1st Edition

Class Boundaries in Europe The Bourdieusian Approach in Perspective

    314 Pages 37 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    314 Pages 37 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Drawing inspiration from Pierre Bourdieu’s social space theory, this book provides an unprecedent overview of class relations, covering topics such as class polarisation, cultural reproduction, political orientations, and globalisation.

    The book applies Bourdieusian social space approach to show how class boundaries have been maintained or transformed in different European countries. Based on quantiative data, it proposes a renewal of the analysis of distances, divides, and relations of domination between social classes, documenting objective and symbolic boundaries that form the basis of individuals’ living and working conditions in 11 European countries.

    Focusing on transformations of wealth inequalities, education strategies, and European labour markets, the book examines the role of cultural, economic and social capital. It will be of interest to students and scholars across the social sciences, in particular to those studying social and wealth inequalities in a comparative perspective and Master's students in European studies.

    Introduction: Thinking about class boundaries in Europe

    Cédric Hugrée, Étienne Penissat, and Alexis Spire

    PART I: Social space and class polarisation

    1 Stability, transformation, and escalation: Norwegian classes and class boundaries 2008–2020

    Magne Flemmen, Johs. Hjellbrekke, Jan Fredrik Hovden, and Vegard Jarness

    2 Polarisation: Trends in class boundaries in Hungary

    Péter Róbert

    3 Social classes and their boundaries during Poland’s "Golden Age"

    Tomasz Drabowicz and Tomasz Warczok

    PART II: Questioning the cultural reproduction of class boundaries

    4 The cultivation of the synthetic gentleman: Exploring horizontal boundaries within the British elite

    Sam Friedman and Aaron Reeves

    5 Exploring class differences within occupational categories: The case of professionals in Athens, 1991–2011

    Thomas Maloutas and Nicos Souliotis

    6 Class formation and social reproduction strategies in the Portuguese construction industry: Elements for a relational sociological analysis

    Virgílio Borges Pereira, Vanessa Rodrigues, Maria Inês Coelho, and Tiago Lemos

    PART III: Homology between class boundaries and political orientations

    7 Class, confidence, and political conflicts in Denmark: Exploring social cleavages and political boundaries in a Nordic welfare society

    Annick Prieur and Jakob Skjøtt-Larsen

    8 The politicised class structure of German society (2009–2017)

    Andreas Schmitz and Jakob Horneber

    PART IV: Blind spots in the Bourdieusian approach

    9 France: The dynamics of internal changes within a persistent class structure

    Cédric Hugrée and Yasmine Siblot

    10 Class boundaries in Spain: Intergenerational and regional changes in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis

    Pierre Blavier

    11 Inequality in the hidden abode of production: Class and working conditions in Sweden, 1995–2015

    Andreas Melldahl

    12 On the borders of class analysis: Questioning the demarcation of economic activity

    Angel Baraud, Laura Galhano, and Paul Hobeika

    PART V: Beyond nations? Social class and globalisation

    13 Is happiness at work a class privilege? Subjective relationships to work and class boundaries in Europe

    Étienne Penissat, Cécile Rodrigues, and Alexis Spire

    14 Elaborating class analysis on the European scale: The importance of British "non-domiciled" individuals

    Mike Savage, Arun Advani, and Andrew Summers

    Biography

    Cédric Hugrée is Research Fellow at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) within the Centre de recherche en sociologie et sciences politiques de Paris (CRESPPA, Paris 8/CNRS). His work focuses on higher education inequalities in France and class inequalities in Europe. His recently published title is Social Class in Europe (2020).

    Étienne Penissat is Research Fellow at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) currently associated with the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and the École Normale Supérieure. His research focuses on social class, social categorisations, and workers’ collective action in France and Europe. His recently published title is Social Class in Europe (2020).

    Alexis Spire is Research Director at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), currently associated with the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. His research focuses on the transformation of the state, on consent to taxation and on inequalities in France and in Europe. His recently published title is Social Class in Europe (2020).

    Johs. Hjellbrekke is Professor of Sociology at the University of Bergen. His recent work focuses on social classes, elites, social mobility, research ethics, and geometric data analysis. His publications include Multiple Correspondence Analysis for the Social Sciences (2018).