Changing Geographies of Inequality in Britain: A Module on Political-Economy Perspective

Key Themes

It is now widely accepted that the 1980s and ‘90s saw a series of fundamental changes to Britain’s social and economic landscape. These changes are often traced back to the economic restructuring of the 1970s and ‘80s (with rapid deindustrialisation and the emergence of new manufacturing and service industries) and the neoliberalisation of welfare in the 1980s and 90s that together reshaped the geographies of social difference and inequality across the UK. This module explores these changing geographies by building on and extending this now familiar narrative of Britain’s ‘reinvention’ in four ways. 

 

•    First, it extends this chronology to consider more fully, and compare, three key eras of British economy and society: the Keynesian era of ‘full employment’ and ‘universal’ welfare c1945 to 1979; the neoliberal era of the 1980s, ‘90s and noughties; and the new era of austerity ushered in by the Coalition government in 2010. It draws attention to both key differences but also important similarities in the uneven geographies of inequality evident at a range of scales in each era. 

•    Second, the module considers the differential impacts of these changes on different social groups; considering questions of inequality through the lens not only of social class but also race and gender. 

 

•    Third, rather than focus only on economic (or social) issues, the module explores these changes through a political-economy perspective: suggesting we need to consider the role that political ideologies play in shaping social and economic change and adds to this perspective by also emphasising the role of culture in the articulation and dissemination of these ideologies. 

•    Fourth, the module stresses that far from inevitable such changes are always subject to contestation and explores how we might understand the relationships between ‘structure’ and ‘agency’ and the nature of ‘resistance’ in a fully ‘peopled’ economy, society and state.

 

Deploying this four-part framework, the modules examines the changes in each of these eras relating to the economy, work, housing, welfare, migration, and urban form. The module is delivered through a blend of weekly ‘asynchronous’ on-line lectures, ‘synchronous’ webinars, and two days of virtual field work activities in Week 12 during which we explore these issues through a number of grounded examples and engagement with community organisations in Liverpool.  

 

MODULE Aims
(i)    To introduce students to the key elements of Fordist-Keynesian, Neoliberal and Austere ‘regimes of accumulation’.
(ii)    To introduce students to the changing geographies of inequality at a range of scales in Britain in the Keynesian, neoliberal and austerity eras.
(iii)    To introduce students to the ways in which these geographical inequalities are shaped by differences of social class, race and gender.
(iv)    To introduce students to a political-economy perspective and to the role of culture in shaping political-economic change.
(v)    To introduce students to questions of structure and agency, contestation and resistance. 
(vi)    To encourage students to consider the implications of and responses to these change by engaging with a range of relevant examples and organizations in the field.

 

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
Academic content 
•    Understand the key elements of regulation theory and a political economy approach, and the key features of Fordist-Keynesian, Neoliberal and Austere ‘regimes of accumulation’.
•    Understand the changing geographies of inequality at a range of scales in Britain in the Keynesian, neoliberal and austerity eras and the diverse economic, social, political and cultural processes driving these changes. 
•    Recognise the way in which these geographies are shaped by differences of social class, race and gender.
•    Recognise the relationships between structure and agency, and the extent and limits of social cultural, economic and political contestation and resistance
•    Recognise the diverse ways in which policy makers, the state and other agencies seek both to shape and to respond to major economic, social and political change through interventions in the arenas of work, housing, welfare and the urban form. 

Disciplinary skills 
•    Appreciate the value of a geographical perspective in understanding and interpreting social, cultural, economic and political change in contemporary Britain. 
•    Undertake effective research through the use of government statistics, on-line mapping tools, critical visual observation, and interaction with experts. 

Attributes 
•    Acquire and apply knowledge in a rigorous way 
•    Produce analyses that are grounded in evidence of a variety of kinds
•    Engage with the professional world 
•    Work individually and in collaboration with others.