Written with verve and intensity (and a good bit of wordplay), this is the long-awaited study of Flaubert and the modern literary field that constitutes the definitive work on the sociology of art by one of the world's leading social theorists. Drawing upon the history of literature and art from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, Bourdieu develops an original theory of art conceived as an autonomous value. He argues powerfully against those who refuse to acknowledge the interconnection between art and the structures of social relations within which it is produced and received. As Bourdieu shows, art's new autonomy is one such structure, which complicates but does not eliminate the interconnection. The literary universe as we know it today took shape in the nineteenth century as a space set apart from the approved academies of the state. No one could any longer dictate what ought to be written or decree the canons of good taste. Recognition and consecration were produced in and through the struggle in which writers, critics, and publishers confronted one another.

艺术是社会学的难题：因为艺术领域所推崇的价值观——独特性与普世性，正是传统社会学要探讨的问题。与其他领域不同的是，通过研究艺术，社会学者可以把握立场的转移，这对艺术社会学乃至社会学的整体实践都有着重要影响。在《艺术为社会学带来什么》中，我们关注的不再是社会学对艺术的贡献，而是艺术为社会学带来什么，也即观察行为者接受艺术的多种方式，以及其中潜伏的价值关系。因此，我们有必要重新审视已有的理论与方法，反思传统社会学的某些顽固的思维习惯。有时，这些习惯已转变为一种僵化的社会认知模式，甚至沦落为一种社会学意识形态。