Skip to main content

Cultural Innovation on the Fringe—the Fields of ‘Limited’ and ‘Extensive’ Production

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Bourdieu’s Field Theory and the Social Sciences

Abstract

This chapter considers the usefulness of Bourdieu’s field theory in understanding exchanges between small, intimate settings for cultural production and those of large-scale media and cultural industries. We suggest that there are four kinds of value for such a project in adopting Bourdieu’s approach. Firstly, the focus on the scale of production offers a useful alternative to terms such as ‘independent’, ‘fringe’ and ‘underground’. Secondly, Bourdieu’s framework allows greater precision in analysing exchanges between the two fields. Thirdly, Bourdieu’s conceptualisation is useful in understanding the value to bourgeois consumers of romantic discourses about autonomy from market imperatives. And finally, the approach facilitates comparison between areas of cultural practice that are not usually considered within the same analysis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alomes, S. (1983). Cultural radicalism in the sixties. Arena, 62, 28–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). New York: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P., & Ferguson, P. P. (1988). Flaubert’s point of view. Critical Inquiry, 14(3), 539–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1993). In R. Johnson (Ed.), The field of cultural production: Essays on art and literature. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P., & Nice, R. (1980a). The aristocracy of culture. Media, Culture and Society, 2(3), 225–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P., & Nice, R. (1980b). The production of belief: Contribution to an economy of symbolic goods. Media, Culture and Society, 2(3), 261–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster, R. (2006). A true hipster. The Monthly, July, p. 52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frith, S., & Horne, H. (1987). Art into pop. London: Methuen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heath, J., & Potter, A. (2004). Nation of rebels: Why counterculture became consumer culture. New York: Harper Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, T. (2012). Dancing with empty pockets – Australia’s Bohemians. Sydney: Murdoch Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murger, H. (1930). Preface. The Latin Quarter (Scénes de la Vie Bohème). E. Marriage & J. Selwyn, (Trans.). London: Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, K. (2013). Independent creative subcultures and why they matter. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 19(3), 333–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tabrett, L. (2013). It’s culture stupid: Reflections of an arts bureaucrat. Strawberry Hills, NSW: Currency House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, P. (2014). Field. In Michael J. Grenfell (Ed.), Pierre Bourdieu – Key concepts (2nd ed., pp. 65–82). Abingdon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornton, S. (1996). Club cultures: Music, media and subcultural capital. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, C. (1984). The next thing: Contemporary Australian rock. Kenturst, NSW: Kangaroo Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y. (2016). Homology and isomorphism: Bourdieu in conversation with new institutionalism. The British Journal of Sociology, 67(2), 348–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Gibson, M., Moore, T. (2018). Cultural Innovation on the Fringe—the Fields of ‘Limited’ and ‘Extensive’ Production. In: Albright, J., Hartman, D., Widin, J. (eds) Bourdieu’s Field Theory and the Social Sciences. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5385-6_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5385-6_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-5384-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-5385-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics