Reflection on academic activities at universities from the A perspective of Pierre Bourdieu

Author
Mohammad Yemeni Douzzi Sorkhabi
Professor, Department of Higher Education, Faculty of Education, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
What title one can give to Pierre Bourdieu? Sociologist, theorist, activist, structuralist, functionalist, conservative and Such classifications rather than illuminating the dimensions of the scientific personality and the content of his research findings, hide most of them. The fact is that Bourdieu has tried to act as a dialectical relation of opinion and action. He, by criticizing the "hegemony of the totalitarian scientific rationale", which saw it as a symbol of "scientific ignorance", gives rise to enlightening critique of the scientific actions of academics. In Bourdieu's view, research in understanding social realities needed to be contextual. However, such an understanding faces obstacles.  What are these barriers? Bourdieu considers the mastery of the researcher on "mentally relation to the subject" as well as the attention to the "subconscious anthropology that specialist uses in his scientific activity" and the contemplation of "the social universe that produces specialty and specialist" important, and he contemplates it as a kind of reformist reflexivity that paves the way for understanding. One of the major achievements of Bourdieu's research is revelation of the "logic" of the internal functions of educational systems' structure, especially in France, and how the "symbolic violence" form. Nevertheless, in what manner and by what concepts, according to Ibn Khaldun, he could "open up mask from the face of such a truth"? It was not possible without avoiding the hallucination of the scholastic. Today, such an illusion from dominance of analytic, simplistic and reductionistic paradigm threatens university systems, not to mention that some of them are overshadowed.  What is the escape route from wisdom illusion and false beliefs in scientific discoveries? This paper attempted to contemplate in prevailing formalism in academic activities at universities from Bourdieu's viewpoint, because, as Bourdieu writes, "the production of science, in its formal meaning, can be a cover for understanding the truth". Those who closely observed the germination and expression of this scientist's thoughts (and the author had the chance to attend his lecture sessions at the Collège de France in the early 1980's), know that they are rooted in his activistic and reflective approach. Nowadays, Bourdieu's thoughts are noteworthy on the scientific community, including in Iran (But mostly in academic "lessons" and not in research activity!). Are those who talk about Bourdieu and his "lessons" aware of the context and the way these opinions are formed? Such awareness will deeply change their scholastic approach and put them on the path of reflexivity and self-critique that Bourdieu emphasized them and made them an essential step in understanding.


 

Keywords

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  • Receive Date 06 March 2023
  • Publish Date 06 March 2023