The Bourdieu Lectures are an annual symposium series at Bielefeld University, organized in close collaboration with Zeppelin University (Friedrichshafen), the University of Education Freiburg, and the Fondation Pierre Bourdieu.

The format is aimed in particular at early-career researchers and academics at the beginning of their scholarly careers. The thematic focus of the symposium changes each year and is determined by the academic committee of the Bourdieu Lectures. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s diverse sociological work, we apply his central concepts to contemporary debates and updated research questions.

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Bourdieu Lectures 2025
The opening of the 2025 Bourdieu Lectures will take place on 19 and 20 November 2025 at Kunsthalle Bielefeld.

This new academic format is especially designed for emerging scholars and, under the theme “Gender – Power – Visuality”, will focus this year on an interdisciplinary engagement with Bourdieu’s work. The conference invites contributions from sociology, cultural studies, education, and gender studies to discuss Bourdieu’s theories in the context of current gender research debates and to foster methodological innovation. The program will include keynote lectures, panels, and workshops, providing a platform for early-career researchers to present their work and expand their networks.

Accompanying the conference, Kunsthalle Bielefeld will present an exhibition on Pierre Bourdieu’s visual sociology from 15 November 2025 to 22 February 2026, featuring selected photographs from Bourdieu’s estate. The images document his early ethnographic fieldwork in Algeria (1957–1961) and illustrate key theoretical concepts such as his field and habitus theories—rooted to a large extent in gender differences—as well as his analysis of gender-specific practices in colonial Algeria. The exhibition complements the Bourdieu Lectures by offering a material and thematic entry point into Bourdieu’s early field research, thereby creating a unique space to explore his visual research in relation to gender theory and current social science questions.

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The conference is organized by Prof. Dr. Ullrich Bauer (Bielefeld University),
Prof. Dr. Franz Schultheis, Charlotte Hüser, Lilli Kim Schreiber (Zeppelin University), and
Prof. Dr. Uwe Bittlingmayer (University of Education Freiburg).

Participation in the conference is free of charge, but prior registration via Eventbrite is required.

You can find the preliminary conference program here.

Venue: Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Artur-Ladebeck-Straße 5, 33602 Bielefeld

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Further information on the program, additional materials, and practical details

about accommodation in Bielefeld will be sent to all registered participants

by email in advance. If you have any questions, please contact:

bourdieu-lectures@uni-bielefeld.de