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Social Class and Stratification

Code: 101142
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Sociology OB 2

Contact lecturer

Name :
Enrico Mora
Email :
enrico.mora@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Albert Martin Gomez

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

No prerequisite is required

Objectives

  1. To train the students of the Sociology Major degree in the analysis of the social structure according to class relations and social stratification without gender bias:
    1. To identify the implications of the main sociological debates on social structure, stratification and social inequality (which includes sex and gender)
    2. To identify gender biases in class analysis and social stratification.
    3. To analyze empirically the class structure and social stratification of a particular territory of Spain and Catalonia, without gender bias.
    4. To define and create a research topic considering the gender perspective
    5. To describe the multidimensionality of the social structure, identifying, at least, the relationships between social class and gender.
    6. To issue judgments that are theoretically and empirically based, non-sexist and non-class biased, aiming to guide the political action of an organization / institution / entity.

2. To understand the concepts of social structure, social stratification and social inequality and their multiple relationships.

3. To contextualize historically the social inequalities of class and social stratum.

4. To understand the different models of social classes analysis.

5. To understand the different models of social stratification analysis.

6. To understand the mechanisms that explain social mobility and immobility.

7. To apply some of the analysis models of social classes and social stratification to the cases of Spain and Catalonia, and to prepare the corresponding report.

8. To understand the main interrelationships between inequalities based on class and social status and the gender based inequalities.

9. To promote a gender perspective and non-sexist and gender-neutral learning practices:

    1. To encourage the participation of the students in oral presentations and debates.
    2. To encourage the use of inclusive language.
    3. To encourage non-sexist and gender-neutral teamwork cooperative learning practices in the classroom.
    4. To listen to the other in a debate situation or when questions are asked in the classroom.
    5. To encourage a critical and constructive debate based on mutual respect between the students.

Learning outcomes

  1. Students must be capable of assessing the quality of their own work.
  2. Effectively communicating the basic analysis of social phenomena in an elementary level of English.
  3. Students must be capable of managing their own time, planning their own study, managing the relationship with their tutor or adviser, as well as setting and meeting deadlines for a work project.
  4. Searching for documentary sources starting from concepts.
  5. Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  6. Developing self-learning strategies.
  7. Defining the necessary concepts in order to understand the social structure.
  8. Comparing the different theoretical approaches about social structure.
  9. Defining the involvement of the main sociological debates about social structure.
  10. Identifying the involvement of these approaches in order to understand the social structure.
  11. Expressing the debates regarding these approaches, that refer to the social structure.
  12. Relating the debates regarding these approaches, that refer to the social structure, with the historical context in which they emerged.
  13. Identifying their validity to explain the social reality of Spain and Catalonia.
  14. Comparing these explanations in different countries.
  15. Relating the definitions and explanations of inequality with general theoretical and methodological debates.
  16. Relating these general debates with their epistemological and ethical assumptions.

Contents


  • Introduction: Structure, stratification, social inequality.

  • The division of labor: capitalism and patriarchy.

  • The relationship between class, gender and ethnicity.

  • Classic models of social class analysis. The gender perspective.

  • From structure to action in the production mode. The gender perspective.

  • The occupational structure and social closure. The gender perspective.

  • The proposed synthesis between structure and action. The gender perspective

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Tutorials 4 0.16 2, 5, 8, 11, 13, 14
Reading texts, individual work and report writing process 91 3.64 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16
Training classes and seminars 53 2.12 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Master classes

Comments of texts in the classroom

Reading texts (in Spanish and in English)

Teamwork to achieve empirical analysis of social inequalities according to social class relationships

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Individual report (Ac Cont) 40% 0 0 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
Class participation (Av Cont) 20% 0 0 2, 5, 7, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16
Individual evidence 2 (Ac Cont) 20% 1 0.04 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
Individual evidence 1 (Ac Cont) 20% 1 0.04 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Students will be required to submit the following evidence:


  • Continuous Assessment
  • Individual Work. Completion of an assignment during the course.
  • The assignment will account for 40% of the final grade (averaged with written tests starting from the 4th grade).
  • Individual activity.
  • Completion of an individual assignment, submitted via the virtual campus. At the beginning of the course, instructors will provide a specific document detailing the assignment process and the specific conditions and limitations under which AI may be used. In any case, the use of AI in the assignment is limited to the following conditions:
  • If the generated texts help you study, better understand certain aspects of the subject matter, generate study materials, and support your learning, but are not directly and literally incorporated into the assignment, then they fall within your sphere of decision-making, autonomy, and responsibility.
  • You are responsible for the generated text, and therefore, any errors or inaccuracies will affect your assignment grade. Attributing the error to AI will not be a valid argument. Ultimately, it is you who end up accepting the AI-generated responses as correct.
  • If you include any AI-generated text in the report, you must indicate the use of AI, which specific AI prompt was used, when the text was generated (specify in the appendix the prompt used to generate each quoted text), and enclose the exact text you used from the AI ​​in quotation marks, separating it from your own text. Any text not enclosed in quotation marks is text you created directly, and therefore, if it is AI-generated and not your own, it constitutes dishonest and unauthorized use of AI. In these cases, it will affect the final grade of the assignment with penalties of up to 100% of the grade, depending on the severity of the dishonest use, by claiming authorship of text that is not yours. If you are providing your own interpretation of AI-generated text, which has been reviewed, audited, and rewritten in your own words, you may cite the source by simply indicating in parentheses the AI ​​used, the date of the prompt, and the prompt it generated.
  • In any case, properly cited AI-generated text cannot be the sole source. The verbatim use of AI-generated text cannot exceed 2.5% of the total word count. Exceeding this limit will result in a penalty of up to 100% of the grade, depending on the percentage of excessive use.
  • You may not use AI to generate empirical data or Family History. Doing so will be considered a highly dishonest and fraudulent use of AI and will result in a grade of 0.
  • Remember, it is mandatory to audit the AI-generated materials you incorporate into your work (attaching the necessary documentation to demonstrate the audit performed on the general AI-generated material).
  • The use of AI must be declared in the work, detailing its specific use and attaching all documents generated with the AI ​​as appendices. The document detailing the work's development will include specific instructions on how to prepare the AI ​​usage declaration and how the validity of the AI-generated outputs was audited. Failure to include this declaration will result in a grade of 0.
  • Falsifying the AI ​​usage declaration or providing a dishonest declaration will also result in a grade of 0. Furthermore, such a falsification may constitute evidence of dishonest conduct if the student demonstrates repeated fraudulent use of AI, which could lead to disciplinary proceedings.
  • The teaching staff reserves the right to conduct oral interviews or an alternative test, to verify the originality of the work, the effective acquisition of knowledge and skills and therefore the validity of the work done by the students and to determine the final grade of the test.
  • Individual Written Tests. Two exams will be administered during the course.
  • Each exam will account for 20% of the continuous assessment grade (averaged with assignments starting at grade 4).
  • Individual activity.
  • Study materials, electronic devices, or any type of AI or other software NOT may be used during the exams. Any detection of their use during the exam will automatically result in a grade of 0. After the exam, if during grading the exam the instructors suspect that it may have been answered dishonestly (copying, plagiarism, use of study materials, electronic devices, AI, or other software during the exam), an alternative test will be administered to verify the effective acquisition of knowledge and skills and, therefore, the validity of the exam taken by the student, and to determine the final grade.
  • In-Person Participation. During the course (20%)
  • Participation will account for 20% of the grade.
  • Individual or group activity.
  • For each in-class activity, the instructors will indicate whether the use of AI is permitted and under what conditions and limitations.
  • Single Assessment
  • Individual Work. Completion of a project during the course.
  • The work is worth 40% (averaged with written tests starting at a grade of 4).
  • Individual activity.
  • Preparation of an individual project, submitted via the virtual campus. At the beginning of the course, the instructors will provide a specific document detailing the project's requirements and the specific conditions and limitations under which AI may be used. In any case, the use of AI in the project is limited to the same conditions specified for the Individual Project in the Continuous Assessment.
  • Individual Written Tests. Completion of 2 exams.
  • Each exam is worth 30% in the single assessment (averaged with projects starting at a grade of 4).
  • Individual activity.
  • Study materials, electronic devices, or any type of AI or other software NOT may be used during the exams. Any detection of their use during the exam will automatically result in a grade of 0. After the exam, if during marking the exam the instructors suspect that it may have been answered dishonestly (copying, plagiarism, use of study materials, electronic devices, AI, or other software during the exam or an alternative test), they will conduct an alternative test to verify the effective acquisition of knowledge and skills and, therefore, the validity of the exam taken by the student and to determine the final grade.


  1. Scope of Compensatory Activities:

Students may retake the individual exam(s) during the compensatory period. To do so, they must have submitted the individual assignment.

  • The individual assignment cannot be retaken.
  • Participation cannot be retaken.

Instructions on the weighting of evidence for the course assessment and compensatory assessment:

  • The average grade of the two written exams must be 4 or higher to be averaged with the other evidence.
  • The grade of the individual assignment must be 4 or higher to be averaged with the other evidence.
  • Compensatory assessment may be offered for any exam with a grade lower than 5.
  • Compensatory assessment is not offered for an exam with a grade higher than 5.

Definition of "Not Present": Failure to attend the written exams or to submit the individual assignment.

Uses of AI: Any irregularity in an assessment (academic fraud, plagiarism, or misuse of AI, unless expressly authorized in the course syllabus) that could lead to a significant change in the grade will result in a grade of 0. If the course syllabus stipulates that failing an assessment requires a grade of 0, or if several irregularities occur in the assessments of the same subject, the final grade for that subject will be 0. Furthermore, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against any student who commits any of these irregularities. The teaching staff reserves the right to conduct oral interviews or an alternative assessment to verify the effective acquisition of knowledge and skills and, therefore, the validity of the assessments completed by the students.


Regarding the assessment of repeat students, in accordance with Article 117.2 of the UAB Academic Regulations, the assessment may consist of a single synthesis exam. Students repeating a year who wish to take advantage of this option should contact the teaching staff at the beginning of the course.

Bibliography

Compulsory Bibliography

 

When beginning the course the list of readings will be provided on line.

 

1.     Basic bibliography

Addams, Jane (1910). “Los problemas de la pobreza”. A: Veinte años de Hull House (pp. 237-249). Murcia: Universidad de Murcia, 2014.
Bhattacharya, Tithi (2017). “Introducció: Ressituant la teoria de la reproducció social”. A: Teoria de la reproducció social. (pp. 15-40). Manresa: Tigre de Paper
Bourdieu, Pierre. (2001). “Las formas del capital. Capital económico, capital cultural y capital social”. A: Poder, derecho y clases sociales (pp. 131-164). Bilbao: Desclée de Brouwer.
Crompton, Rosemary (1994). “La explicación de la desigualdad”. A: Clase y estratificación. Una introducción a los debates actuales (pp. 17-40). Madrid: Tecnos. Colección de Ciencias Sociales.
Davis, Ángela (1981). “El trabajo doméstico toca a su fin: una perspectiva de clase”. A: Mujeres, raza y clase (pp. 221-239). Madrid: Ediciones Akal. 2019. / Davis, Angela (1981). “A les darreries del treball domèstic: perspectiva de la classe treballadora”. A. Dones, raça i classe (pp.237-258). Manresa: Tigre de paper. 2022.
Davis, Kingsley, i Moore, Wilbert E. (1945). “El continuo debate sobre la igualdad. Algunos principios de estratificación”. A: Reinhard Bendix & Seymour M. Lipset, Clases, estatus y poder (pp. 152-169). Madrid: Fundación Foesa, 1972.
·      Engels, Friederich (1845). “Dedicatoria; Prólogo”; “Los resultados”. A: La situación de la classe obrera en Inglaterra. (pp. 2-9; 155-202). Marxist Intenet Archive. 2019.
Fanon, Franz (1961). “Desventures de la consciència nacional”. A: Els condemnats de la terra. (pp. 107-147). Manresa: Tigre de paper. 2020.
Federici, Silvia (2018). “El capital y el género”. A: El patriarcado del salario (pp. 43-63). Buenos Aires: Tinta Limón. / Federici, Silvia (2018). “El capital i gènere”. A: El patriarcat del salari (pp. 37-57). Manresa: Tigre de paper.
Feito Alonso, Rafael (1995). “Introduccion al concepto de Estrtuctura Social” A: Estructura social contemporanea(pp. 1-29). Madrid: Siglo XXI.
Fraser, Nancy (2016). Las contradicciones del capital y los cuidades. New Left Review, 100, 110-132. / Fraser, Nancy (2018). “Crisi de cures? Sobre les contradiccions socioreproductives del capitalisme contemporani. A: Teoria de la reproducció social. (pp. 41-64). Manresa: Tigre de Paper.
Goldman, Emma (1936). “Situación social de la mujer”. A: La mujer mas peligrosa del mundo (pp. 79-81). Recuperat de https://anarquismoenpdf.tumblr.com: La congregación (Anarquismo en PDF), 2017.
Goldthorpe, John H. (2012). De vuelta a la clase y el estatus: por qué debe reivindicarse una perspectiva sociológica de la desigualdad social . REIS, 137, 43-58.
Gómez Rojas, Gabriela V. (2008). Las mujeres en los estudios de estratificación social: una mirada desde la encuesta permantente de hogares. Papeles de Población, 14 (57), 153-167.
Gramsci, Antonio (1926/1931). “Algunos temas de la cuestión meridional”; “Algunos aspectos teóricos y prácticos del economicismo” i “Análisis de las situaciones. Correlaciones de fuerzas”. A: Antología. Selcción, traducción y notas de Manuel Sacristán. (pp. 175-182; 358-376). Madrid: Akal. 2018. 
Izquierdo, María Jesús. (1998). “Trabajo y estructura social”. A: Aguantando el tipo. La lcucha contra la discriminación salarial (pp. 23-61). Barcelona: Diputación de Barcelona.
Luxemburgo, Rosa. (1906). “Capítulo IV”. A: Huelga de masas, partido y sindicato (pp.. 52-63). Madrid: Fundación Federico Engels, 2003. / Luxemburg, Rosa (1906). “Capítol IV”. Vaga de masses, partit i sindicats. Editorial Internacional Sedov, Germinal. Marxists Internet Archive. 1974.
Marx, Karl (1867). “Capítulo 12: La división del trabajo”. A: El capital, 2013. / Marx, Karl (1867). “Capítol 12. La divisió del treball”. El capital. Crítica de l’economía política. Llibre 1. Volum 1. (pp. 389-423). Manresa: Tigre de Paper. 2018.
Marx, Karl (1867). “Capítulo 24. La llamada acumulación originaria”. A: El capital, 2013. / Marx, Karl (1867). “Capítol 24. L’anomenada acumuñació originària”. El capital. Crítica de l’economía política. Llibre 1. Volum 2. (pp. 391-443). Manresa: Tigre de Paper. 2018.
Marx, Karl. (1898). Salario, precio y ganancia. Madrid: Ricardo Aguilera, 1997.
Parkin, Frank (1978). Orden político y desigualdades de clase (pag. 26-43). Madrid: Debate. 
Seid, Gonzalo (2018). Clase, género y emancipación en Erik Wright y Pierre Bourdieu. Journal de Ciencias Sociales, 10, 66-86. 
Thompson, Edward P. (1963/1989). “Prefacio” y “Explotación” A: La formación de la clase obrera en Inglaterra(pp. XIII-XVIII; 197-222). Barcelona: Crítica. 
Weber, Max. (1922). “Clase, status y partido”. A: Economía y Sociedad (pp. 682-694). México: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2002.
Wright, Erik O. (2010). Comprender la clase. Hacia un planteamiento analítico integrado. New Left Review, 98-112.

 2.    Complementary bibliography

Althusser, Louis (1970). “Ideología y aparatos ideológicos de Estado”. A: Posiciones. Barcelona: Anagrama. 1977.
Álvarez, Antonio (1996). El constructivisme estructuralista: la teoria de las clases sociales de Pierre Bourdieu. REIS, 75, 145-172.
Berger, Peter i Luckmann, Thomas (1967). “La sociedad como realidad subjetiva”. A: La construcción social de la realidad (pp. 162-202). Madrid: Amorrortu. 2019.
Blanco, Ana Isabel (2000). “La estratificación social”. A: Hernández, Alfredo (coord). Manual de sociología. (pp. 70-92). Caja Duero: Universidad de Valladolid.
Bourdieu, Pierre (2000). La dominación masculina. Barcelona: Anagrama. 1999.
Butler, Judith (1997). “Nota de traducción” y “Introducción”. Mecanismos psíquicos del poder. Teorías sobre la sujeción (pàg. 7-41). Madrid: Cátedra. 2001.
Cainzos, Miguel (1989). “Clase, acción y estructura: de E. P. Thompson al posmarxismo”. Zona abierta, 50, 1-69.
Cainzos, Miguel (1990). “Explotación, dominación y estructura de clase (Notas críticas sobre Erik Olin Wright y el análisis de clase)”. Política y sociedad, 5, 89-105.
Cambiasso, Mariela (2011). “La teoría de la estructuración de Anthony Giddens: un ensayo crítico”. VI Jornadas de Jóvenes Investigadores. Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani, Universidad de Buenos Aires. 
Campillo, Antonio (2001). “Cuatro tesis para una teoría de la historia”. A: El gran experimento. Ensayos sobre la sociedad global. Madrid: Catarata. (pp. 43-73)
Campillo, Inés (2021). Género, clase y emancipación: una lectura feminista de Erik Olin Wright. Revista Española de Seociología, 30(2): a41.
Capdeville, Julieta (2011). El concepto de habitus: “con Bourdieu y contra Bourdieu”. Anduli, 10, 31-45.
Castells, Manel (1995). “Introducción; Capítulo 1”. A: La Ciudad informacional: tecnologias de la infomración, reestructuración econòmica y el proceso urbano-regional. Madrid: Alianza. (pàg. 20-66)
Crompton, Rosemary (1994). “El análisis de clase: la herencia clasica y su desarrollo. A: Clase y estratificación. Una introducción a los debates actuales (pp. 41-72). Madrid: Tecnos. Colección de Ciencias Sociales.Duek, Celia i Inda, Graciela (2006). La teoría de la estratificación social de Weber; un análisis crítico. Revista austral de ciencias sociales, 11, 5-24.
Federici, Silvia (2004). Caliban y la bruja. Mujeres, cuerpo y acumulación originaria.  Madrid: Traficantes de sueños. 2010.
Feito Alonso, Rafael (1995). Mujeres y analisis de clases. REIS, 69, 149-171.
Foucault, Michel (1976). “Del poder de sobranía al poder sobre la vida”. A: Genealogía del racismo (pp.. 247-273). Madrid: La Piqueta. 1992.
Giddens, Anthony. (1995). Estructura, sistema, reproducción social. A: Anthony Giddens, La constitución de la sociedad. Bases para la teoría de la estructuración (pàgs. 193-235). Buenos Aires: Amorrortu.
Ho Chi Minh (1924). “Informe sobre las cuestiones nacionales y coloniales en el V congreso de la Internacional Comunista”. A: Bello, Walden (Ed.). ¡Abajo el colonialismo! (pp. 89-102). Madrid: Akal. 2011. 
Izquierdo, Ma Jesús (1998). El malestar en la desigualdad. Madrid: Cátedra – Universitat de València – Instituto de la mujer. Feminismos, 48.
Karen Ho (2009). Liquidated. An etnography of Wall Street. Duke University Press.
Lacalle, Jose Daniel (2019). “La clase obrera en España 2019”. Ponencia leída en la Escuela del PCE de Madrid, el 19 de julio de 2019.
Lenin, Vladimir (1918). L'estat i la revolució. Editorial Internacional Sedov, Germinal. Marxists Internet Archive. 2001.
Luxemburg, Rosa (1899). “1. El método oportunista”; “5. Consecuencias prácticas y carácter general del revisionismo”. A: Reforma o revolución. Buenos Aires: La Bisagra. 2014. / Luxemburg, Rosa (1899). Reforma social o revolució?. Editorial Internacional Sedov, Germinal. Marxists Internet Archive. 1977.
Marglin, Stephen A. (1977). “Orígenes y funciones de la parcelación de tareas ¿Para qué sirven los patronos?” A: André Gorz, Crítica de la división del trabajo (pp. 45-96). Barcelona: Laia.
Miliband, Robert. (1987). “Análisi de clase”. A: Giddens, A.; Turner, J.; et al. La teoría social hoy (pp. 418-444).Madrid: Alianza. 1990.
Ovares, Carolina (2018). La sociología de Georg Simmel y el ‘capital social’: la confianza como fuerza socializadora. Revista reflexiones, 97 (2), 23-34.
Przeworski, Adam (1985/1988). Democracia y mercado (pp. 60-85). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
Quijano, Aníbal (2000). “Colonialidad del poder, etnocentrismo y América Latina”. A: Edgardo Lander, La colonialidad del saber: eurocentrismo y ciencias sociales. Perspectivas Latinoamericanas. Buenos Aires: CLACSO.
Regidor, Enrique (2001). La clasificación de clase social de Goldthorpe: marco de referencia para la propuesta de medición de la clase social del grupo de trabajo de la Sociedad espanyola de epidemiologia. Revista Española de Salud Pública, 75(1), 13-22.
Rodó-Zárate, Maria (2021). “Metàfores, conceptes i aproximacions sobre la interseccionalitat”. A: Inteseccionalitat(pp. 27-51). Manresa: Tigre de Paper.
Sautu, Ruth (2011) “¿Qué son las clases sociales?”. A: El análisis de las clases sociales: teorías y metodologías. (pp. 41-61).Buenos Aires: Editorial Luxemburg. 
Simmel, Georg (1997). “El dinero en la cultura moderna”. A: Frisby, D. i Featherstone, M. (eds): Simmel on culture(pp.243-255). Londres: Sage. 
Thompson, Edward P. (1978/1984). «La sociedad inglesa del siglo XVIII: ¿Lucha de clases sin clases?». A: Tradición, revuelta y conciencia de clase. Barcelona: Crítica. P. 13-61.
Trotsky, Lev (1906). Resultats i perspectives. Les forces motrius de la revolució. París: Ruedo Ibérico. MarxistsInternet Archive. 1971.
Tumin, Melvin (1953). Algunos principios de estratificación. Un análisis crítico. A: Reinhard Bendix i Seymour M. Lipset, Clases, estatus y poder (pàgs. 152-169). Madrid: Fundación Foesa, 1972.
Veena Das (1990). Mirrors of violence: commities, riots and survivors in South Asia.
Williams, Eric (2011). Capitalismo y esclavitud. Madrid: Traficantes de sueños.
Wright; Erik O. (1985). “¿Qué hay de medio en la clase media?”. Zona abierta, 34-35, 105-149.
Zedong, Mao (1920). “Analisis de las clases de la sociedad china. A: Obras escogidas de Mao Tse-tung. Tomo 1. (pp. 9-18). Pekin: Ediciones en Lenguas Extranjeras. Marxists Internet Archive, 2001.
Zedong, Mao (1927). “Informe sobre una investigación del movimineto campesino en Junan”. A: Obras escogidas de Mao Tse-tung. Tomo 1. (pp. 19-59). Pekin: Ediciones en Lenguas Extranjeras. Marxists Internet Archive, 2001.

Software

Non specific

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 51 Catalan first semester afternoon
(SEM) Seminars 51 Catalan first semester afternoon