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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 Boltanskiâs âLa production de lâidĂ©ologie dominanteâ [âThe production of the dominant ideologyâ], 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 lâidĂ©ologie dominante, which was accompanied by a detailed commentary, written by Luc Boltanski and entitled Rendre la rĂ©alitĂ© inacceptable. Ă propos de « La production de lâidĂ©ologie dominante » [Making Reality Unacceptable. Comments on âThe production of the dominant ideologyâ]. 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 Boltanskiâs commentary have received little â if any â 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 âdominant ideology thesisâ 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 âthe masterâ (Bourdieu) and his âdissident discipleâ (Boltanski) equips us with powerful conceptual tools, which, whilst illustrating the continuing centrality of âideology critiqueâ, 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