Pierre Bourdieu was one of the most influential intellectuals of our times, a leading dissident sociologist who “assumed a public role in the tradition of Émile Zola and Jean-Paul Sartre” (New York Times). A 2007 Times of London survey of the most cited authors in the humanities ranked Bourdieu second only to Michel Foucault, ahead of every other noted thinker of the past century. Bourdieu’s writings helped inspire the mass movements against neoliberalism and globalization, and his books have been translated into dozens of languages, decisively shaping the way the world thinks about the changes wrought by the new global economy.

Sociology Is a Martial Art is an accessible survey of this seminal thinker’s most influential writings. It includes the full text of his short books Acts of Resistance, Firing Back, and On Television, in addition to key articles, interviews, and speeches, all of which introduce the reader to Bourdieu’s innovative approach to sociology as a mode of political intervention. Edited and with an introduction by noted French sociologist Gisèle Sapiro, Sociology Is a Martial Art will become this generation’s indispensable introduction to Bourdieu’s work.