In this book Jo Littler argues that meritocracy is the key cultural means of legitimation for contemporary neoliberal culture - and that whilst it promises opportunity, it in fact creates new forms of social division. Against Meritocracy is split into two parts. Part I explores …
For decades, liberal democracy has been extolled as the best system of governance to have emerged out of the long experience of history. Today, such a confident assertion is far from self-evident. Democracy, in crisis across the West, must prove itself. In the West today, the au…
Since the 1960s the number of highly educated professionals in America has grown dramatically. During this time scholars and journalists have described the group as exercising increasing influence over cultural values and public affairs. The rise of this putative "new class" has…
How do the US make sense of their own elite educational system, given that it seems to be at odds with core American values, such as equality of opportunity or upward mobility? Sophie Spieler explores scholarly and journalistic investigations, self-representational texts, and fi…
This research contributes to the gender and medical sociology literature with two explorations: 1) a comparison of how men and women perceive the institution of academic medicine as a meritocracy and 2) linking these perceptions with a gendered comparison of academic physician’s…
The thesis mainly consists of five chapters. The first chapter explores the relationship between Confucian philosophy and democracy. Based on the Analects, Mencius, and Xunzi, the writer aims at arguing and explaining that the pre-Qin Confucian philosophy is neither antidemocrac…
Rebels haven’t always been sexy. In fact, throughout history “fighting the power” has often revealed the ugliest side of human nature. Of course, sometimes rebellion is necessary, even if it isn’t pretty, but it should never be considered lightly. So, under what circumstances is…
This study examines teachers’ views of meritocracy and how their conceptions and views influence their everyday practices in schools with regard to producing, recognizing, and awarding individual merit in China’s key schools. This study uses a qualitative methodology, especially…
