Towards a Critical Sociology of Dominant Ideologies: An Unexpected Reunion between Pierre Bourdieu and Luc Boltanski

This article aims to demonstrate the enduring relevance of Pierre Bourdieu and Luc Boltanski’s ‘La production de l’idéologie dominante’ [‘The production of the dominant ideology’], which was originally published in Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales in 1976. More than three decades later, in 2008, a re-edited version of this study was printed in book format as La production de l’idéologie dominante, which was accompanied by a detailed commentary, written by Luc Boltanski and entitled Rendre la réalité inacceptable. À propos de « La production de l’idéologie dominante » [Making Reality Unacceptable. Comments on ‘The production of the dominant ideology’]. In addition to containing revealing personal anecdotes and providing important sociological insights, this commentary offers an insider account of the genesis of one of the most seminal pieces Boltanski co-wrote with his intellectual father, Bourdieu. In the Anglophone literature on contemporary French sociology, however, the theoretical contributions made both in the original study and in Boltanski’s commentary have received little – if any – serious attention. This article aims to fill this gap in the literature, arguing that these two texts can be regarded not only as forceful reminders of the fact that the ‘dominant ideology thesis’ is far from obsolete but also as essential for understanding both the personal and the intellectual underpinnings of the tension-laden relationship between Bourdieu and Boltanski. Furthermore, this article offers a critical overview of the extent to which the unexpected, and partly posthumous, reunion between ‘the master’ (Bourdieu) and his ‘dissident disciple’ (Boltanski) equips us with powerful conceptual tools, which, whilst illustrating the continuing centrality of ‘ideology critique’, permit us to shed new light on key concerns in contemporary sociology and social theory. Finally, the article seeks to push the debate forward by reflecting upon several issues that are not given sufficient attention by Bourdieu and Boltanski in their otherwise original and insightful enquiry into the complexities characterizing the daily production of ideology

SOME THEORETICAL ESSENCES OF LITHUANIA SQUARES FORMATION / KAI KURIOS TEORINĖS LIETUVOS AIKŠČIŲ FORMAVIMO ESMĖS

In the Lithuanian acts of law and in the scientific literature there are no clear criteria and notions to define a square. The unbuilt city space places or the gaps between buildings are often defined as the squares, which do not have clear limits or destination. The mandatory attributes of the place which is called the square are indicated in the article, the notion of square is defined. The article deals with Lithuanian squares theme, analyses the differences between representation and representativeness. The article aims to indicate an influence of city environmental context and monument in the square on its function. The square is an independent element of city plan structure, but it is not an independent element of city spatial structure. The space and environment of the square are related to each other not only by physical, aesthetical relations, but as well as by causalities, which may be named as the essences of squares’ formation. The interdisciplinary discourse analysis method is applied in the article. Santrauka  Lietuvos teisės aktuose ir profesinėje literatūroje nėra aiškių kriterijų ir sąvokų aikštei apibrėžti. Aikštėmis dažnai vadinamos neužstatytos miesto erdvės vietos, neturinčios aiškių ribų ir paskirties, arba atviri tarpai tarp pastatų. Straipsnyje nustatomi privalomieji vietos, vadinamos aikšte, atributai, apibrėžiama aikštės sąvoka. Straipsnyje nagrinėjamos reprezentacinėmis vadinamų aikščių savybės, reprezentacijos ir reprezentatyvumo skirtumai. Siekiama atskleisti miesto aplinkos konteksto ir monumento aikštėje įtaką jos paskirčiai (funkcijai). Aikštė, nors yra savarankiškas miesto planinės struktūros elementas, nėra savarankiškas miesto erdvinės struktūros elementas. Tiek aikštės erdvė, tiek aplinka, kurioje aikštė suformuota, yra tarpusavyje susietos ne tik fiziniais, estetiniais, bet ir priežastiniais ryšiais, kurie gali būti įvardinami kaip aikščių formavimo esmės. Straipsnyje taikomas tarpdalykinio diskurso analizės metodas. Reikšminiai žodžiai: aikštė, būtis, paskirtis (funkcija), meninė raiška, reprezentacija

Durkheim in the Neoliberal Organization: Taking Resistance and Solidarity Seriously

Durkheim’s contributions to organization studies have so far been decidedly marginal, and largely concentrated on culture. In this paper, we draw upon his theory of anomie and solidarity to show how a Durkheimian view of contemporary organizations and work has special relevance today for debates about how workers, particularly middle managers, can reshuffle a capacity to resist neoliberal efforts to profoundly disrupt their working conditions, in particular their autonomy to define what is a job well done. We show how Durkheim’s insights can account for the unexpected rekindling of forms of social solidarity in highly competitive and individualistic organizational settings, through dissident efforts that convey a renewal of a certain work ethos severed by neoliberal managerial policies and practices. Recent studies on resistance confirm Durkheim’s view that forms of collective activity, resembling supposedly ‘old’ mechanisms of former days, continue to exist and develop in contemporary societies and organizations, in response to pressure to put people in situations of inter-individual competition that disrupts social relationships