Conference Program

Pierre Bourdieu’s theory has been useful for exploring and understanding transitions and experiences associated with educational inequalities. By applying his fundamental triad made up of habitus, field and capital (Bourdieu, 1990), as well as other sophisticated ideas such as illusio, social magic and symbolic violence (Ingram & Allen, 2019; Nairz-Wirth et al., 2017; Wilkinson et al., 2026), to name just a few, researchers around the world have been able to disentangle educational gaps and divisions in their respective contexts.

Following this line of research, this paper focuses on one of the most fundamental concepts in Bourdieu’s theoretical framework: recognition (Bourdieu, 2000), which has often been overlooked or taken for granted. In doing so, I aim to expand Bourdieu’s ideas on the matter by linking them to Axel Honneth’s (2005) contributions. Thereby, this paper shows how some essential elements of Honneth’s perspective on recognition can complement Bourdieu’s ideas in exploring educational inequalities, particularly in relation to the field of higher education.

Empirically, this paper draws on data from two studies in Chile of students at different stages of their educational trajectories. The first group comprises students from intermediate and lower positions in the social space who are in the process of transition from school to higher education, while the second group consists of students at elite universities from working-class or less privileged social backgrounds. Considering these cases, this paper reflects on how Honneth’s ideas – e.g., the struggle for recognition, disrespect, and ideological forms of recognition (Honneth, 2005, 2012) – can shed light on students’ experiences of social inequalities and meritocratic striving in higher education within contemporary societies. Overall, this paper shows how Honneth’s critical theory and concepts can strengthen Bourdieusian analysis of educational inequalities.