Pierre Bourdieu, 1930-2002
A leading intellectual in post-war France, Bourdieu began his academic career as an anthropologist, teaching and studying local cultures in Algeria.
Upon his return to France, Bourdieu quickly established himself as an important sociological theorist.
Key works include Homo Academicus, a "self-reflexive" study of French higher education, and Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, an analysis of cultural reproduction and class in the context of artistic/aesthetic production.