French Literature Reviews - 2026
Étienne Anheim, Paul Pasquali, Bourdieu et Panofsky. Essai d'archéologie intellectuelle, suivi de leur correspondance inédite
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
Drawing on previously unpublished archives, this book traces the encounter between two towering figures of 20th-century humanities: Pierre Bourdieu (1930–2002) and Erwin Panofsky (1892–1968). At first glance, the young French sociologist—working in the mid-1960s to reshape his discipline within an intellectual landscape dominated by structuralism—and the internationally acclaimed, elderly German art historian, who had fled Nazism and emigrated to the United States, had little in common. Yet it was in the "Le sens commun" series, edited by Bourdieu for Éditions de Minuit, that the first French translation of Panofsky's Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism was published in the spring of 1967, alongside his Studies in Iconology released by Gallimard.
The publication of Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism was meticulously prepared by Bourdieu who, in a unique move for his career, undertook the translation himself. He appended a lengthy afterword that would become famous: it was here that his first conceptualization of the notion of *habitus* made its debut in print.
Drawing on diverse sources—including the scholars' correspondence reproduced in the appendix—this study retraces, step by step, a unique editorial and intellectual venture. It marks a pivotal moment in the reception of Erwin Panofsky, as well as in the career of Pierre Bourdieu as he forged the very tools that would establish him in the following decades as a master thinker of monumental significance.
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An article on this work can be read on en-attendant-nadeau.fr:
"Bourdieu as Panofsky’s Editor", by Gisèle Sapiro…
In 1967, French readers discovered the work of art historian Erwin Panofsky through two publications: his Studies in Iconology with Gallimard and Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism with Éditions de Minuit, within the series directed by Pierre Bourdieu, "Le sens commun". This essay in intellectual archaeology by historian Étienne Anheim and sociologist Paul Pasquali decodes the stakes underlying the making, reception, and legacy of this book.
Read also on nonfiction.fr:
The intellectual landscape of mid-20th-century France was influenced by the rise of structuralism, a movement that sought to uncover the systems governing human culture and language. Within this context, scholars attempted to bridge the gap between historical analysis and sociological theory. The editorial work of Pierre Bourdieu, including his efforts to introduce international thinkers to a French audience, reflects a trend of cross-disciplinary exchange. Readers interested in the history of sociology and the reception of art history in France may find this examination of their collaboration relevant.
The term habitus, which Bourdieu introduced in his afterword to Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism, refers to internalized dispositions that shape individual and collective behavior. By translating Panofsky’s work, Bourdieu engaged with the methodology of iconology. Anheim and Pasquali examine the editorial project and the professional relationship between the two scholars, documenting the editorial process and the impact of these publications on the intellectual history of the period.