Sociology of inequalities

Master of sociology, M1, Fall 2024

 

Fridays 8:00-10:00

 

Room 402 - 56 rue des Saints Pères

 

 

Olivier Godechot and Lidia Panico (CRIS)

 

Rationale of the course

Social inequalities form a core object of sociological research. Starting from classical concepts and theories, this course highlights the multi-dimensional nature of inequalities, spanning from macro- to micro-level research. Lectures draw on empirical works, aiming at making students familiar with both theories and existing evidence on major areas and dimensions of inequalities.

The course is divided into three modules. In the first one (Olivier Godechot), the focus will be placed on general theories of inequality and on a description of global inequalities at the macro level. In the second module (Lidia Panico), particular attention is paid to social class and the role of education and health as both inequality-generating and equalizing mechanisms. In the third module (Lidia Panico and Olivier Godechot), gender and ethnic dimensions are explored, leading to a discussion of the intersectionality of social inequalities.

Class organization

Each session is organized in three sections: lecture, students’ oral presentation and a class discussion.

The oral presentation is a discussion of a research paper (about three students; focusing on theory, methods, and sociopolitical implications of the paper). 15 min

Evaluation

Students’ evaluation is based on: (1) an oral presentation (30% of final grade), a paper submitted BEFORE the last class (30% of the final grade, consisting of a 1000 words document detailing a research question and hypotheses you would like to explore, given the materials studied in this course. The paper will document the key theories and concepts, and how they link to the research question and hypotheses proposed. Exceptionally papers can be written in French, with a 1200 word limit), and a final exam (35% of final grade, one hour, consisting of short open questions, during the final session). 5% of the final grade is class participation, especially during the class discussions.

 

List of lectures

 

Class 1. 6 Sep. 2024. Introduction. Economic inequalities: Normatives approaches, Empirical measures, and global development (Godechot)

 

Reading for discussion

Robeyns, Ingrid. 2022. “Why limitarianism”. Journal of Political Philosophy 30 (2): 249-70.

Background reading

Chancel, Lucas, Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez, Gabriel Zucman et al.  2021. Chapter 2 “Global inequality from 1820 to now: the persistence and mutation of extreme inequality”, in World Inequality Report 2022, p. 52-71.

 

Suggested reading

Godechot, Olivier. 2017. “Inequality: A Piketty et al. Moment in the Social Sciences”, economic sociology_the european electronic newsletter, 19(1): 1-7

https://econsoc.mpifg.de/13366/econ_soc_19-1.pdf

Godechot, Olivier. 2019. “The Great Reaper: The Unique Equalizer? - Walter Scheidel, The Great Leveler. Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century (Princeton and Oxford, Princeton University Press, 2017)”, European Journal of Sociology, 60 (3): 510-516.

Class 2. 13 Sep. 2024. Wealth inequalities (Godechot)

Reading for discussion

Tisch, Daria, and Emma Ischinsky. 2023. “Top wealth and its historical origins: Identifying entrenched fortunes by linking rich lists over 100 years.” Socius 9: 23780231231192774.

Background reading

Pfeffer, Fabian T., and Nora Waitkus. 2021. “The wealth inequality of

nations.” American Sociological Review 86(4): 567-602.

 

Suggested reading

Bessière, Céline. 2022. “Reversed accounting: Legal professionals, families and the gender wealth gap in France.” Socio-Economic Review 20(1): 233-256.

 

Class 3. 20 Sep. 2024. Wage inequalities (Godechot)

Reading for discussion

Fernandez, Roberto M. 2001. “Skill-biased technological change and wage inequality: Evidence from a plant retooling.” American Journal of Sociology 107(2): 273-320.

Background reading

Avent-Holt, Dustin, and Donald Tomaskovic-Devey. 2014. “A relational theory of earnings inequality.” American Behavioral Scientist 58(3): 379-399.

 

Suggested reading

Godechot, Olivier. 2008. “‘Hold-up’ in finance: The conditions of possibility for high bonuses in the financial industry.” Revue française de sociologie 49(5): 95-123.

 

 

Class 4. 27 Sep. 2024. Employment, labor market inequalities and social mobility (Godechot)

Reading for discussion

Song, Xi, Catherine G Massey, Karen A Rolf, Joseph P Ferrie, Jonathan L Rothbaum, and Yu Xie. 2020. “Long-Term Decline in Intergenerational Mobility in the United States since the 1850s.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117 (1): 251–58 (and Appendices).

 

Background reading

Barbieri, Paolo. 2009. “Flexible Employment and Inequality in Europe”, European Sociological Review, 25(6): 621-628.

 

Suggested reading

Kim, Minjae, and Roberto M. Fernandez. 2023. “What makes weak ties strong?.” Annual Review of Sociology 49(1): 177-193.

 

Class 5. 4 Oct. 2024. Welfare Regimes: Esping-Andersen and Beyond (Panico)

Reading for discussion

Jutz, Regina. 2020. “Health inequalities in Eastern Europe. Does the role of the welfare regime differ from Western Europe?” Social Science & Medicine 267, 113357.

 

Background reading

Esping-Andersen, Gøsta. 2014. “Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism”, in Pierson C., Castle D. and Naumann F. (eds.), The Welfare State Reader, 3rd Edition, Cambridge: Polity Press, 136-150.

 

Suggested reading

Ferragina, Emanuele, and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser. 2011. “Welfare Regime Debate: Past, Present, Futures?” Policy and Politics, 39(4): 583-611.

 

 

Class 6. 11 Oct. 2024. Social stratification and class analysis (Panico)

Reading for discussion

Weeden, Kim A., and David B. Grusky. 2005, “The Case for a New Class Map.”American Journal of Sociology 111(1):141-212.

 

Background reading

Breen, Richard 2005, “Foundations of Neo-Weberian Class Analysis” in Erik O. Wright (ed.), Approaches to class analysis , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 31–50.. 

 

Suggested reading

Savage, Mike, Fiona Devine, Niall Cunningham, Mark Taylor, Yaojun Li, Johs Hjellbrekke, Brigitte Le Roux, Sam Friedman, and Andrew Miles. 2013.“A New Model of Social Class? Findings from the BBC’s Great British Class Survey Experiment.”Sociology 47(2):219–250. 

 

Class 7. 18 Oct. 2024. Inequalities across the lifecourse (Panico)

Reading for discussion

Gruijters, Rob J., Zachary Van Winkle, and Anette E. Fasang. 2023. “Life Course Trajectories and Wealth Accumulation in the United States: Comparing Late Baby Boomers and Early Millennials.” American Journal of Sociology, 129(2): 530-569.

 

Background reading

Elder, Glen H., Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson, and Robert Crosnoe. 2003. “The Emergence and Development of Life Course Theory.” In J. T. Mortimer & M. J. Shanahan (Eds.), Handbook of the Life Course (pp. 3–19). New York: Springer.

Suggested reading

Elder, Glen H. 1999. “Beyond Children of the Great Depression.” In Elder, Glen H. Children Of The Great Depression: 25th Anniversary Edition (25th ed.). Routledge.

Note: for those of you interested in qualitative (lifecourse) research, the rest of this book is fascinating and freely available online.

 

Class 8. 25 Oct. 2024. Inequalities in education (Panico)

Reading for discussion

Lareau, Annette. 2002.“Invisible Inequality: Social Class and Childrearing in Black Families and White Families.”American Sociological Review67(5): 747-776.

Background reading

Reardon, Sean F. 2011. “The Widening Academic Achievement Gap Between the Rich and the Poor: New Evidence and Possible Explanations.” In Murnane and Dundan (eds) Whither Opportunities? Rising Inequality and the Uncertain Life Chances of Low-Income Children. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 91-115.

 

Suggested reading

Triventi, Moris. 2013.“Stratification in Higher Education and Its Relationship with Social Inequality: A Comparative Study of 11 European Countries.”European Sociological Review 29(3): 489–502

 

Class 9. 8 Nov. 2024. Inequalities in health and well-being (Panico)

Reading for discussion

Aburto, Jose Manuel, Andrea M. Tilstra, Ginevra Floridi, and Jennifer Beam Dowd. (2022). Significant impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on race/ethnic differences in US mortality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(35), e2205813119.

 

Background reading

Bartley, Mel, and Michelle Kelly-Irving. 2024. “What is health inequalities?” In Health Inequality: An Introduction to Concepts, Theories and Methods, 3rd Edition. Polity.

Note: for those interested in health inequalities, many other chapters in this book can be helpful.

 

Suggested reading

Wilkinson, Richard G., and Kate E. Pickett. 2009.“Income Inequality and Social Dysfunction.”Annual Review of Sociology 35: 493-511.

 

Class 10. 15 Nov. 2024. Gender inequality (Panico)

Reading for discussion

Pessin, Léa. 2024. “Gender Equality for Whom? The Changing College Education Gradients of the Division of Paid Work and Housework Among US Couples, 1968–2019.” Social Forces 103(1): 129-152.

Background reading

tbc

Suggested reading

Goldscheider, Frances, Eva Bernhardt, and Trude Lappegård. 2015. “The Gender Revolution: A Framework for Understanding Changing Family and Demographic Behavior.” Population and Development Review 41(2):207–39.

 

 

Class 11. 22 Nov. 2024. Inequalities due to ethno-racial and migratory origins. Intersectionality (Godechot)

Reading for discussion

Bailey, Stanley R., Aliya Saperstein, and Andrew M. Penner. 2014. “Race, color, and income inequality across the Americas.” Demographic Research 31 (2014): 735-756.

 

Background reading

Quillian, Lincoln, et al. “Do some countries discriminate more than others? Evidence from 97 field experiments of racial discrimination in hiring.” Sociological Science 6 (2019): 467-496.

 

Suggested reading

Roth, Wendy D. “The multiple dimensions of race.” 2016. Ethnic and Racial Studies 39 (8): 1310-1338.

 

Class 12. 29 Nov. 2024. Exam. Conclusion: managing inequality (Godechot)

Background reading

Schröder, Martin. 2018. “Income inequality and life satisfaction: Unrelated between countries, associated within countries over time.” Journal of Happiness Studies 19 (4): 1021-1043.

 

Suggested reading

Carter, Prudence L., and Sean F. Reardon.2014. Inequality matters. New York, NY: William T. Grant Foundation.

 

LES COMMENTAIRES | COMMENTS

0 messages

Ajouter un commentaire Add a comment

Contacter le Webmestre Contact the Webmaster

---

[Pas de commentaires pour le moment]

---

Garder le fil (rss) des commentaires