Bourdieusian

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or characteristic of the theories and concepts developed by a French sociologist who analyzed social practices, power structures, and cultural capital in society
2. Pertaining to the sociological framework that examines the influence of social class, habitus, and symbolic power in shaping individual behaviors and social relations
3. Connected with a theoretical approach in social science focusing on distinctions in social fields, the role of education, and the reproduction of social hierarchies according to a prominent intellectual's ideas

Etymology: The adjective is built on the surname of Pierre Bourdieu, the French sociologist whose work on class, taste and cultural capital reshaped how social scientists think about everyday behaviour. The suffix "-sian" is an English adjective-forming ending, attached here to his name in the same way that "Kantian" or "Darwinian" are formed from the names of Immanuel Kant and Charles Darwin. The result is a label for ideas and research that follow Bourdieu's approach rather than a term with its own separate history. Its meaning comes straight from the framework it names: the study of how social class, habitus (the ingrained dispositions people carry from their upbringing) and symbolic power shape individual choices and relationships between people.

Synonyms: related to Bourdieu, sociological