Bourdieu in the City

Loïc Wacquant is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, and Research associate at the Centre de sociologie européenne, Paris. His books are translated in twenty languages and include Urban Outcasts (2008) and The Invention of the "Underclass" (2022), both also published by Polity.

"In this captivating book, Loïc Wacquant excavates Pierre Bourdieu's social theory for insights that might illuminate the neoliberal metropolis and its contentious power relations. In so doing, he produces an incisive, if deeply disturbing, portrait of contemporary urban marginality and neighborhood-level 'taint', a remarkable interpretive synthesis of his own illustrious pathway of urban inquiry, and a brilliantly creative application of Bourdieu's key concepts and methods to the field of urban social science."—Neil Brenner, University of Chicago"Loïc Wacquant dissects carefully the conceptual framework of Bourdieu, provides a differentiated view of social space from Bourdieu's understanding of relational sociology, and reminds us that marginalization continues to be a main concern for urban scholars. A must-read for anyone interested to see how Wacquant eloquently combines Bourdieus work with an urban perspective as well as draws on his own influential work from over the years to sharpen our theoretical and methodological lenses on urban inequality."—Professor Talja Blokland, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin"[A] significant milestone in enhancing urban theory by introducing fresh perspectives."—Journal of Urban Affairs"Wacquant's masterful book has finally 'urbanized' Bourdieu and should make him foundational to ongoing and forthcoming debates in urban research"—Dialogues in Urban Research"A dense and fascinating book which proposes a very general theoretical model."—Métropoles"Bourdieu in the City charts a challenging direction for reorienting urban studies and all sociological research."—The Journal of Classical Sociology"Loïc Wacquant is the sharpest dissector and critic of urban theory in sociology."—Sociological Forum"[A] timely and valuable addition to current debates over the direction of urban theory."—New Zealand Sociology"... an enlightening resource for all social scientists, such as sociologists, urban planners, political scientists, and anthropologists."—International Sociology

• List of FiguresAcknowledgementsTaking Bourdieu to TownPrologue1 Bourdieu in the Urban Crucible2 The Bitter Taste of Territorial Taint3 Marginality, Ethnicity and Penality in the Neoliberal MetropolisEpilogue Bourdieu in the City, the City in BourdieuReferences