Le propos de cet article est de mettre en lumière l'importance, pour l'histoire culturelle, d'une notion professionnelle du monde éditorial comme la« littérature générale» qui contredit la plupart des modalités usuelles de classement et de division de la production intellectuelle. C'est en s'appuyant sur une source« indigène» des métiers du livre comme les annonces publicitaires de la Bibliographie de la France que l'on peut mettre à jour la cohérence d'un vaste domaine qui comprend mais dépasse aussi largement les frontières de (...) la littérature telle qu'on l'entend généralement. Catégorie de l'offre éditoriale, la littérature générale peut se définir dans la première moitié du xxe siècle par le recours à une même forme matérielle, l'in-douze, dont la signification profonde est la volonté de toucher le «grand public cultivé». C'est par la prise en compte de la structure de l'offre que le marché du livre permet ainsi, à travers un domaine comme la littérature générale, de poser la question de l'existence concrète et des contours de la culture lettrée. (shrink)

This article makes the controversial argument that Bourdieu’s theory of practice offers both a model of transformation and social reproduction. However, it also claims that his account of cultural production is marred by two blind-spots. First, it contends that Bourdieu has neglected key forms of material support, notably, that offered, post-war, from the ‘left hand of the state’. The subsequent New Wave of 1950s and 1960s British drama had authors who possessed neither economic capital nor certified cultural capital. Secondly, it (...) interrogates Bourdieu’s conclusion that popular culture can never be source of canonized art. Adopting the view that Bourdieu focused too exclusively on legitimate culture, it seeks to contrast his theories on this point with the approach developed by Raymond Williams. The last section sketches a Bourdieusian analysis of Bourdieu. It reads his writings in the light of the different origins of the British and French fields of cultural studies. (shrink)

This article offers a new explanation for the sudden rise in popularity of French existentialism, in particular of Sartre’s version, in the mid-1940s. It develops a multidimensional account that recognizes both structural and cultural factors. The explanation differs from, and more fully addresses the complexity of the situation than, the two most prominent existing explanations: namely Anna Boschetti’s Bourdieu-inspired account and Randall Collins’s network-based approach. It is argued that, because of specific socio-political circumstances, the intellectual establishment became tainted and lost (...) legitimacy, with its aesthetic and philosophical views now regarded as outdated if not politically dangerous. This hiatus brought unprecedented publishing opportunities for a new philosophical current, and skilful public performances by the main protagonists helped its ascendancy. Most importantly, existentialist writers colluded with de Gaulle in portraying a cohesive and defiant French nation; and their philosophy, especially in its notion of responsibility, enabled sections of French society to assimilate and make sense of the recent past, whilst drawing a line underneath it so as to move forward. (shrink)

A pesar de que la perspectiva teórica de Pierre Bourdieu es conocida y citada por la mayor parte de los investigadores sobre arte argentino, la noción de _habitus_ no suele formar parte de sus análisis. Sospechado de determinismo, este concepto ha sido poco utilizado, incluso en trabajos clásicos de sociología de los intelectuales que adoptan otros aspectos de la perspectiva bourdesiana para configurar sus objetos de análisis. En este artículo queremos subrayar, desde una historia filosófica del concepto, su productividad para (...) pensar las condiciones que dispusieron a determinados sujetos, de acuerdo a sus trayectorias, a producir prácticas artísticas orientadas hacia la ruptura de criterios dominantes en el campo artístico de Buenos Aires, en el período posterior a la última dictadura militar. (shrink)