Product Description

This revised edition of Reproduction, one of social science's most frequently cited texts incorporates a re-issue of the original text with a new introduction by Pierre Bourdieu. A key work in the development of a social scientific analysis of culture, Reproduction connects cultural phenomena firmly to the structural characteristics of a society, and shows how the culture produced by this structure in turn helps to maintain it.

The way in which the ruling ideas of a social system are related to structures of class, production and power, and how these are legitimated and perpetuated, is fundamental to the sociological project. In Reproduction Pierre Bourdieu and Jean-Claude Passeron develop an analysis of education in its broadest sense, encompassing more than the process of formal education. They show how education carries an essentially arbitrary cultural scheme which is actually, though not in appearance, based on power. More widely, the reproduction of culture through education is shown to play a key part in the reproduction of the whole social system. The analysis is carried through not only in theoretical terms but through the development of empirically testable propositions within the wider framework of the historical transformation of the educational system.

Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture was nominated a `citation classic' by the Institute for Scientific Information Social Science Citation Index in 1988. It is essential reading for students of sociology, education, social theory and cultural studies.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #372272 in Books
• Published on: 1990-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
`Reveals new features in the analysis of social classes and political power. Arising probably from the intense interest in cultural dominance and cultural revolution that emerged in radical movements... these investigations connect cultural phenomena firmly within the structural characteristics of a society, and begin to show how a culture produced by this structure in turn helps to maintain it' - Tom Bottomore

`The most striking successes of their work are their redefinitions of the very character of educational research... There is an especially brilliant discussion of the relations between a traditional literary culture and selection for arts courses' - Raymond Williams

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French