Address

The main aim of this article is to highlight the importance of operating with concepts, accepting the challenges offered by empirical reality. To do so, the empirical material produced by the research developed by Grupo de Pesquisa em Sociologia da Educação – SOCED/PUC-Rio was used as reference. On several occasions, Bourdieu questioned the merely theoretical reading of concepts. He recommended “experimenting with theoretical things”. In this text, we seek to exemplify the consequences of the experience of operating with his concepts, focusing on two main aspects: the conditions of habitus transformation; and the empirical outline of cultural capital in school elites in prestigious institutions in Rio de Janeiro. In the case of the cultural capital study, his proposal of working “with and against authors” became evident. Although the merit of this author of Education Sociology is undeniable, the empirical outline of the cultural capital, in his vast work, was highly influenced by the French reality at the time of his research. To operate with the concept of cultural capital in a way that is appropriate to the empirical challenges we faced, we turned to authors who have addressed the transformations of the cultural field beyond the perspective of the borders between high culture and popular culture analyzed by Bourdieu