Revisiting the Notion of Field by Pierre Bourdieu to Understand the Production of Knowledge in Brazilian Physical Education

Abstract

This article aimed to (re) visit Pierre Bourdieu's notion of the field to understand Brazilian Physical Education as a field of non-neutral knowledge production, full of interests in power disputes. The construction of writing took place from two methodological aspects. The first was a bibliographic review of works by Bourdieu and authors of Brazilian Physical Education who studied the author. The second is based on the sociological analysis carried out on the doctoral thesis produced by one of the authors. We consider that the exercise carried out in this article allows us to think about analytical alternatives in the theoretical and methodological construction of new studies. We point out that the field is recent, under construction and permeated by academic / professional tensions that interfere with its identity. The entire route presented explains the interests of agents and institutions that play symbolically in the fabric of their conveniences. We believe it is essential to unveil the multiple elements that intend this field, mainly concerning its institutionalization, increase, and policy.