Pierre Bourdieu's Philosophy as a Theoretical Basis for Filipino Studies

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to present the important aspects of the thought of Pierre Bourdieu
(1930-2002). He is a French sociologist, anthropologist, philosopher, and activist opposed to
globalization.-Not only will the role be rotated in the Filipino language, but will demonstrate the
level of discourse that can be understood by fellow Filipinos in the eld of cultural and
educational studies. Filipino. This will be helpful to those who are not yet pro cient at the level
of philosophical discourse, to Filipino students of philosophy who may not be ready to read
Bourdieu's primary texts or the complex readings about him that have already been written in
English.

This paper also aims to identify some aspects from such foreign discourse in order to further
enrich the theoretical body of local cultural studies and Filipino studies. Bourdieu was born in
a rural region of Bearn located at the foot of the Pyrenees mountains, in the southwestern part
of France. He belongs to the clan of ingkilinos and small government employees. He attended
elementary and secondary school in the neighboring town with the children of farmers,
workers, and small businesses. Through his talent and diligence, he was awarded a
government scholarship and was able to study at the Lycee Louis-le-Grand. Here he prepared
for his admission to the prestigious Ecole Normale Superieure. At the Ecole Normale
Superieure, the results of his entrance examination placed him in the philosophy program
known as the queen of the sciences. Thus he became the teacher of veteran philosophers
such as Louis Althusser (1918-1990), Alexandre Koyre (1892 -1964), Gaston Bachelard
(1884-1962) and Georges Canguilhem (1904-1995). Also as a result of his placement in the
philosophy program, he became involved in the intellectual struggle against the hegemony of
existentialism by Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980).

After earning his degree with the philosopher and critic Jacques Derrida (1930-2004), Bourdieu
decided to teach philosophy in the small town of Moulins in central France. Many expected
Bourdieu to eventually join the elitist circle of French philosophers, but he pursued the not so
glamorous discipline of sociology.

In 1955, he had to give military service. As a result of his inherent rebellion, he was sent to
Algeria, still a French colony. His experience in Algeria had a profound e ect on shaping his
mind, here he witnessed the nationalist struggle of the Algerians.

As a result, he completely abandoned the path of philosophy and instead focused on the
practical and concrete topics of sociology. He was known by French sociologists for his
earliest ethnographic project about the Berbers.

Because of his anti -war and colonial sentiments, the French government decided to remove
him from Algeria and return him to France.

Through this, Bourdieu was able to teach and research at the University of Paris and at the
Ecoles des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. Here he worked with the veteran sociologist
Raymond Aron (1905-1983) and he founded the Center for the Sociology of Education and
Culture.

Over time he was awarded the professorial chair of sociology at the College de France and the
prestigious Gold Medal from the Center National de Recherche Scienti que. He passed away
in 2002 due to cancer.

Bourdieu has published over forty books and ve hundred articles. Some of his major books
are Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture (1970) written with Jean- Claude Passeron;
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