Pierre Bourdieu

French sociologist who developed the most influential theoretical framework in contemporary sociology — habitus, field, and the forms of capital — and a reflexive sociology that turned its own methods on itself.

Habitus: a system of durable, transposable dispositions acquired through socialization — a bodily hexis and a sense of the game. Forms of capital: economic, social, cultural, and symbolic — the differential distribution of which reproduces class structure. Distinction: taste is socially constructed — cultural preferences reproduce class distinctions while appearing natural. Field: a structured space of positions with its own logic and stakes.