Social Inequality: applying cultural and economic capital
You may be familiar with Robert Putnam’s ideas about social capital (“Bowling Alone”), where he argues that a key feature of late modern societies is the breakdown of large-scale, organised, social networks (such as political parties, trade unions and the like). His latest work – Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, 2015 – features […]
Gender and Inequality
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is always a go-to source for all types of statistical data on a variety of topics and this one is no exception. With links to both gender and social inequality “Welcome to unequal England” uses ONS data to show how inequalities impact on some of the most important life […]
Racist Dogs and Institutional Racism
Dogs can’t, of course, be racist – but their handlers certainly can – and if you’re looking for a contemporary example of systemic racism then the US Department of Justice report into the killing of Michael Brown probably fits the bill.
7 days of social science research: free films
Although they’re now a few years old (made around 2012) these short (5 – 6 minute) films from the Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC) are loosely based around an interesting conceit – a children’s nursery rhyme – that’s used as brief introductions to a range of topics: Monday’s child is fair of face: […]
Ethnicity: Free Films
These four short films from the University of Manchester focus on two broad aspects of ethnicity – identity and inequality – that might serve as interesting introductions / discussion starters. • We need to find a new way to talk about ethnicity (4 minutes) looks at the history of multi-ethnic diversity in Britain in the […]
Social Inequality: Missing the Bus?
Grasping the full extent of social inequality on a global scale can be a daunting prospect, but Oxfam have made things slightly easier by using a double-decker bus analogy to help students get to grips with the full extent of global wealth disparities… “The world’s wealthiest people aren’t known for travelling by bus, but if […]