Arguing with Bourdieu : a South African encounter

This paper holds together biographical materials, field analysis, positiontaking preferences, and Bourdieu's influence. A late adopter of the bourdieusian toolbox, the author explains his attempt to confront South African reality with Bourdieu's thought rather than the other way around, also trying to establish the unconscious determinants behind apparently intentional choices. The author considers selfanalysis as a conduit to selfawareness, particularly important insofar as unrecognized, tacit dispositions may actually guide scholars' epistemological decisions more than they would like to admit. [Publisher's text].