The State Nobility: Elite Schools in the Field of Power

Bourdieu, Pierre

ISBN 10: 0745620280 / ISBN 13: 9780745620282

Published by Polity, 1998

This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has soft covers. In poor condition, suitable as a reading copy. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,900grams, ISBN:9780745620282. Seller Inventory # 9735376

Synopsis:

In this major work, Bourdieu examines the distinctive forms of power - political, intellectual, bureaucratic and economic - by means of which contemporary societies are governed. What kinds of competence are claimed by the bureaucrats and technocrats who administer our societies? And how do those who govern come to gain the recognition of those who are governed by them?

Bourdieu examines in detail the work of consecration which is carried out by the educational system - and especially in France by the grandes écoles. The work of consecration can be seen in operation in different historical periods, whenever a nobility is produced. Today the socially recognized groups function according to a logic similar to that which characterized the divisions between high and low in the ancien régime. Today this state nobility is the heir - structural and sometimes even genealogical - of the noblesse de robe which, in order to consolidate its position in relation to other forms of power, had to construct the modern state and the republican myths, meritocracy and civil service which went along with it.

Bourdieu examines the mechanisms which produce the kind of nobility displayed by those who govern, and the recognition granted to them by those who are governed by them.

About the Author: Pierre Bourdieu was Professor of Sociology at the Collège de France.

Bibliographic Details

Title: The State Nobility: Elite Schools in the ...
Publisher: Polity
Publication Date: 1998
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Poor