In Memoriam Pierre Bourdieu (1930^2002) Drawing inspiration from Bourdieu’s sociology of symbolic power DAVID L. SWARTZ Boston University Paying homage to a great sociologist comes in many forms, that of disciple on the one hand and critic on the other. Disciples carry and propagate the faith, transmitting it to new generations. Whereas some o¡er valuable insights into the practices and thoughts of the great social scientist, there can be costs to discipleship. Defense of concep- tual and methodological orthodoxy can sti£e further intellectual devel- opment and lead to sectarian allegiance. By contrast, the critic brings assessment and evaluation, identifying those rough edges and slippery slopes where the disciple fears to tread. Criticism, properly conducted, identi¢es the strengths as well as the limits of any novel theoretical perspective. The polemical critic, how- ever, not so much evaluates as dismisses the work for failing to meet the standards of some opposing theoretical persuasion. With a theoreti- cal axe to grind, the polemicist anxiously wishes to score points of intellectual distinction rather than o¡er insights of genuine evaluation. This special issue devoted to the recognition of the importance of Pierre Bourdieu assiduously avoids both extremes: devotion to or profanation of a ‘‘sacred’’ work. Rather, it charts a course that will undoubtedly frustrate disciples and polemicists alike. It o¡ers ample testimony to the importance of how Bourdieu’s work has inspired further sociological research; yet, it advances some criticism that suggest gaps in or ways to elaborate portions of Bourdieu’s work in di¡erent areas. Several of these articles also enrich our understanding of contextual aspects of Bourdieu’s work. Pierre Bourdieu (1930^2002) was a proli¢c thinker and social scienti¢c researcher. He published numerous books and articles (many trans- lated into over ¢ve languages), directed a research center (Center for 519 Theory and Society 32: 519^528, 2003. ß 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.