Practice Theory - Pierre Bourdieu

Pierre Bourdieu

Practice theory is strongly associated with the French theorist and sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. His concept of habitus represents an important formulation of the principles of practice theory. Bourdieu developed the notion of ‘habitus’ to capture ‘the permanent internalisation of the social order in the human body’. His book, 'Outline of a Theory of Practice', which is based on his work in Algeria during the Algerian War of Independence is an example of Bourdieu's formulation of practice theory applied to empirical data gathered through ethnography. Several works of his are considered classics, not only in sociology, but also in anthropology, education, and cultural studies. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (La Distinction) was named as one of the 20th century's ten most important works of sociology by the International Sociological Association.