SOCIAL TOPOGRAPHY AND CLASS ANALYSIS: THE RELATIONAL SOCIOLOGY OF PIERRE BOURDIEU

Abstract

With the increasing fragmentation and proliferation of different social lives, class analysis has more daunting tasks and challenges to overcome. This diversity and fragmentation in social hierarchy has brought new discussions that are paving the way for a sociological outlook that can grasp the complex nature of late capitalist societies. Bourdieu’s theory of capital and social hierarchy occupies a central place within the contemporary discussions. His conception of capital, social field and power provides a wealthy set of tools to utilize. At the same time, those theoretical designs have led to methodological debates on Bourdieu’s intentions and lineage with other sociological traditions such as Marxist, Weberian and Phenomenological theories. Among the discussions, the central role must be given to the notion of relationality, a crucial attempt in Bourdieu’s conception of class hierarchy as social space. Without the stress on relationality, Bourdieu’s complex terminology cannot be organized sufficiently to answer the questions; “what is social hierarchy and how it operates?”. The article aims to discuss the linkage between the key concepts on class analysis to portrait the relational character of social space and its relevance with the class hierarchy in modern societies

Keywords

• Bourdieu, Social space, Relationality, Habitus, Social class

Toplumsal Topografya ve Sınıf Analizi: Pierre Bourdieu’nun İlişkisel Sosyolojisi

Abstract

Toplumsal hayattaki artan fragmantasyon ve çeşitlenme sınıf analizinin karşısına yeni zorluk ve mücadeleler çıkarmaktadır. Toplumsal hiyerarşide gözlenen bu çeşitlenme ve parçalanma yeni sosyolojik bakış açıları konusunda tartışmalara yol açmış; bu tartışmalarla geç kapitalist toplumların karmaşık yapısını kavrayabilecek bakış açılarının geliştirilmesi hedeflenmiştir. Bourdieu’nun sermaye ve toplumsal hiyerarşi kuramı bu güncel tartışmalarda merkezi bir yer işgal etmektedir. Sermaye, toplumsal alan ve iktidar kavrayışıyla Bourdieu zengin yöntembilimsel araçlar sağlamaktadır. Aynı zamanda, bu teorik tasarımlar Bourdieu’nun genel hedeflerini ve Marksist, Weberyen yada Fenomenolojik teorilerle ilişkisini öne çıkaran tartışmalara yol açmıştır. Bu tartışmalarda, merkezi rol Bourdieu’nun toplumsal sınıf ve alan kavrayışında hayati bir öneme sahip olan ilişkisellik kavramına verilmelidir. İlişkisellik kavramına vurgu yapmadan Bourdieu’nun karmaşık terminolojisinin “toplumsal hiyerarşi nedir ve nasıl işler?” sorularına yeterli yanıtı verebilecek şekilde bir araya getirilmesi güç gözükmektedir. Makale bu noktada, sınıf analizinin

Keywords

• anahtar karvamlarını tartışmaya açarak modern toplumlarda toplumsal alan ve sınıf hiyerarşisinin anlaşılmasında ilişkisellik kavramının oynadığı rolü göstermeyi hedeflemektedir

References

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