2025

Social Ladders: The Weight of Social Mobility

Drawing on in-depth fieldwork in stigmatised neighbourhoods in Germany, and his forthcoming book Social Ladders (Oxford University Press, 2026), this presentation by Dr Anthony Miro Born explored the contradictions between the lofty promises of social mobility, its ambivalent politics, and its complex manifestations in people’s lived experiences. To understand the divisive nature and hidden costs of social mobility, Miro argued, we must listen not only to the few who have ‘made it’ up the ladder to social and economic success. We must also include the voices of those commonly seen as having been ‘left behind.’

• 3 December
• Dr Anthony Miro Born

Mainstreaming the Far Right: How Far-Right Actors and Ideas Shape Public Debates

In this talk, Dr. Teresa Völker presented findings from her research on the mainstreaming of the far right and how far-right actors and ideas shape public debates.

• 12 November
• Teresa Völker

The Gender of Capital

In this book talk, leading social scientist Sibylle Gollac discussed her recent book The Gender of Capital, co-authored with Céline Bessière. In it, they examine the gender wealth gap in countries with officially egalitarian property law, showing how this gap is maintained ­– wittingly and unwittingly – by legal professionals.

• 13 October
• Sibylle Gollac

Experimental Research Designs in the Social Sciences

The use of survey experiments is increasingly popular in the social sciences. Scholars make use of vignette designs, conjoints and discrete choice experiments. After two successful workshops in 2023, and 2024 this workshop provided an opportunity to follow up on the research designs presented previously and to invite presentations on new projects using survey experiments.

• 1 and 2 October
• Prof. Flavia Fossati, prof. Carsten Sauer

Housing as a Driver of Inequality

Professor Rebecca Bentley presented her work on housing as a social determinant of health and proposed concrete recommendations for priorities for action. Prof. Bentley is professor at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health (Australia), and Director of the Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Housing. Professor Susan Smith focussed on economic inequalities, zooming in on the central role of housing in the current age of “rentier capitalism”. Prof. Smith is honorary Professor Emerita of Geography, as well as Life Fellow and former Mistress (Head) of Girton College, at Cambridge University (UK).

• 4 June
• Prof. Rebecca Bentley, prof. Susan Smith

AMCIS PhD & Postdoc Workshop 'Researching Inequalities'

Aaron Reeves and Sam Friedman are renowned for their work on social class, elites, and culture—including their recent book Born to Rule. Drawing on diverse data sources like large-scale surveys, interviews, administrative registers, and experimental designs, Reeves and Friedman led a discussion on the research process itself, exploring the challenges and opportunities of doing Mixed Methods Research, and how to study inequality by researching elites.

• 30 April
• Aaron Reeves, Sam Friedman

Kick-off Seminar: Wealth and Class Inequality

Under the new directorship of Cody Hochstenbach and Eva Zschirnt, Amsterdam Centre for Inequality Studies (AMCIS) organized a kick-off seminar on 10 April, exploring one of the most pressing societal challenges of our time: Wealth and Class Inequality. This special event, with guest lectures by Nora Waitkus and Mike Savage about the increasing relevance of wealth for class analysis, marked the relaunch of AMCIS, reaffirming its commitment to advancing interdisciplinary research on social inequalities.

• 10 April
• Nora Waitkus, Mike Savage, Rowan Arundel and Wouter Schakel