Sociology of Elites Study Group

In the context of widening socio-economic inequality accompanied by vast concentrations of wealth at the top, the sociology of elites has become one of the fastest growing areas in the discipline. Research in this area focuses on wide-ranging themes, including: education, work and employment; family, household and community; politics, civil society and philanthropy; and art, culture, leisure and lifestyle.

The field has been adept at using methodological innovations to access hard-to-reach individuals, groups and organisations, such as: the use of big data; historical analysis; social network analysis and multiple correspondence analysis; ethnography; qualitative interviewing; and the revival of prosopography and biographical methods, including the use of scraping techniques.

The BSA Sociology of Elites Study Group brings together scholars across these varying research interests and methodological approaches, and provides a forum and network for this diverse body of work.