Symbolic power, politics and teachers

Introduction In the book, Symbolic power, politics, and intellectuals: The political sociology of Pierre Bourdieu, David L. Swartz (2013) frames his discussion around the notion of power while focusing on Bourdieu's ‘political sociology’, a ‘largely neglected’ aspect of Bourdieu's work. Swartz (2013) suggests that Bourdieu offers a ‘sociology of politics’ as well as a ‘politics of sociology’. Therefore, sociology is a form of political engagement or as Bourdieu (2000a) suggests, ‘scholarship with commitment’ that enables a move towards ‘more just and democratic life’ (Swartz, 2013, p. i). This essay offers an outline of Swartz's reading of Bourdieu's political sociology using three of his ‘thinking tools’ and demonstrates the value of this book for analysing the cross-field effects of journalism and education (also see Lingard & Rawolle, 2004; Rawolle, 2005)..