Occupational Structures: The Stratification Space of Social Interaction

The focus of this chapter turns to the analysis of quantitative data on occupations, and the use of data on occupations to study social stratification inequalities. The chapter argues that social interaction distance measures — an approach to understanding social stratification through the analysis of social interaction patterns — connect very easily with Bourdieu's conceptions of social space. Whilst Bourdieu resisted an explicit commitment to the measurement of social space and social stratification, it is possible to demonstrate a relation between Bourdieu's theorizations, and social interaction distance approaches. The chapter introduces an established methodology for studying social interaction distances between occupations, known as the CAMSIS approach (Cambridge Social Interaction and Stratification Scales, www.camsis.stir.ac.uk), and discusses its practical implementation. It is argued that this methodology allows researchers to measure and analyse social stratification from a Bourdieusian perspective.