A Somewhat Unwitting Reader. When Bourdieu did (not) speak of Gramsci

Bourdieu’s references to Gramsci are scant and the relevance attributed to them is negligible on the whole. On rare occasions when Bourdieu does attempt to demonstrate his knowledge of Gramsci through quotations, he does so hastily, vaguely and instrumentally. Yet this does not imply that Bourdieu’s postures and stances with respect to Gramsci’s thought do not find expression within his own texts; on the contrary, they emerge precisely through reticence, allusions and dissimulations. From here one can even explore a closeness underlying an apparent and declared detachment, to reflect on a disinterestedness that is actually interested. The analysis is thus based on an “against the grain” reading of the direct and explicit occurrences of Gramsci traceable in Bourdieu’s texts, highlighting the space of their possible sociological implications and their tacit and implicit connotations.