Author: Stevens, Garry
Title: The Favored Circle: The Social Foundations of Architectural Distinction
Description: Cambridge [MA], MIT Press, 1998. orig.boards. 24x18cm, 253 pp. Minor rubbing. VG. dustwrapper. ¶ The popular view of architecture focuses on individual creative geniuses, those who have designed the most "significant" works. According to Garry Stevens, however, successful architects owe their success not so much to genius as to social background and a host of other factors that have very little to do with native talent. To concentrate only on the "profession" of architecture is to ignore the much larger "field" of architecture, exposing many myths and debunking a number of heroes in the process. Using the conceptual apparatus of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, Stevens describes the field of architecture on two levels. First, he provides a detailed account of the field as it is at any given point time, describing the different components and their relationships. Second, he analyzes the dynamics of the field through time, from the Renaissance to the present. He discusses the system of architectural education as well as everyday aspects such as the competition for reputation. He concludes that throughout history, the most eminent architects have been connected to each other by master-pupil and collegiate relations. These networks, which still exist, provide a mechanism for architectural influence that runs parallel to that to that of the university based schools" - Publisher's description.

Keywords: Architecture, Sociology, Social History, Architectural, Profession, , , ,