Bryan Boyle

Culture & Inequality Podcast How does culture feed into inequality? And the other way around? In Culture and Inequality, cultural sociologists from universities across the world explore these topics in-depth from various perspect...

Penultimate episode of this season's Culture & Inequality Podcast, in which @bryanboyle.bsky.social (Free U Brussels) talks with Kristina Kolbe and @aaronreeves.bsky.social about the Sound of Elites: How Elites Navigate a Meritocratic and Anti-Elite World >>

pod.link/1533967764/e...

Managing Risk & Seeking Dignity: Working‐Class Perceptions of University in London, Rochdale & Morecambe This paper examines how working-class young people enroled at college in London, Rochdale and Morecambe perceive of university. It argues that university represents a great risk, associated with high...

New paper for @bjsociology.bsky.social exploring how working-class young people in London, Rochdale & Morecambe associate university with risk due to debt (deterring some), but also potential reward in terms of grad premium, and crucially, dignity

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

"For large parts of the world’s population, the apocalypse does not point to a distant future but represents a (very real) lived experience in the present."
ephemerajournal.org/current-issue

Du Bois on what these assholes were really like

Culture & Inequality Podcast How does culture feed into inequality? And the other way around? In Culture and Inequality, cultural sociologists from universities across the world explore these topics in-depth from various perspect...

The Culture and Inequality Podcast is back!

In five new episodes, a briliant cast of sociologists discuss the newest insights about elites, climate risk, our digital economic lives, women and the far right, and the cultural politics of meat.

All found here: pod.link/1533967764

>>

July 4th, 2025

Jayshree Patel in conversation: Teacher and lecturer turned TV scriptwriter on the power of sociology Hollyoaks writer Jayshree Patel tells Juliette Wilson-Thomas how sociology underpins storylines on far-right extremism and violence against women.

Great interview with sociologist-cum-screenwriter in the @thesociologicalreview.org magazine 👀 👀 👀 inspiring for anyone interested in public sociology! thesociologicalreview.org/magazine/jun...

At no point in this study did I use AI. This includes the literature review, logical organization, writing, analysis, and proofreading. I do not cite any studies that use AI, to the extent that it is possible to know.

Yesterday I used this "AI -Free Statement" in a conference talk for the first time. Still trying to figure out the exact language.

Feel free to borrow, modify, etc.

👀 👀 👀

Meritocracy from below: dreams, divisions, and the struggle for merit in a stigmatised neighbourhood The ideal of a meritocratic society continues to exert significant normative power in political and public discourse, including in discussions about marginalised spaces and neighbourhoods. However,...

My new article in @city-journal.bsky.social argues for a critical understanding of the meritocratic ideal among urban researchers. In particular, it explores the consequences of how this ideal is reproduced in stigmatised neighbourhoods:
doi.org/10.1080/1360.... @lsemethodology.bsky.social

England is not a modern country. The graphic below by
@guyshrubsole.bsky.social in today's Observer underlines this fact.

UCL – University College London UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

PhD Studentship at Legacies of British Slavery Centre: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

The Power Elite in Greenland In this research note, we map the power elite in Greenland, amidst the current geopolitical interest in the nation. Using social network analysis, we identify a power elite of 123 individuals as the ...

New research article from the Danish elites powerhouse examining the power elite in Greenland onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

‘The sound of difference’ (Manchester University Press) is Kristina’s new book; ‘Born to Rule’ (Harvard University Press) is the book by Aaron and @samfriedman.bsky.social

Huge thanks to The Culture and Inequality podcast team, including Kobe De Keere, @luuc.bsky.social and Sanne Pieters!

The Sound of Elites: How Elites Navigate a Meritocratic and Anti-Elite World Culture & Inequality Podcast · Episode

How do elites navigate a world with meritocratic expectations and calls for diversity? I had the absolute privilege to talk to both Kristina Kolbe and @aaronreeves.bsky.social about their new books that address these very questions! Listen to the podcast here:
open.spotify.com/episode/1t5V...

The Sound of Elites: How Elites Navigate a Meritocratic and Anti-Elite World Culture & Inequality Podcast · Episode

This conversation with @bryanboyle.bsky.social from the Culture and Inequality podcast was lots of fun. Really appreciated the chance to chat about 'Born to Rule' but the best bits are Kristina Kolbe discussing her fantastic new book 'The sound of difference'. open.spotify.com/episode/1t5V...

Why is environmentalism class divided?

My new paper in The British Journal of Sociology maps attitudes to green issues in the social space of economic and cultural capital. Spoiler: it’s not just about being rich.

🧵https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-4446.13231

As part of our analysis, we ranked constituencies in England according to a range of measures across the life-course.

You can use our interactive map to see how constituencies rank in terms of access to opportunity for disadvantaged young people ⤵️

www.suttontrust.com/opportunity-...

🎉Very happy I'm awarded a 3-year Postdoctoral Fellowship @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social. My project uncovers the cultural roots of climate polarization by studying how an 'oatmilk elite' of well-meaning climate advocates in 🇧🇪🇮🇹🇸🇪 fashion like eco-influencers may exclude & moralise people unlike them...🌿

Huge congratulations Luuc!

Research Associate - Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE):Manchester

📢JOB: Research Associate @ethnicityuk.bsky.social

New project w. @nhs-rho.bsky.social: racial inequality in mental health/healthcare. Closing date 22 May- pls share 🙏🏿

@britsoci.bsky.social @inequalccsr.bsky.social @healthierfutures.bsky.social
www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Congrats!

The book proofs have arrived—along with all the excitement and trepidation of sharing this deeply personal work with the world.

Girlhood at War: Interpreting War and Liberation in Kosovo — coming soon from Rowman & Littlefield.

🚨 New study reveals that when used to summarize scientific research, generative AI is nearly five times less accurate than humans.

Many haven't realized, but Gen AI's accuracy problem is worse than initially thought.

Erased How a field built on the intellectual labor and expertise of women erased them

We're looking forward to welcoming Prof Patricia Owens for a book launch of 'Erased: A History of International Thought without Men' on May 21, 5pm ARB SG2. Co-hosted with the @campolis.bsky.social IR/Hist group. All welcome, reception to follow!

press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

Reminder: The deadline to submit for our workshop on the education and training of the entrepreneurial elite is coming up soon (30.05.)!

We look forward to reading your submissions and meeting you at the Swiss Elite Observatory @obelitessuisses.bsky.social, University of Lausanne @unil.bsky.social

YouTube video by SSSI Org Gary David "Playing the Interrogation Game"

Symbolic Interaction tend to push their authors for video abstracts. This one is one of the best I’ve seen … m.youtube.com/watch?v=0lfW...

Very cool: @miroborn.bsky.social made a comic narrating findings from his research on class, social mobility and stigmatized neighborhoods. You can find it here in English and German: www.anthonymiroborn.com/comic

Come join @tanjabueltmann.net and I at Strathclyde for a funded PhD on built heritage and Glasgow’s slaving links, centred around Tobacco Merchant’s House.

Excellent ops to engage with heritage industry via co-supervision by Scottish Civic Trust!

Details below!

Any questions - get in touch!