Distinctions in the Flesh

Class-inequality is not simply a public issue of labour markets, political structures or systems of education, but seeps into one of the most intimate and personal of relationships, namely that which we develop with our own bodies. This book delves into this relationship and highlights its centrality to the study of contemporary class-identity.

Dieter Vandebroeck is an assistant-professor of sociology at the Free University of Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and a former visiting fellow at the Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change (CRESC) at the University of Manchester.

Introduction: Vulgar Object, Vulgar Method PART I: Social Order, Body Order 1. The Body in Social Space 2. Classifying Bodies, Classified Bodies, Class Bodies 3. The Body in Social Time PART II: Modes of Embodiment 4. The Perceptible Body 5. The Hungry Body 6. The Playful Body PART III: Class Bodies 7. Relaxation in Tension 8. Tension in Relaxation 9. Necessity Incarnate Conclusion: The Visible and the Invisible Methodological Appendices