
Bourdieu's Theory of Social Fields: Concepts and Applications (Routledge Advances in Sociology)
by Mathieu Hilgers Éric MangezBourdieu’s theory of social fields is one of his key contributions to social sciences and humanities. However, it has never been subjected to genuine critical examination. This book fills that gap and offers a clear and wide-ranging introduction to the theory. It includes a critical discussion of its methodology and relevance in different subject areas in the social sciences and humanities. Part I "theoretical investigations" offers a theoretical account of the theory, while also identifying some of its limitations and discussing several strategies to overcome them. Part II "Education, culture and organization" presents the theory at work and highlights its advantages and disadvantages. The focus in Part III devoted to "The State" is on the formation and evolution of the State and public policy in different contexts. The chapters show the usefulness of field theory in describing, explaining and understanding the functioning of the State at different stages in its historical trajectory including its recent redefinition with the advent of the neoliberal age. A last chapter outlines a postcolonial use of the theory of fields.