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Comparative Analysis of Social Spaces in Post-Industrial Nations

Project description

A transformative study of the shape and experience of social class across changing societies

As societies evolve, the nature of "social class," its impact on people’s lives, and its relationship with gender, ethnicity, family life and more are transformed. The ERC-funded CASSPIN project aims to shed light on all of this. Using large-scale survey data, qualitative interviews, and the latest ideas about what class is, the project will map out the shape and experience of social class in contemporary societies. At stake is the bearing of class on people’s leisure interests, everyday lives, intimate relationships and self-worth, its place among a constellation of factors shaping inequality and domination today, the intricate balance between financial, educational and occupational aspirations, and the desire for recognition and love within the family.

Objective

The proposed research has two overarching objectives. First, it aims to examine whether it is possible and appropriate to extend a novel way of measuring social class recently devised for the United Kingdom to other post-industrial nations for the purposes of cross-national comparative research. If it is, the project will begin to explore, through secondary and primary analysis of large-scale survey data, the different shapes and trajectories of the class structures – or ‘social spaces’ – of various nation states. This will involve examination of which classes and sub-classes predominate and which have emerged or declined, as well as the different gender and ethnic/nationality constitutions of the classes and the distinct effects these differences have for understanding cultural and political struggles and, ultimately, the distribution of power or ‘recognition’ in each country. Second, the project aims to explore, through both statistical analysis and qualitative interviews, how social class is actually lived, experienced and balanced against other pressures and sources of recognition in everyday life, with a focus on three specific nations: the United States, Germany and Sweden. Of particular interest in this respect is the balancing of desire for recognition through money and education – the two cornerstones of social class in post-industrial capitalist societies – and their associated lifestyles with desires for recognition and love within the family. The comparative analysis included in both research aims will be guided by the hypothesis that national differences depend on the nature of the welfare regime in operation, especially as it relates to the nature and extent of workforce feminisation, though the research will also be alive to the possibility of alternative – or no significant – sources of contrast.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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ERC-STG - Starting Grant

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2015-STG

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Host institution

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 467 038,00
Address
BEACON HOUSE QUEENS ROAD
BS8 1QU Bristol
United Kingdom

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Region
South West (England) Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area Bristol, City of
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 467 038,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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