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Bringing Sociology of Law back into Pierre Bourdieu’s Sociology: Elements of Bourdieu’s Sociology of Law and Dispute Transformation

Olesen, Annette and Hammerslev, Ole LU orcid (2023) In Social & Legal Studies 32(2). p.177-196
Abstract
The academic response to Bourdieu's sociology of law has mainly followed his Weberian focus on the role of legal professionals in state transformations. However, rereading Bourdieu's “The Force of Law” through the lens of its references and relating it to the sociology of law “of the moment” (i.e. that of the 1980s), it becomes clear that Bourdieu's sociology of law is more sophisticated than has generally been acknowledged. In this article, we reread Bourdieu's article with a specific focus on the hitherto overlooked parts that elucidate dispute transformation. We unpack one of Bourdieu's most central sources, Felstiner et al. (1981), by rereading it in the light of Bourdieu's sociological tools. Emphasizing Bourdieu's implicit points... (More)
The academic response to Bourdieu's sociology of law has mainly followed his Weberian focus on the role of legal professionals in state transformations. However, rereading Bourdieu's “The Force of Law” through the lens of its references and relating it to the sociology of law “of the moment” (i.e. that of the 1980s), it becomes clear that Bourdieu's sociology of law is more sophisticated than has generally been acknowledged. In this article, we reread Bourdieu's article with a specific focus on the hitherto overlooked parts that elucidate dispute transformation. We unpack one of Bourdieu's most central sources, Felstiner et al. (1981), by rereading it in the light of Bourdieu's sociological tools. Emphasizing Bourdieu's implicit points about the pre-dispute phase accentuates how habitual dispositions and forms of capital have an impact on the possibilities available to citizens to transform a justiciable problem into a legal dispute. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Social & Legal Studies
volume
32
issue
2
pages
177 - 196
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:85134779417
ISSN
0964-6639
DOI
10.1177/09646639221115696
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b0eb438f-b52f-4f24-b7c1-7c43c75d7561
date added to LUP
2023-03-24 14:59:23
date last changed
2023-04-27 04:14:38
@article{b0eb438f-b52f-4f24-b7c1-7c43c75d7561,
  abstract     = {{The academic response to Bourdieu's sociology of law has mainly followed his Weberian focus on the role of legal professionals in state transformations. However, rereading Bourdieu's “The Force of Law” through the lens of its references and relating it to the sociology of law “of the moment” (i.e. that of the 1980s), it becomes clear that Bourdieu's sociology of law is more sophisticated than has generally been acknowledged. In this article, we reread Bourdieu's article with a specific focus on the hitherto overlooked parts that elucidate dispute transformation. We unpack one of Bourdieu's most central sources, Felstiner et al. (1981), by rereading it in the light of Bourdieu's sociological tools. Emphasizing Bourdieu's implicit points about the pre-dispute phase accentuates how habitual dispositions and forms of capital have an impact on the possibilities available to citizens to transform a justiciable problem into a legal dispute.}},
  author       = {{Olesen, Annette and Hammerslev, Ole}},
  issn         = {{0964-6639}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{177--196}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Social & Legal Studies}},
  title        = {{Bringing Sociology of Law back into Pierre Bourdieu’s Sociology: Elements of Bourdieu’s Sociology of Law and Dispute Transformation}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09646639221115696}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/09646639221115696}},
  volume       = {{32}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}