Dig where you stand: Working life biographies as a challenge to the neoliberal classroom

Stephenson, Carol, Stirling, John and Wray, David (2014) Dig where you stand: Working life biographies as a challenge to the neoliberal classroom. Capital & Class, 38 (2). pp. 399-412. ISSN 0309-8168

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Abstract

Neoliberal interpretations of the social world reject structural explanations in favour of those that see agency as primary. This orthodoxy presents a challenge to teachers who seek to support the development of a sociological understanding, particularly where disadvantaged students are undermined by the stigma associated with these interpretations. This article explores a teaching strategy which draws upon readings of auto/biography on the part of both teachers and students to develop a critical understanding of the relationship between agency and structure. We argue that such an approach can take sociology back to its radical roots as a transformative and radicalising discipline.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Sociological imagination, neoliberalism, working lives, autobiography, radical and transformative sociology
Subjects:	L200 Politics L300 Sociology
Department:	Faculties > Arts, Design and Social Sciences > Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Ay Okpokam
Date Deposited:	29 Jun 2015 13:21
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2019 19:32
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/23207

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