Students should:
Develop an understanding of a range of sociological theories and concepts in class and class-based inequality

Develop knowledge of historical and contemporary sociological debates and research on class inequalities

Develop an ability to identify and explore key empirical sites in the study of class inequality

Develop an ability to connect issues of social class to wider socio-political, historical, and cultural structures of exclusion and inequality

Develop critical analytical and reflective skills

(LO1) Demonstrate good knowledge of historical and contemporary debates in class research and theory

(LO2) Show an understanding of class inequalities in society

(LO3) Have ability to connect sociological concepts and theoretical perspectives to specific empirical sites and debates in class research.

(LO4) To be able to connected up class inequality to wider historical and contemporary forms of exclusion

(LO5) To offer critique of empirical research and evidence of inequalities related to class

(S1) Students will develop organisational skills

(S2) They will develop teamworking skills in seminars

(S3) They will develop flexibility and adaptability as part of their teamwork

(S4) They will develop verbal and written communication skills in seminars and their assessment

(S5) They will develop skills in ethical awareness through their knowledge about class based inequalities

(S6) They will have international awareness through the module’s globally connected focus

The module begins by contextualising the problem of ‘class’ and why it matters that we study it. The module situates the study of class in the current socio-political context of a for example, post-Brexit Britain, or an era of global climate crises. It also considers the way in which ‘sociologies’, rather than a ‘sociology’ of class are important to understanding class as historically contingent and globally connected (see Bhambra, 2014).

Lectures 1-4
Students are introduced to historical materialist, feminist, pragmatist, cultural class theorist, and postcolonial perspectives in the sociology of class.

Lectures 5-11
The second half of the course assesses how these are connected to wider changes in political, economic, social, and cultural realms. Students will analyse class manifestations in a range of sites such as, (social) media, politics, education, sport and leisure, fashion, work, health.

11 weekly lectures to be delivered synchronously in a safe face-to-face environment. Lectures will offer a broad overview of a given topic, and act as a foundation for more in depth seminar tasks.

Weekly seminar discussions to allow for more interactive and in-depth analysis of the key topics and concepts introduced in the lectures. To comprise a range of pre-set tasks (e.g. readings, discussion boards, quizzes, videos etc.) and subsequent synchronous engagement.

Self-directed learning hours - 129.