Podcast appearances and mentions of bev skeggs

Alberto Toscano is Professor of Critical Theory in the Department of Sociology and Co-Director of the Centre for Philosophy and Critical Theory at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Term Research Associate Professor at the School of Communications at Simon Fraser University. He is the author of Fanaticism: On the Uses of an Idea (Verso, 2010; 2017, 2nd ed.), Cartographies of the Absolute (with Jeff Kinkle, Zero Books, 2015), Una visión compleja. Hacía una estética de la economía (Meier Ramirez, 2021), La abstracción real. Filosofia, estética y capital (Palinodia, 2021), and the co-editor of the 3-volume The SAGE Handbook of Marxism (with Sara Farris, Bev Skeggs and Svenja Bromberg, SAGE, 2022), and Ruth Wilson Gilmore's Abolition Geography: Essays in Liberation (with Brenna Bhandar, Verso, 2022). He is a member of the editorial board of the journal Historical Materialism: Research in Critical Marxist Theory and is series editor of The Italian List for Seagull Books. He is also the translator of numerous books and essays by Antonio Negri, Alain Badiou, Franco Fortini, Furio Jesi and others. Subscribe to our newsletter

“If you're talented and work hard, success (whatever that is) will be yours!” – So says the powerful system and ideology known as “meritocracy”. But if only it were so simple! Jo Littler joins Uncommon Sense to reflect on where this idea came from, how it became mainstream, and how it gets used by elites to convince us we live in a system that is open and fair when the reality is anything but that.But Jo also shows things are changing. Since the crash of 2008 it's been clear we're living and working on a far from “level” playing field. Jo describes the recent embrace of non-work and the rise of assertive “left feminisms” as a sign of hope that the tide may be turning against meritocracy and shallow ideas of success, and discusses the work of people leading the way. Plus: we reflect on the trope of escape. Why is it so often that to “succeed” in life, one must leave the place that they're from and embrace the risky and new? And what's up with the cliche of the “ladder” as a visual image for success? Jo reflects with reference to everyone from Ayn Rand to Raymond Williams. Also: we consider the 1990s rise of the “Mumpreneur” and the more recent phenomenon of the “Cleanfluencer”.Guest: Jo LittlerHosts: Rosie Hancock, Alexis Hieu TruongExecutive Producer: Alice BlochSound Engineer: David CracklesMusic: Joe GardnerArtwork: Erin AnikerFind more about Uncommon Sense at The Sociological Review.Episode ResourcesJo, Alexis and Rosie recommendC. Carraway's book “Skint Estate”M. Brown and R. Jones' book “Paint Your Town Red”D. Aronofsky's film “Requiem for a Dream”R. Linklater's film “Slacker”From The Sociological ReviewSociological reflections on ‘doing' aspiration within the psychic landscape of class – Kim AllenBirds of a Feather – Natalie WreyfordThe price of the ticket revised –  Anthony Miro BornBy Jo LittlerAgainst MeritocracyMrs Hinch, the rise of the cleanfluencer and the neoliberal refashioning of housework (co-authored with Emma Casey)Left Feminisms: Conversations on the Personal and PoliticalFurther reading“The Rise of the Meritocracy” – Michael Young“The Coming of Post-industrial Society” – Daniel Bell“Coloniality and Meritocracy in Unequal EU Migrations” – Simone Varriale“Perceptions of Meritocracy in Singapore” – Terri-Anne Teo“Meritocracy and Elitism in a Global City” – Kenneth Paul Tan“The Tyranny of Merit” – Michael Sandel“Inequality by Design” – Claude Fischer, et al.“Notes on the Perfect”– Angela McRobbie“Culture and Society” – Raymond WilliamsRead more about the industrial sociologist Alan Fox, the work of Bev Skeggs on respectability politics, the work of Nancy Fraser, and the Billionaire Britain 2022 report by The Equality Trust.

What makes “good” taste? Who decides? And what's it got to do with inequality? Sociologist Irmak Karademir Hazir grew up watching women in her parents' clothing boutique. She explains how her fascination for taste emerged from that and why talking about things like fashion, film and music is far from trivial – it's how we distinguish ourselves from others; how we're recognised, or dismissed.Irmak tells Rosie and Alexis how sociologists such as Pierre Bourdieu have theorised “distinction”, showing how “highbrow” taste is decided by those with money and other kinds of capital. They also discuss the idea of the “cultural omnivore” and ask: Is what looks like broad consumption – of everything from opera to grime – just elitism in disguise?Plus: Why are Marvel blockbusters Irmak's “guilty pleasure”? Why is “symbolic violence” as scary as it sounds? And do we have a moral duty to be honest about our tastes?Guest: Irmak Karademir HazirHosts: Rosie Hancock, Alexis Hieu TruongExecutive Producer: Alice BlochSound Engineer: David CracklesMusic: Joe GardnerArtwork: Erin AnikerFind more about Uncommon Sense at The Sociological Review.Production Note: This episode was recorded shortly before the devastating earthquake in southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria.Episode ResourcesIrmak, Rosie, Alexis and our producer Alice recommendedThe movies of the “Marvel Cinematic Universe”John Waters' film “Hairspray”Agnès Jaoui's film “Le Goût des autres” (The Taste of Others)The BBC documentary series “Signs of the Times”From The Sociological Review“Feminism After Bourdieu” – Lisa Adkins and Bev Skeggs [special issue editors]“Aesthetic labour, class and taste: Mobility aspirations of middle-class women working in luxury-retail” – Bryan Boyle and Kobe De Keere“Taste the Joy: Food, Family, Women and Social Media” – Smriti SinghBy Irmak Karademir Hazir“Cultural Omnivorousness”“How (not) to feed young children: A class-cultural analysis of food parenting practices”“Do Omnivores Perform Class Distinction? A Qualitative Inspection of Culinary Tastes, Boundaries and Cultural Tolerance” (co-author: Nihal Simay Yalvaç)“Exploring patterns of children's cultural participation: parental cultural capitals and their transmission” (co-authors: Adrian Leguina and Francisco Azpitarte)Further reading and viewing“Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste” – Pierre Bourdieu “Formations of Class & Gender: Becoming Respectable” – Bev Skeggs“Reading ‘Race' in Bourdieu? Examining Black Cultural Capital Among Black Caribbean Youth in South London” – Derron Wallace“Stuart Hall: Selected Writings” – Catherine Hall and Bill Schwarz [book series editors]“Cultural omnivores or culturally homeless? Exploring the shifting cultural identities of the upwardly mobile” – Sam Friedman“‘Anything But Heavy Metal': Symbolic Exclusion and Musical Dislikes” – Bethany Bryson“The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception” – Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer“Follow the algorithm: An exploratory investigation of music on YouTube” – Massimo Airoldi, Davide Beraldo and Alessandro Gandini“Pretty Woman” – Garry Marshall [film director]“Marvel's Defenders of The Status Quo” – Pop Culture Detective

Alberto Toscano is Professor of Critical Theory in the Department of Sociology and Co-Director of the Centre for Philosophy and Critical Theory at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Term Research Associate Professor at the School of Communications at Simon Fraser University. He is the author of Fanaticism: On the Uses of an Idea (Verso, 2010; 2017, 2nd ed.), Cartographies of the Absolute (with Jeff Kinkle, Zero Books, 2015), Una visión compleja. Hacía una estética de la economía (Meier Ramirez, 2021), La abstracción real. Filosofia, estética y capital (Palinodia, 2021), and the co-editor of the 3-volume The SAGE Handbook of Marxism (with Sara Farris, Bev Skeggs and Svenja Bromberg, SAGE, 2022), and Ruth Wilson Gilmore's Abolition Geography: Essays in Liberation (with Brenna Bhandar, Verso, 2022). He is a member of the editorial board of the journal Historical Materialism: Research in Critical Marxist Theory and is series editor of The Italian List for Seagull Books. He is also the translator of numerous books and essays by Antonio Negri, Alain Badiou, Franco Fortini, Furio Jesi and others. Subscribe to our newsletter

What does care really mean? For feminist sociologist Bev Skeggs, it should be at the heart of how we organise our society – from tax to health, to climate action. She talks to Alexis and Rosie about the costs of complacency, her own shocking experience of care (or lack of it) as her own parents faced the end of life, and why we have every right to expect the state to look after us. Care, she shows, is political: there's no care without society; no society without care.Plus, Bev casts a sideways glance at “self-care” and explains why browsing a sociology textbook might just be better for you than a trip to a pricey spa. The team also discusses their recommendations for pop culture lessons in care – from Adrienne Rich to Robin Williams.Guest: Bev SkeggsHosts: Rosie Hancock, Alexis Hieu TruongExecutive Producer: Alice BlochSound Engineer: David CracklesMusic: Joe GardnerArtwork: Erin AnikerSpecial thanks to: Kirsteen PatonUncommon Sense sees our world afresh, through the eyes of sociologists. Brought to you by The Sociological Review, it's a space for questioning taken-for-granted ideas about society – for imagining better ways of living together and confronting our shared crises. Hosted by Rosie Hancock in Sydney and Alexis Hieu Truong in Ottawa, featuring a different guest each month, Uncommon Sense insists that sociology is for everyone.Episode ResourcesBev, Rosie and Alexis recommend:TV adaptations (various; 1993-2001; 2019) of Armistead Maupin's “Tales of the City” novels (1974-2014)“Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution” (1976) by Adrienne RichThe movie “What Dreams May Come” (1998), dir. Vincent Ward, starring Robin WilliamsFrom The Sociological Review:“A Crisis in Humanity: What Everyone With Parents Is Likely to Face in the Future” (2017) by Bev SkeggsOn radical care (2020) by Dan Silver and Sarah Marie HallOn caring for plants during Covid-19 (2020) by Gavin MacleanOn care, activism and environmental justice in Chile (2017) by Manuel Tironi and Israel Rodríguez-GiraltOn love labour as a particular kind of care (2007) by Kathleen LynchFurther readings:“Formations of Class and Gender” (1997) by Bev Skeggs“Learning to Labour” (1977) by Paul Willis“The Care Manifesto” (2020) by The Care CollectiveThe Women's Budget GroupSolidarity and Care During the Covid-19 Pandemic (2020), a public platform by The Sociological Review“Saving the Modern Soul: Therapy, Emotions, and the Culture of Self-Help” (2008) by Eva Illouz“Who Will Care for the Caretaker's Daughter? Towards a Sociology of Happiness in the Era of Reflexive Modernity” (1997) by Eva Illouz“Growing Up Girl: Psychosocial Explorations of Gender and Class” (2001) by Valerie Walkerdine, Helen Lucey and June Melody“A Burst of Light” (1988) by Audre Lorde“Self-Help, Media Cultures and the Production of Female Psychopathology” (2004) by Lisa Blackman“It's Different for Girls: Gendering the Audience for Popular Music” (2000) by Diane RailtonFind more at The Sociological Review.

In this episode, David Edmonds from the Social Science Bites podcast interviews Professor Bev Skeggs about how social media platforms such as Facebook can track, monitor and use data about its users. Bev explains how Facebook trawls its users' habits to collect information on people's general browsing habits and the process of selling data to advertising companies so that they can place an advert on your browser.

Bev Skeggs joined us to talk about the launch of the Sociological Review's new public platform - Solidarity and Care During the COVID-19 Global Pandemic. Useful links- https://www.thesociologicalreview.com/introducing-solidarity-and-care-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ https://www.solidarityandcare.org/ Useful stats- Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), found black males are 4.2 times more likely to die from a COVID-19-related death and black females are 4.3 times more likely than those of white ethnicity . Males in the Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnicity group are 1.8 times more likely to have a coronavirus related death than white males and females 1.6 times more than white women. The age-standardised mortality rate of deaths involving COVID-19 in the most deprived areas of England was 55.1 deaths per 100,000 population compared with 25.3 deaths per 100,000 population in the least deprived areas Weekly sociological reflections with Tissot and Chantelle during the COVID19 global pandemic.

Bev Skeggs joined us to talk about the launch of the Sociological Review's new public platform - Solidarity and Care During the COVID-19 Global Pandemic. Useful links- https://www.thesociologicalreview.com/introducing-solidarity-and-care-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ https://www.solidarityandcare.org/ Useful stats- Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), found black males are 4.2 times more likely to die from a COVID-19-related death and black females are 4.3 times more likely than those of white ethnicity . Males in the Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnicity group are 1.8 times more likely to have a coronavirus related death than white males and females 1.6 times more than white women. The age-standardised mortality rate of deaths involving COVID-19 in the most deprived areas of England was 55.1 deaths per 100,000 population compared with 25.3 deaths per 100,000 population in the least deprived areas Weekly sociological reflections with Tissot and Chantelle during the COVID19 global pandemic.

As part of our 'Love' series, Prof Bev Skeggs, perhaps the UKs leading sociologist, who has recently moved to Lancaster University, from LSE, takes us on an incredible tour of her work to help us really examine our values and what we value. For her, every economic choice is a moral choice....this is powerful and provocative - prepare to have your notions of what society is, how it is built and how it is held together seriously challenged.

Snobbery is defined as the behaviour or attitude of people who think they are better than others. Laurie Taylor explores the social history, meaning and changing nature of this sense of superiority. He talks to David Morgan, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, Bev Skeggs, Professor of Sociology at the LSE and Florence Sutcliffe Braithwaite, Lecturer in 20th Century History at University College, London. Producer: Jayne Egerton

At the Free Thinking Festival at Sage Gateshead Lionel Shriver discusses her new collection of short stories Property with presenter Kirsty Wark. While Lionel Shriver explores our relationship with objects and places, and asks what the increasing accumulation of things may be doing to the soul, the sociologist Bev Skeggs explores how we are being bought and sold in the digital sphere. She also counts the cost of the monetisation of human relations and highlights communities in the North of England who are bucking this trend. The economist Linda Yueh looks back to the thinkers of the past from Adam Smith to Milton Friedman, to show the importance of understanding the ideas that underpin the world of finance. And the poet Sean O'Brien armed with 'paper and a clock' explores the history of Europe in his latest collection and argues that Great Britain's future will be shaped by what we remember and what we forget of our shared past. Producer: Katy Hickman.

“Most people,” says Goldsmiths sociologist Bev Skeggs, “think they’re using Facebook to communicate with friends. Basically they’re using it to reveal how much they can be sold for, now and in the future, and how much their friends can be sold for.” That was an almost accidental lesson she learned during research on how social networks were structuring, or restructuring, friendships, she explains to interviewer David Edmonds in this Social Science Bites podcast. After receiving a monstrous data dump – with permission – of individual’s social media usage, Skeggs and her colleagues were “completely diverted”  as it dawned on them that Facebook was trawling its users’ habits to collect information on people’s general browsing habits. The potentially disturbing but legal practice was only the first step in Facebook’s efforts to monetize social media – and in what Skeggs argues calcifies inequality. “They probably have the greatest capacity to experiment with social data to see who we’re communicating with, how we’re communicating with them,” Skeggs says, “but basically 90 percent of Facebook profit is made from advertising -- selling your data to advertising companies so that they can place an advert on your browser.” And in turn, algorithmically segregating web denizens – well, their composite data profiles, at any rate -- based on their perceived wealth and influence. This “subprime silo-ing” pushes sketchy advertising, in particular for high-interest loans, at people who can least afford to take on more debt. That, she explains, is why “we really, really need to have some strict regulation” when it comes to the trading of personal data, targeting, advertising and similar practices that flow from social media. Skeggs, who has led the sociology departments at Manchester University and Goldsmiths, University of London, has long looked at less explored vectors of inequality, as demonstrated by her breakthrough 1997 book, Formations of Class & Gender: Becoming Respectable. She was the joint managing editor of the The Sociological Review for five years starting in 2011, a period that saw the esteemed journal transition into an independent foundation “dedicated to the advancement and study of sociology in everyday life.” (She remains an editor at large for the Review.)

Everyday life: Laurie Taylor talks to Les Back, Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, about his study into those seemingly unimportant aspects of life which throw a spotlight on the relationship between history, culture and biography. Returning to the council estate in Croydon where he grew up, and where his extended family still live - it tells a story about community formation, housing crisis and the geography of class through Christmas decorations. They're joined by Bev Skeggs, fellow Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths. Also, Sarah Neal, Reader in Sociology at the University of Surrey, discusses multicultural conviviality in coffee shops. Producer: Natalia Fernandez.

If you have seen the film, Pride, about the involvement of lesbian and gay activists in the UK miners' strike of the 1980s - or even if you haven't - you will find this discussion that took place at Birkbeck, University  of London, hosted by  BiGS (Birkbeck Gender & Sexuality) and The Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities  fascinating. The event was called Pits and Perverts Revisited, a reference to the benefit ball organised by LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners), at which the line up included Bronski Beat. The discussion starts with the making of the film and goes on to look at the politics of the Thatcher era when, as Mike Jackson says, you had to be a "very brave person indeed" to declare your homosexuality.  It explores the legacy of the Miners strike and the relevance of LGSM to today. The first section brings together Mike Jackson and Sian James MP, both active in the strike and featured in Pride.  It is chaired by Daniel Monk. In the second part of the event,Diarmaid Kelliher of Glasgow University focuses on the politics of the 1970s and 1980s and explores the culture of solidarity that was so important in the strike and beyond. In the final section, Bev Skeggs, Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London 'commits a sociology' as she considers the 'enemies within'. ......................... A couple of years ago, we carried a blog by Chris Creegan which also considered the legacy of that period (Margaret Thatcher had just died). It carried a picture of Chris's copy of the Pits and Perverts poster, one of the few still in existence, and reflected on Chris's own experience as a gay trade unionist and how Thatcher's triumph on the economic front contributed to her defeat in the social arena. ............................... One of the most moving parts of the film Pride was Bronwen Lewis singing Bread and Roses - and here it is...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiiKgST_G2Q

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, children gathered beneath a sparking tree, a table groaning with turkey.....the cliches of the season are as alive and well as they were in Dickens time. But does everybody have equal access to the bounty of Christmas and the good will of others? The geographer, Steve Millington, finds that the distaste some middle class people feel for 'excessive' displays of xmas lights in working class areas reveals a narrative of class hostility which echoes Victorian attitudes to the 'undeserving' poor. He joins Laurie Taylor, the sociologist Bev Skeggs and the historian Julie Marie Strange to explore Christmas, compassion and class, then and now. Producer: Jayne Egerton.