Keynotes
A space of spaces? A geometric quantitative approach to the intersectional analysis of class, gender and ethnicity
Delivered by Adrian Leguina at the Cultures of the Working Class in the 2020s Advisory Board Mid-Term Meeting, 12–14 June 2024, Tampere, Finland
Abstract
This paper is motivated by the methodological challenge set by intersectional analysis to accommodate the multidimensionality of class, gender and ethnicity into a quantitative sociological analysis of social inequalities. Specifically, it develops the conceptual foundations and offers the first methodological solution for a unified quantitative analysis inspired by Bourdieusian class analysis. Previous advancements from social, political and health sciences have struggled to account for the interdependences among the systems of power established by class, gender and ethnicity. This paper argues that methods from the geometric data analysis family (GDA), and particularly multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and multiple factor analysis (MFA) are well equipped to produce an analysis of social inequalities that truly benefits from combining intersectional and class analysis. British data from the Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion Survey (2003) shows how ethnonational and gendered spaces are related to the social space and in homology to the space of lifestyles, revealing fragmentations at specific intersections of class, ethnic and gender categories.
Conference talks
A quantitative intersectional analysis combining Bourdieusian class analysis and geometric data analysis
Delivered by Adrian Leguina at the British Sociological Association Annual Conference 2024: Crisis, Continuity and Change, 3-5 April 2024 (online)
Abstract
This paper is motivated by the methodological challenge set by intersectional analysis to accommodate the multidimensionality of class, gender and ethnicity into a quantitative sociological analysis of social inequalities. Specifically, it develops the conceptual foundations and offers the first methodological solution for a unified quantitative analysis inspired by Bourdieusian class analysis. Multiple disciplines of the social sciences are quantifying the impact of intersecting inequalities on health, economic and educational outcomes. Others have focused on developing scales that measure intersectional identities and perceptions of discrimination or via the critical race theory lenses are challenging the neutrality of numbers and their interpretations. While such advancements are welcomed, they struggle to account for the interdependences among the systems of power established by class, gender and ethnicity. This paper argues that methods from the geometric data analysis family (GDA), and particularly multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and multiple factor analysis (MFA) are well equipped to produce an analysis of social inequalities that truly benefits from combining intersectional and class analysis. This presentation aims to conceptually develop what could be considered ethnonational and gendered spaces and to illustrate the usefulness of the proposed approach. British data from the Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion Survey (2003) is used to show the extent ethnonational and gendered spaces are related to the social space and to moral and political values. Finally, the value of a combined representation is discussed.