Elites, Power and Inequalities
- Description
- Organizers
- Faculty
- Participants
- Themes and Goals
- Course Format
- Programme
- Fees
- Application
- Scholarship
The summer school is organized under the umbrella of the Observatory of Swiss Elites (OBELIS) from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences des Sciences at the University of Lausanne. The summer school is supported by the project on “Open Elite Data”, funded by Swissuniversities.
Felix Bühlmann, Institut des sciences sociales; Thomas David, Institut d’études politiques; Anne-Sophie Delval, Institut des sciences sociales
International faculty :
Prof. Christoph Houman Ellersgaard, Copenhagen Business School
Prof. Sam Friedman, Londons School of Economics and Political Science, London
Prof. Anton Grau Larsen, Roskilde University
Prof. Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol, European University Institute, Firenze
Prof. Julia Ott, New School, New York
Prof. Maren Toft, University of Oslo
Swiss faculty :
Prof. Sébastien Chauvin, University of Lausanne
Dr Claire Cosquer, University of Lausanne
Dr Anne-Sophie Delval, University of Lausanne
Prof. Yi-Tang Lin, University of Zurich
Dr Giulia Mensitieri, Université de Lausanne
Prof. Graziella Moraes Silva, The Graduate Institute, Geneva
This summer school is mainly targeted at Swiss and international PhD students – but upon demand places are also available for prospective PhD-students or early post-docs.
In the last 20-30 years, as a result of the financialisation and the globalisation of capitalism, inequality has risen again in many Western societies. As a consequence, inequality and power-relationship have shifted again to centre stage in the social sciences. Especially the small groups at the top of power structures – the elites – have becoming a renewed object of empirical investigation and new theorisation in social science disciplines such as history, sociology, political science and management.
The summer school “Elites, Power and Inequalities” aims to become a meeting point of young scholars in this emerging interdisciplinary research field studying elites and the super-rich. Lectures given by leading experts will cover new theoretical and empirical issues such as wealth inequality, elite lifestyles, internationalisation of elites, race and elites or women in positions of power. The most important methods in the study of elites and power – network analysis, prosopography, ethnography or archival research – will be presented by international specialists. Participants will also have the opportunity to present and discuss their own research in specific sessions.
Special attention will be given to questions of data storage, data sharing and data archival in compliance with the FAIR principles. Participants will learn how they can use and share open research data on elites and inequalities.
Keynotes will give to the participants an insight in cutting edge research projects conducted by renowned scholars of elites, power and inequality.
Roundtables, conceived as interactive sessions, are focused on two important issues for young researchers: women in elite research/ researching on elite women and publishing in the field of elites, power and inequality.
Writing & discussing sessions will allow the PhD students to present and share their research papers and/ or thesis chapters with peers and international scholars.
Methods sessions introduce the PhD students to different methods which are at the core of current elite research: Data collection and management, Ethnography and Interviews, Archives and Social Networks.
275 CHF
Fees do not include travel and accommodation; we can help with finding affordable accommodation.
Your application should include:
- A CV, with your academic records
- A motivation letter
- A description of your doctoral project (max. 2 pages)
The Solidarity Scholarships aim at supporting students who would not be able to cover summer schools’ costs in full. The selected candidates will see their tuition fees as well as their travel, accommodation and meals costs covered. Depending on each candidate’s situation, a financial support may be added to partially cover other expenses during the stay. The deadline for applications is 11 March 2024.
To be eligible, candidates must:
- Be currently enrolled in a higher education institution located in an ODA recipient country;
- Have successfully applied to the school they wish to attend;
- Be able to attend the entire school;
- Require external financial support to be able to attend the school;
- Have obtained excellent academic results;
- Be covered by health insurance for the duration of the school.
Candidates who wish to apply for the Solidarity Scholarship must first sign up for one of the summer schools. Once registered, candidates will receive the link to the online form to apply for the scholarship. Along with personal and academic information, the following documents will be requested (to be submitted in French or English):
- Full curriculum vitae;
- Motivation letter, with connections between the summer school and your academic goals as well as information regarding the necessity of a financial support;
- Proof of residency (such as a copy of your lease, an official invoice with your address indicated or other official documents) ;
- Copy of university degree certificate with final grade(s);
- Proof of current enrolment in a higher education institution;
- English certificate (if needed);
- Letter of support from an academic.
