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Understanding Social Inequality
- Tim Butler - King's College London, UK
- Paul Watt - Birkbeck College, UK
January 2007 | 232 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
Butler and Watt's book is a timely call to social scientists to refocus attention on inequality and particularly on class...The book is a welcome addition to the rapidly expanding literature on social inequality in the Western nations and will help to reinstate class as a key interpretive concept in sociological analysis. --JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL WELFARE
Moving beyond the traditional dichotomies of social theory, Understanding Social Inequality brings the study of social stratification and inequality into the 21st century. Starting with the widely agreed "fact" that the world is becoming more unequal, this book pulls together the "identity of displacement" in sociology and the "spaces of flow" of geography to show how place has become an increasingly important focus for understanding new trends in social inequality.
Understanding Social Inequality charts a path through current debates and issues that studies of social inequality cannot afford to ignore, linking the study of social and class inequality to: recent theories and theorists, such as poststructuralism and Pierre Bourdieu; new social groups, from successful middle-class gentrifiers to the "working poor"; space, place and new forms of mobility and immobility; and the increasingly globalized nature of social inequality.
Accessible and engagingly written, this book stimulates the "sociological imagination", prompting readers to link personal experiences and public issues.
Moving beyond the traditional dichotomies of social theory, Understanding Social Inequality brings the study of social stratification and inequality into the 21st century. Starting with the widely agreed "fact" that the world is becoming more unequal, this book pulls together the "identity of displacement" in sociology and the "spaces of flow" of geography to show how place has become an increasingly important focus for understanding new trends in social inequality.
Understanding Social Inequality charts a path through current debates and issues that studies of social inequality cannot afford to ignore, linking the study of social and class inequality to: recent theories and theorists, such as poststructuralism and Pierre Bourdieu; new social groups, from successful middle-class gentrifiers to the "working poor"; space, place and new forms of mobility and immobility; and the increasingly globalized nature of social inequality.
Accessible and engagingly written, this book stimulates the "sociological imagination", prompting readers to link personal experiences and public issues.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Modernity, Postmodernity and Globalization
Chapter 3: The Collar Line and Urban Boundaries
Chapter 4: The Aftermath of Affluence
Chapter 5: New Spatial and Social Divisions of Labour
Chapter 6: Poverty, Social Exclusion and the Welfare State
Chapter 7: New Work and New Workers
Chapter 8: Class Identity
One of the strongest textbook on social inequality currently on the market. It is adoptable for a range of modules on our BA (Hons.) Youth & Community Work.
Youth & Community Dev., University of Cumbria
July 23, 2010
need something with a more global focus. the book is also too advanced for our students, none of whom are sociology majors but would be taking the course as an elective.
Please select your department, Please select your institution
June 30, 2010
This a fantastic read! Absolutely perfect for my module on understanding inequality in education. I like the emphasis on socio-economic status but with recognition that it is not the only cause of inequality. Well written and engaging.
Education , Sheffield Hallam University
November 16, 2009
