Department of Sociology and Political Science (ISS), NTNU – Trondheim in collaboration with Department of Sociology – University of Bergen, Department of Sociology and Human Geography – University of Oslo, University of California-Berkeley, and Centre Universitaire de Norvège à Paris, at Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'homme invites applications for a PhD/Research Course – “Explorations in Class, Elites and Meritocracy” to be held in Paris 17.-19. June 2026, and a follow-up seminar/webinar on 14 August 2026. This is a “substance course” in the Norwegian Ph.D. System.
Course credits: 5 pts (ECTS)
Deadline for application to the course: 30 April 2026
Acceptance to the course: 04 May 2026
Deadline for submitting papers: 25 August 2026
Maximum number of students: 15
Obligatory requirements: Active participation in the course and a paper 10 pages (+/- 10%)
Course leaders: Professors Håkon Leiulfsrud (NTNU), Johs Hjellbrekke (UiB), Jan Fredrik Hovden (UiB), Marianne Nordli Hansen (UiO), in collaboration with Professor David Harding (UC Berkeley)
E-mail (NTNU): hakon.leiulfsrud@ntnu.no
Email (UiB): johs.hjellbrekke@uib.no
Email (UiB): Jan.Hovden@uib.no
Email (UiO): m.n.hansen@sosgeo.no
Email (UCB): dharding@berkeley.edu
The application for the course must be submitted via e-mail to mona.fjellvaer@ntnu.no and by completing an additional electronic application (see http://www.ntnu.edu/studies/researchcourses). Both applications (e-mail and web) need to be completed. Please note that confirmation of admission will be offered based on the e-mail application to Mona Fjellvær.
Course objectives:
Several sociological studies have shown that inequalities based on meritocratic principles and on the idea of equality of opportunity—meaning that benefits, resources, and rewards should be assigned according to achievement rather than ascription—are widely accepted in modern societies. However, decades of research on social classes, elites, professions, and educational and economic inequalities have found that these principles are rarely implemented in practice. Through a combination of lectures and workshops, this PhD course will explore both historical and recent theoretical and empirical research in this field.
This course includes as major topics:
-Classical theory of social class and class analysis.
-Challenges to class theory, including precarization and intersections between class, gender, and ethnicity.
-Social mobility and the notion of meritocracy
-Social elites in Europe – new and old. Implications for our understanding of objective and symbolic boundaries and of power resources, within and across different social fields.
-Meritocracy as a hegemonic social norm – theory vs. practice. Implications for our understanding of social reproduction and reproduction theory.
The course will elaborate on concrete examples of theoretical and methodological construction-work. The course will provide an opportunity to problematize and elaborate on theoretical and methodological issues related to the participant’s own research.
The final paper/assignment will consist of two parts:
1. A discussion on theoretical/methodological themes presented/discussed during the course
2. At the end of the term the student shall hand in a term paper where he/she demonstrates the ability to discuss a theme where matters of theory and concept-construction are related to their own research.
All papers will be evaluated by the course leaders.
Day 1
Class Theory: Challenges and Promises
This session will provide a general overview of class theory, from its classical formulations up to its more recent versions. The session will be organised around core themes, rather than focusing on individual theorists or schools:
1. Classical theory of class and social inequality, and the differentiation of the class structure
2. Intersections of class, gender, and ethnicity
3. Class and social mobility: Theory vs. empirical trends in light of meritocratic ideals
4. Class vs elites in light of power and social inequality (day 2)
Each section will be presented as a 45-minute lecture, aiming to provide the context for the problem and then examine the various ways theorists of class address it. The first section focuses on the theorization of class as a constitutive social division in modern societies. This part also deals with problems for classical theories of class because they involved the emergence of what was called “new middle classes"—groups of experts, leaders, and welfare professionals that seem to be neither capitalists nor traditional workers. The second section tackles an issue that is almost as old as class theory but seems to attract increasing attention: the interconnection of social class with other forms of inequality, notably "race/ethnicity" and gender. This session will discuss different ways theories of class address this complex issue. The third session deals with class and social mobility, and the gap between what we may observe empirically and meritocratic norms favouring an open society. The fourth section (day 2) explores the intersection of class and elites, focusing on how we approach power and inequality in contemporary Western societies.
Day 2
Elites – new and old
The sociology of elites has typically focused on the problem of recruitment, reproduction, and circulation within and between elite positions, i.e., the most powerful positions within a given society. Drawing on recent and ongoing research in multiple European countries, Day 2 will address these questions through a series of lectures on the relations between
- elites and social classes,
- stability and change in the field power,
- symbolic boundaries and power resources,
- professional identities in the administrative elite and
- the relations between field positions, practices and political position takings.
Particular attention will be given to theoretical and methodological challenges involved when constructing these research objects.
Day 3
Meritocracy as a hegemonic social norm – theory vs. practice
The Day 3 session will cover a wider range of topics related to meritocracy at the intersection of education and equity, including discussions of theory and issues in different discourses of merit as both a norm and a myth. The session offers an overview and insights from recent empirical research on inequality in politics, education, and childhood.
Each session will include time at the end for participants to comment on topics of general interest.
Organizers (NTNU, UiB, UiO in collaboration with CUNP & UC Berkeley)
Håkon Leiulfsrud, Professor of Sociology, NTNU – Trondheim. Leiulfsrud´s research has focused on social theory and topics on comparative class, welfare and inequality research including work and industrial relations, family and more recently explorations on durable inequalities in childhood and education.
Johs Hjellbrekke, Professor of Sociology, University of Bergen. Hjellbrekke’s research has focused on elites, classes, and social mobility.
Jan Fredrik Hovden, Professor of Sociology, University of Bergen (UiB). Hovden´s research has focused on work, class, education, culture and democracy.
Marianne Nordli Hansen, (UiO), Professor of Sociology, University of Oslo. Nordli Hansen´s research has focused on different types of social inequality, including social class, education, income & wealth, and social segregation.
David J. Harding, Professor & Head of of Sociology, University of California – Berkeley. Harding studies poverty and inequality, urban neighbourhoods, education, generations, and criminal sociology.
Additional lectures (in alphabetical order)
Francois Denord, directeur d’études, CESSP/EHESS, Paris. Denord is an expert on the sociology of elites, of social classes and of neoliberalism.
Paul Lagneau-Ymonet, maître de conferences, Univ. Paris Dauphine. Lagneau-Ymonet is an expert on economic sociology, the sociology of elites and classes.
Marte Mangset, Director of the Norwegian University Center in Paris. Mangset studies the relationship between knowledge and power and has written extensively on social elites.
Harri Melin, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Tampere. Melin studies class, sociology of work, labour unions, and, more recently, inequality in school and childhood.
Mike Savage (FBA), Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics. Savage studies a broad range of topics related to social class, power, and inequality.
Lisa Sølvberg, postdoctoral scholar, University of Bergen. Sølvberg has studied the class aspects of recruitment processes in elite firms, and is an expert on elites, social class, and social inequality
Sylvain Thine, associated member of CESSP-CSE, EHESS, Paris. Thine is an expert on the sociology of elites and on quantitative analysis.
Timetable (at Fondation Maison des Sciences de l´homme)
Wednesday 17. June (Salle B-01)
Class Theory: Challenges and Promises
09.45: All participants meet in the reception at Fondation Maison des Sciences del´homme, before we walk to the Salle B-01)
10.00-10.30: Welcome
10.30-11.15: Classical theory of class and contemporary discussions. Prof. Harri Melin, Tampere University.
11.15-11.30: Coffee break
11.15-12.00: Intersections class, gender, ethnicity. Professor Jan Fredrik Hovden, University of Bergen
12.15-13.45: Lunch
13.45-14.30: Class and social mobility. Professor David Harding, University of California-Berkeley
14.30-14.45: Coffee break
14.45-15.30: Open (lecture or paper session) TBA
15.30-15.45: Coffee break
15.45-17.30/17.45: Paper session
Thursday 18. June (Salle Salle B-01)
Social Elites – New and Old
10.00-11.00: Social Elites: The intersection of class and elites: focusing on power and inequality in contemporary Western societies. Professor. Mike Savage, London School of Economics).
11.00-11.15: Coffee break.
11.15-12.15: The Field of Power in France. Directeur d’études Francois Denord, EHESS, maître de conferences Paul Lagneau Ymonet, EHESS, membre associé Sylvain Thine, EHESS.
12.15-13.45: Lunch.
13.45-14.45: Administrative elites in Europe: Scholastic legitimacy and concentration of power. Director at CUNP, Marte Mangset.
14.45-15.00: Coffee break.
15.00-16.00: Social Class and the Recruitment to Elite Firms. Postdoctoral scholar, Lisa Sølvberg, UiB.
16.00-16.15: Coffee break.
16.15-17.45: Paper session
Friday 19. June (Salle Salle B-01 )
Meritocracy as a Hegemonic Social Norm – Theory vs. Practice
10.00-10.30: Classical theory of meritocracy and contemporary discussion. Professor Marianne Nordli Hansen, University of Oslo
10.30-11.00: Meritocracy in France. TBA
11.00-11.15: Coffee break.
11.15-12.15: Challenges to meritocracy: schooling, criminal justice and race/ethnicity in the US. Professor David Harding. University of California-Berkeley.
12.15-13.45: Lunch
13.45-14.30: Durable inequalities in Nordic education and childhood. Professor Håkon Leiulfsrud, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
14.30.-14.45: Coffee break
14.45-15.30: Open session
15.30-16.30. Discussion and conclusion
Time table (in Trondheim at NTNU)
WEBINAR 14. August 2026
10.00 –12.00: Seminar based on student papers
12.00-13.00 Lunch
13.00-16.00: Seminar based on student papers
16.00-16.30: Course evaluation
READING 750 pages TBA first week of May 2026