Ancient Near Eastern Field Theory: Adapting Bourdieu for Social Biographies of the Ancient World

Abstract This article is part of a special issue of the Journal of Ancient History , “Social Biographies of the Ancient World.” It presents the fundamental elements of Bourdieu’s sociological field theory before adapting them to apply to the study of ancient, premodern societies. By reverse-engineering the theory’s developmental process through the work of Bourdieu, the article underscores the process by which he came to develop his theory. His original process is then able to be adapted for use in ancient societies whose available sources limit ethnographic or (traditional) archival approaches. What results is a distillation of field theory as applicable for the study of the Ancient Near East and other ancient societies. “Ancient Near Eastern field theory” presents an avenue for further analysis of the social dynamics of the ancient world that still preserves the fundamental elements of Bourdieu’s theory. What results is a method, not a model, for analysis that the following three case studies utilize in various ways based on the questions of the researchers and the sources materials at hand. Thus, this adaptation of field theory is useful for additional research both into the case studies presented in this issue and as a method to address other questions of socio-historical significance.