La teoria della violenza simbolica in P. Bourdieu

Symbolic violence theory in Pierre Bourdieu. Pierre Bourdieu’s thought is generally linked to the concepts of habitus, capital and field. On the contrary, his symbolic violence theory is not so well-known. Bourdieu coins this expression to point out a kind of invisible violence, by means of which some meanings are imposed as being legitimate, concealing the relations of power whose these meanings are an expression. Symbolic violence theory appears in Bourdieu’s studies on Kabyle society and it is treated in his works on school and education, crossing his more important books, until La domination masculine, where it is examined by considering the male domination over the women. In carrying out an analysis of Pierre Bourdieu’s works, the paper wants to illustrate symbolic violence theory by means of the formulations proposed by his author, and then it considers his limits and uses in the sociological literature, where the concept is often treated as being a simple opposite of physical or real violence. For sociology, it is a theory with a strong heuristic force, which can offer a model to interpret every field of human activity.