SOCIAL DIVISIONS: DIFFERENCES AND

RESISTANCE

SO2015

MODULE CONVENER: DR. CHRIS MCMILLAN

CONTACT: CHRIS.MCMILLAN@BRUNEL.AC.UK

2012-13

TERM 1

LECTURE: WEDNESDAY 10-12PM, LC066

SOCIAL DIVISIONS

Societies tend to be defined by a shared identity and sense of cohesion. Conversely, we

recognise that differences within these communities, and the consequent divisions, exclusions

and inequalities that result, are a fundamental aspect of social life. In this module we seek to

analyse the struggles between identity and difference, cohesion and division, which emerge

through social and cultural practices.

In engaging with these core sociological themes, we shall come to consider conceptions of

factors such as class, gender, ethnicity, health and income, as well as the unifying strands of

belonging, identification and power to address the major social divisions and resistances in

contemporary British society and beyond. The module aim to:

1. Develop your ability to analyse social divisions, assess theories of social divisions and understand the implications of social divisions for social order and change.

2. Develop your capacity to select, evaluate and compare critically evidence on the historical, current and comparative dimensions of social divisions.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

This module provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge and

understanding in areas that include the following:

1. Understanding of key perspectives and debates relating to social divisions and their social and political articulation.

2. Sociologically informed perspectives on the ways in social divisions relate to power and life chances.

3. Critical assessment of the appropriateness of evidence and methods used in selected literatures pertaining to social divisions

COURSE CONVENER CONTACT DETAILS

Dr. Chris McMillan

Room MJ153

Marie Jahoda Building

Ext. 67541

chris.mcmillan@brunel.ac.uk

Office Hours: Tuesday 13.00-14.00

LECTURES

Lectures will be held in the Lecture Centre, room LC066 on Wednesday’s between 10-

12pm.

These lectures provide the framework for the course, your reading and for your

assessment. Lectures will be interactive and your attendance is required.

Week Date Topic 1 25th

September From Unity to Exclusions: Understanding social divisions

2 2nd Oct Musical chairs? Poverty, welfare and unemployment

3 9th Oct Check your privilege: Elitism and privilege in contemporary Britain

4 16th Oct Doing what comes natural? Sexism and gender discrimination

5 23rd Oct Can’t we all just get along? Understanding racism and ethnicity

6 30th Oct Health, Illness and Disability

7 6th Nov ASK Week 8 13th Nov Imagined communities: Migration and the

politics of exclusion 9 20th Nov Ruling ideas: The power of ideology 10 27th Nov God save the Queen: Religion, community

and identification 11 4th Dec Just say no! Social protest and the politics of

resistance 12 11th Dec Dividing the future: Information, economy

and environment

READING

Studying in the social sciences doesn’t involve working in a laboratory or creating things in a

workshop like other degrees at the University, but it does require a big commitment outside of

lecture times: reading.

Whilst lectures offer a framework and guide to the literature and to key issues, you will benefit

most from critically reading the assigned readings, both for assessments and for your

understanding of social life.

Each topic has a selection of readings but this book provides a good empirical and conceptual

introduction and background to the module as a whole, and the majority of weekly readings will

be selected from this text:

Payne, G. (2006) Social Divisions (2nd Ed.), Basingstoke: Macmillan.

ASSESSMENT

This module is assessed by a 3,000 word essay due on January 13th. Essay titles will be

advertised later in the term.

BLACKBOARD LEARN

BlackBoard Learn (BBL) is the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Here you will

find this module outline, lecture slides, readings and a forum for discussion.

FURTHER ASSISTANCE

If you would like further support you may wish to contact the Academic Skills Service (ASK).

About @SK

Academic Skills (ASK), based in the Library, are here to help support you in developing the

essential skills for university study, from how to make the most of lectures and communicate

effectively to how to think critically, write academically and use statistics. ASK services and

sessions are available to all students and cover a range of topics, including:

Academic writing – planning, structuring, clarity and

conciseness;

Active and critical reading;

Critical and analytical thinking;

Critiquing and organising your research;

Improving English grammar, punctuation and style;

Presentations and projects;

Statistics and statistical software including SPSS and Excel;

Time management and organisation.

WHAT CAN ASK DO FOR YOU?

Workshops: ASK run a programme of workshops and courses within the Library on a range of

academic skills and also organise events such as ASK Week. Information about what’s on and

timetables can be viewed on our booking calendar http://tinyurl.com/askbrunel

Resources: Browse the study skills book collection in the Library and the ASK BlackBoard Learn

page for useful links, documents and interactive lessons. For more information on getting

started for University studies see our Headstart website: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/headstart

Individual Advice: Drop-in to the Library:

Writing and Learning: 12-2pm Monday to Friday and 5-7pm Tuesdays

Statistics: 1.30-3 Thursday (postgraduates only, Halsbury 119) and 12-1pm Friday

DETAILED MODULE OUTLINE

WEEK 1: 25TH SEPTEMBER 2013

FROM UNITY TO EXCLUSIONS: UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL DIVISIONS

Differences between people are at the core of social life, yet constructing these differences

requires an identification of and with social groupings. In this session we will consider the

distinction sociologists make between social differences, divisions, exclusions and inequalities,

as well as introducing the core themes and structure of the module.

READING

Introduction and Conclusion in Payne, G. (2006) Social Divisions (2nd Ed.), Basingstoke: Macmillan.

WEEK 2: 2ND OCTOBER

MUSICAL CHAIRS? POVERTY, WELFARE AND UNEMPLOYMENT

In this session we consider the state of stratification in contemporary Britain, placing particular

emphasis on economic divides. Turning to conceptions of class as a way of explaining

inequalities in wealth and material resources within modern societies, we will examine current

debates around work, welfare and unemployment.

READINGS

Jones, O. (2012) Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class (Introduction) London: Verso.

Scott, J. (2006) Class and Stratification. In Payne, G. (2006) Social Divisions (2nd Ed.), Basingstoke: Macmillan. Platt, L. (2006) Poverty. In Payne, G. (2006) Social Divisions (2nd Ed.), Basingstoke: Macmillan.

WEEK 3: 9TH OCTOBER

CHECK YOUR PRIVILEGE: ELITISM AND PRIVILEGE IN CONTEMPORARY BRITAIN

Following on from our examination of stratification, in this session we investigate the increasing

influence of an economic, political and social elite in Britain and beyond. Engaging with ‘elite

theory’, along with celebrity, monarchy and plutocracy, we consider the rise of this new class

and its impact upon sociological and political understandings of stratification.

READING Stanworth, P. (2006) Elites. In Payne, G. (2006) Social Divisions (2nd Ed.), Basingstoke: Macmillan.

WEEK 4: 16TH OCTOBER

DOING WHAT COMES NATURAL? SEXISM AND GENDER DISCRIMINATION

Contemporary sociological thought has placed considerable emphasis upon the social

construction of gender and sexuality, particularly the means through which the construction of

these concepts influences struggles for equality.

In this lecture we will examine the distinction between sex and gender, focusing particularly on

the interventions into this debate by feminist theorists, before investigating shifts in

conceptions about sex and sexuality, with particular focus upon resistance to changes to

developments in both gender and sexual equality.

READING

Abbott, P. (2006) Gender. In G. Payne (Ed.) Social Divisions (second edition), Basingstoke:

Macmillan.

Scott, S. and Jackson, S. (2006) Sexuality. In G. Payne (Ed.) Social Divisions (second edition),

Basingstoke: Macmillan.

WEEK 5: 23RD OCTOBER

CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? UNDERSTANDING RACISM AND ETHNICITY

This lecture examines how racial categories serve as social categories through which people

exercise control and power over each other. It will consider aspects of migration, racism,

multiculturalism, ethnic identities and sociological theories of race and ethnicity with a focus on

the British context.

READING

Mason, D. (2006) Ethnicity. In G. Payne (Ed.) Social Divisions (2nd Ed.), Basingstoke: Macmillan.

WEEK 6: 30TH OCTOBER

HEALTH, ILLNESS AND DISABILITY – PROF. STEVEN WAINWRIGHT

The British state remains closely involved in the spheres of health care and public health but

there exist marked inequalities in health and illness, particularly in relation to disability. Such

inequalities, together with protests over the accessibility and level of service provision in

relation to different medical conditions, have stimulated diverse forms of protest and resistance.

This lecture examines the contested nature of disability, health and identity from a sociological

perspective, with particular concern for the political framing of these issues and resistance to

inequalities within this framework.

READINGS

Hyde, M. (2006) Disability. In G. Payne (Ed.) Social Divisions (second edition), Basingstoke:

Macmillan.

Payne, J., Payne, G. and Bond, M. (2006) Health. In G. Payne (Ed.) Social Divisions (second

edition), Basingstoke: Macmillan.

WEEK 7: 6TH NOVEMBER

ASK WEEK

There is no lecture for the module this week. However, you may well particularly benefit from

developing your academic skills by attending sessions during ASK Week, particularly;

- Fundamentals of Academic Writing;

- Critical Thinking and Making Arguments;

- Referencing.

WEEK 8: 13TH NOVEMBER

IMAGINED COMMUNITIES: MIGRATION AND THE POLITICS OF EXCLUSION

Understandings of what it means to be a citizen or to “belong” to a particular society or

community are important because they can underpin policies and practices that include,

exclude, elevate or marginalise different groups within society. This session identifies

migration, as well as social exclusion, as a particularly salient mode of exclusion and discusses

contemporary debates around the role of migrants in 21st century Britain.

READINGS

McCrone, D. (2006) National Identity. In Payne, G. (2006) Social Divisions (2nd Ed.), Basingstoke: Macmillan.

WEEK 9: 20TH NOVEMBER

RULING IDEAS: THE POWER OF IDEOLOGY

Extending upon conceptions of citizenship and nationality, this lecture investigates the means

through which social differences and divisions are managed through ideological power and the

control of violence. We pay particular attention to the role of the media and the control of

ideological ‘common sense’

READING

Pierson, C. (2011) The Modern State (3rd Ed.) (Chapter One) Routledge: London.

WEEK 10: 27TH NOVEMBER

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN: RELIGION, COMMUNITY AND IDENTITY

Religion not only constitutes a major focus of identification for many people, but is also a

significant source of conflict and division within, and between, different societies. Positioning

religious identification as a form of community belonging, this session considers the means

through which social cohesion is developed outside of the nation-state.

READING

Aldridge, A. (2006) Religion. In G. Payne (Ed.) Social Divisions (second edition), Basingstoke:

Macmillan.

Crow, G and Maclean, C. (2006) Community. In G. Payne (Ed.) Social Divisions (second edition),

Basingstoke: Macmillan.

WEEK 11: 4TH DECEMBER

JUST SAY NO! SOCIAL PROTEST AND THE POLITICS OF RESISTANCE

Whilst our shared social lives are largely defined by the presence of social differences, the

translation of differences into marked socio-political divisions produces a range of modes of

resistance. Over recent years a number of sites of protest and resistance have become evident,

most particularly the ‘Occupy’ movement and the Arab Spring, along with a range of online

resistance. In this session we examine these modes of resistance and the possibilities for

meaningful social change.

READING

Bernard E. Harcourt (2012) Political Disobedience. Critical Inquiry , Vol. 39, No. 1 (Autumn

2012), pp. 33-55

WEEK 12:11TH DECEMBER

DIVIDING THE FUTURE: INFORMATION, ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT

In this final session we look forward to the likely sources of social division in the future. Taking

a global perspective, we will primarily consider debates around access to resources, whether

digital or material, with particular reference to ecological change and global political economy.

We shall also review the module and discuss the upcoming essay.

READING

http://www.stanford.edu/group/scspi/issue_future_inequality.html

Payne, G. (2006) Social Divisions as a Sociological Perspective. In G. Payne (Ed.) Social Divisions

(second edition), Basingstoke: Macmillan.