Basil Bernstein is one of the most creative and influential of contemporary British sociologists, yet his work ¿ especially that relating to language and social structure ¿ is widely misunderstood and misrepresented. This book, first published in 1985, addresses the underlying themes and continuities in Bernstein¿s work and portrays him as a sociologist in the Durkheimian tradition. This reissue will be of particular value to students interested in the sociology of education, language and society, anthropological linguistics and communication studies.