Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie

Prof. Dr. Talja Blokland at Think&Drink-Colloquium

Prof. Dr. Talja Blokland at Think&Drink-Colloquium Social Mix Revisited: Neighbourhood Institutions as Setting for Boundary Work and Social Capital
  • Wann 27.04.2015 von 18:00 bis 20:00
  • Wo Raum 002: Universitätsstr. 3b, 10117 Berlin
  • iCal
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Montag, 27.04.2015
 
Prof. Dr. Talja Blokland, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

 

presents

2015 Winners

The BSA and SAGE are very pleased to announce this year's winners of the journals SAGE Prize for Innovation and/or Excellence: 

 "Social Mix Revisited: Neighbourhood Institutions as Setting for Boundary Work and Social Capital"

 

by Julia Nast & Talja Blokland
Abstract
Policy makers tend to think that residential ‘mixing’ of classes and ethnic groups will enhance social capital. Scholars criticize such ‘mixing’ on empirical and theoretical grounds. This article argues that the critics may focus too much on neighbourhoods. Mixing within neighbourhood institutions might work differently, we argue, drawing on data from a mixed school in Berlin, Germany. While class boundaries are constructed, we also find class-crossing identifications based on setting-specific characteristics, highlighting the setting’s importance and the agency of lower/working and middle-class parents. Parents create ties for exchanging setting-specific resources: child-related social capital. Institutional neighbourhood settings can hence be important for boundary work and social capital. Criticism of social capital and social mix should not overlook the role of networks for urban inequality.