Abstract
This chapter addresses the ways in which class is researched in contemporary social science. It addresses the issues which arise in researching class in relation to two aspects: class as position and class as identity. The quantitative and qualitative work modes which have been employed in class oriented work are reviewed and critically assessed. The central argument is that we need a whole ‘tangle of evidence’ to inform our understanding and that this is best constructed by meta-interpretation of as many studies as possible. Work of especial value is that done by those immersed in the life worlds they are exploring and which employs all possible methods to understand not just how class is but also how it has become what it is.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abbott, A. (1988). Transcending General Linear Realitiy. Sociological Theory, 6, 169–186.
Byrne, D. S. (2002). Interpreting Quantitative Data. London: Sage.
Byrne, D. S. (2012). Getting Up—Staying Up. Sociological Research Online, 17, 2.
Callaghan, G. (2005). Accessing Habitus: Relating Structure and Agency Through Focus Group Research. Sociological Research Online, 10(3).
Cilliers, P. (1998). Complexity and Postmodernism. London: Routledge.
Cilliers, P. (2001). Boundaries, Hierarchies and Networks in Complex Systems. International Journal of Innovation Management, 5(2), 135–147.
Evans, G., & Tilley, J. (2017). The New Politics of Class. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Feagin, J. (1987). The Secondary Circuit of Capital. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 11(2), 172–192.
Fitch, R. (1993). The Assassination of New York. London: Verso.
Flemmen, F. P., Vegard, J., & Rosenlund, L. (2017). Social Space and Cultural Class Divisions: The Forms of Capital and Contemporary Lifestyle Differentiation. British Journal of Sociology, 69(3), 124–153.
Goldthorpe, J. H. (1997). The “Goldthorpe” Class Schema: Some Observations on Conceptual and Operational Issues in Relation to the ESRC Review of Government Social Classification. In D. Rose & K. O’Reilly (Eds.), Constructing Classes: Towards a New Social Classification for the UK. Swindon: ESRC/ONS.
Haynes, P. (2018). Social Synthesis: Finding Dynamic Patterns in Complex Social Systems. London: Routledge.
Kritzer, H. M. (1996). The Data Puzzle: The Nature of Interpretation in Quantitative Research. American Journal of Political Science, 40(1), 1–32.
Lui, T. L. (2015). GBCS: An Answer in Search of a Question. Sociology, 63(2), 480–492.
Milroy, L., & Milroy, J. (1992). Social Network and Social Class: Towards an Integrated Socio-Linguistic Model. Language in Society, 21, 1–26.
Morris, L. (1990). The Household and the Labour Market. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
Phillips, D., & Phillips, J. (2009). Visualizing Types: The Potential of Correspondence Analysis. In D. S. Byrne & C. Ragin (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Case Based Methods (pp. 148–168). London: Sage.
Pilcher, F., & Wallace, C. (2009). Social Capital and Social Class in Europe: The Role of Social Networks in Social Stratification. European Sociological Review, 25(3), 319–332.
Poulantzas, N. (1975). Classes in Contemporary Capitalism. London: New Left Books.
Rogaly, B., & Taylor, B. (2009). Moving Histories of Class and Community London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Savage, M., Cunningham, N., Devine, F., Friedman, S., Laurison, D., McKenzie, L., et al. (2015). Social Class in the 21st Century. London: Penguin.
Savage, M., Devine, F., Cunningham, N., Taylor, M., Li, Y., Hjellbrekke, J., et al. (2013). A New Model of Social Class: Findings from the Great British Class Survey. Sociology, 47(2), 219–250.
Thompson, E. P. (1978). The Poverty of Theory. London: Merlin.
Toubøl, J., & Larsen, A. G. (2017). Mapping the Social Class Structure: From Occupational Mobility to Social Class Categories Using Network Analysis. Sociology, 51(6), 1257–1276.
Warren, J. (2018). Industrial Teesside: Lives and Legacies. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Byrne, D. (2019). Understanding How Class Is Lived and Acted in Post-industrial Capitalism. In: Class After Industry. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02644-8_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02644-8_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-02643-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-02644-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)