ABSTRACT
Perhaps some part of this curious neglect can be blamed on Bourdieu’s persistent refusal to engage in some of the more fashionable issues of contemporary academic concern, particularly those falling under the rubrics of postmodernism and postmodernity. Similarly, Bourdieu’s convoluted and occasionally discursive prose style, whether this is deemed to be legitimate or not, has apparently done him no favours in bringing his ideas to a wider readership than is presently the case. More significantly, perhaps, I suspect that Bourdieu’s uncompromising critique of the symbolic violence that is to be found within the culture of higher education has, on some occasions at least, been met by the educators and academics with a tacit reluctance to probe too deeply ideas that would potentially undermine their own symbolic power. When set against this background I have to say that The Work of Pierre Bourdieu goes some considerable distance towards filling the void of critical discussion that Bourdieu’s ideas so rightly deserve.
