Pierre Bourdieu on Language and Power

Language, Inequality and Power

In this course, Dr Alfonso Del Percio (UCL Institute of Education) explores language, inequality and power. In the first module, we introduce Pierre Bourdieu’s work on power and inequality dynamics in society. In the second module, we look at the role of language in migration and how it can impact the outcomes of important decisions for asylum seekers. In the third module, we consider a case study involving the language used in a 2021 rejection letter from the UK to an anonymous Bedouin asylum seeker from Kuwait. In the fourth module, we consider two case studies, both involving the language used in training materials for workers from the Philippines and Italy in their preparations to immigrate to the UK for work. In the fifth module, we synthesise the key ideas in this course.

Pierre Bourdieu on Language and Power

In this module, we explore language and power, focusing in particular on: (i) sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002) and his work on power and inequality dynamics in society; (ii) Bourdieu’s theory of language as a means to exert power, i.e. who can speak to whom and how: (iii) the power dynamic between a speaker and a listener, and their relative positions in social structure with relation to race, gender, age and class; (iv) artists’ use of language; and (v) how the value of language is linked to the value of the speaker regardless of whether the language is grammatically correct.