Table of Contents

Main Points

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Key Figures

Pierre Bourdieu

Sherry Ortner

Key Texts

Outline of a Theory of Practice by Pierre Bordieu

Practice theory seeks to find the context of events that a structuralist theory is unable to address and/or explain. Pierre Bordieu's Outline of a Theory of Practice is centralized on habitus, unconscious behavior that is constructed and limited by an individual's previous experiences, or as Bordieu defines it "spontaneity without consciousness or will" (56).  In direct contrast to structuralism, practice theory believes social structures to be set fourth and defined by the action's of the people, in particular habitus. He theorizes that, to an extent, structures also influence one's habitus, but only in regards to social "norms" that have already been set fourth by society. In this respect, habitus and institutionalization coexist in self-perpetuating cycles.

Anthropology and Social Theory: Culture, Power and the Acting Subject by Sherry Ortner 

Sherry Ortner’s Anthropology and Social Theory draws on Practice Theory to offer solutions to modern problems. On page 3 of the book she writes that Practice Theory suggests restoring "the actor to the social process without losing sight of the larger structures that constrain (but also enable) social action". In this book Ortner rethinks key concepts of culture, agency and subjectivity in order to apply them to anthropology in the twenty-first century. The book is comprised of seven essays, both of interpretive and theoretical nature. She argues that the concept of culture needs to be reconfigured and suggests applying elements of Practice Theory in order to do this. She stresses the notion of human agency and demonstrates how social theories must build upon one another in order to be relevant in modern contexts. 

Central Problems in Social Theory: Action, Structure, and Contradiction in Social Analysis by Anthony Gidden 



Critiques

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