Katie Higgins
@katiehiggins.bsky.social
Lecturer, Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield
Pinned
Therapy Culture for the Business Class: Exploring How CEO Peer Groups Make and Legitimate Elite Cohesion
In the current context of extreme economic inequality and rising concentrations of income and wealth at the top, the social processes through which elites restrict the wider population's access to re...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
New article out now 🚨
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@sheffielduni.bsky.social
While researching the wealthy business class in and around Manchester, I stumbled upon CEO peer advisory groups — little-known but powerful sites of elite cohesion. 🧵
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@sheffielduni.bsky.social
While researching the wealthy business class in and around Manchester, I stumbled upon CEO peer advisory groups — little-known but powerful sites of elite cohesion. 🧵
Reposted by Katie Higgins
Latest Substack is out now!
I argue that we need to rethink our assumptions about diversity. Representation does not guarantee progressive outcomes, and Shabana Mahmood’s asylum announcement makes that painfully clear 👇🏾
open.substack.com/pub/mikebank...
I argue that we need to rethink our assumptions about diversity. Representation does not guarantee progressive outcomes, and Shabana Mahmood’s asylum announcement makes that painfully clear 👇🏾
open.substack.com/pub/mikebank...
November 25, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Latest Substack is out now!
I argue that we need to rethink our assumptions about diversity. Representation does not guarantee progressive outcomes, and Shabana Mahmood’s asylum announcement makes that painfully clear 👇🏾
open.substack.com/pub/mikebank...
I argue that we need to rethink our assumptions about diversity. Representation does not guarantee progressive outcomes, and Shabana Mahmood’s asylum announcement makes that painfully clear 👇🏾
open.substack.com/pub/mikebank...
Reposted by Katie Higgins
Sussex School for Progressive Futures Scholarships : University of Sussex
www.sussex.ac.uk
November 17, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Reposted by Katie Higgins
Mine and @dvandebroeck.bsky.social’s paper on ‘The Labor of Distinction’ is out now in ASR. Drawing from an ethnography that involved training and working as a butler, we tell a larger story about elites and inequality (1/18) journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
January 8, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Mine and @dvandebroeck.bsky.social’s paper on ‘The Labor of Distinction’ is out now in ASR. Drawing from an ethnography that involved training and working as a butler, we tell a larger story about elites and inequality (1/18) journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Katie Higgins
"It is important to emphasise that such groups ultimately lock in wealth, advantage and connections between their (predominantly male) class-advantaged members."
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Therapy Culture for the Business Class: Exploring How CEO Peer Groups Make and Legitimate Elite Cohesion
In the current context of extreme economic inequality and rising concentrations of income and wealth at the top, the social processes through which elites restrict the wider population's access to re...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:11 PM
"It is important to emphasise that such groups ultimately lock in wealth, advantage and connections between their (predominantly male) class-advantaged members."
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Katie Higgins
Absolutely fantastic new paper from @katiehiggins.bsky.social "CEO peer groups reveal without a doubt that therapy culture has reached the top tiers of the business class. In fact, their version of self-help is in many ways more cooperative and less individualistic than the mainstream" but... 1/2
November 14, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Absolutely fantastic new paper from @katiehiggins.bsky.social "CEO peer groups reveal without a doubt that therapy culture has reached the top tiers of the business class. In fact, their version of self-help is in many ways more cooperative and less individualistic than the mainstream" but... 1/2
Reposted by Katie Higgins
📣 Trinity College Dublin is hiring 2 #tenuretrack Assistant Professors in Sociology.
👉 Environmental Sociology. Closing Dec 1
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPH703/a...
👉 Gender and Sexuality. Closing Dec 2
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPI055/a...
@tcdsociology.bsky.social
@isa-rc28.bsky.social @eaps.bsky.social
👉 Environmental Sociology. Closing Dec 1
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPH703/a...
👉 Gender and Sexuality. Closing Dec 2
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPI055/a...
@tcdsociology.bsky.social
@isa-rc28.bsky.social @eaps.bsky.social
Assistant Professor in Sociology at Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
An opportunity for an academic position as a Assistant Professor in Sociology is available, as advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and explore other academic job openings.
www.jobs.ac.uk
November 12, 2025 at 2:19 PM
📣 Trinity College Dublin is hiring 2 #tenuretrack Assistant Professors in Sociology.
👉 Environmental Sociology. Closing Dec 1
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPH703/a...
👉 Gender and Sexuality. Closing Dec 2
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPI055/a...
@tcdsociology.bsky.social
@isa-rc28.bsky.social @eaps.bsky.social
👉 Environmental Sociology. Closing Dec 1
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPH703/a...
👉 Gender and Sexuality. Closing Dec 2
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPI055/a...
@tcdsociology.bsky.social
@isa-rc28.bsky.social @eaps.bsky.social
Reposted by Katie Higgins
Drawing on 41 semi-structured interviews with wealthy members of the business class living in and around Manchester, this paper explores how therapy culture has travelled upwards, to the executive and owning class, through CEO peer groups.
#EarlyView in #BJS ➡️ buff.ly/3nhvM3M
#EarlyView in #BJS ➡️ buff.ly/3nhvM3M
November 13, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Drawing on 41 semi-structured interviews with wealthy members of the business class living in and around Manchester, this paper explores how therapy culture has travelled upwards, to the executive and owning class, through CEO peer groups.
#EarlyView in #BJS ➡️ buff.ly/3nhvM3M
#EarlyView in #BJS ➡️ buff.ly/3nhvM3M
Reposted by Katie Higgins
My article on the tv hit Succession and its media reception finally out. Keywords Schadenfreude, fantasy, dynasties. My argument being that it is a fantasy-driven construct appealing to a middle class desire to see the rich as miserable people destined to fall. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
From the figure of the obscene rich to the fantasy of its destruction: on Succession, schadenfreude and the godlike power of the super-rich on screen
A significant part of contemporary popular culture portrays the rich as obscene, self-destructive, addicted and deranged. This article analyses the affective intensities circulating around this tro...
www.tandfonline.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:33 AM
My article on the tv hit Succession and its media reception finally out. Keywords Schadenfreude, fantasy, dynasties. My argument being that it is a fantasy-driven construct appealing to a middle class desire to see the rich as miserable people destined to fall. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
New article out now 🚨
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@sheffielduni.bsky.social
While researching the wealthy business class in and around Manchester, I stumbled upon CEO peer advisory groups — little-known but powerful sites of elite cohesion. 🧵
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@sheffielduni.bsky.social
While researching the wealthy business class in and around Manchester, I stumbled upon CEO peer advisory groups — little-known but powerful sites of elite cohesion. 🧵
Therapy Culture for the Business Class: Exploring How CEO Peer Groups Make and Legitimate Elite Cohesion
In the current context of extreme economic inequality and rising concentrations of income and wealth at the top, the social processes through which elites restrict the wider population's access to re...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
New article out now 🚨
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@sheffielduni.bsky.social
While researching the wealthy business class in and around Manchester, I stumbled upon CEO peer advisory groups — little-known but powerful sites of elite cohesion. 🧵
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@sheffielduni.bsky.social
While researching the wealthy business class in and around Manchester, I stumbled upon CEO peer advisory groups — little-known but powerful sites of elite cohesion. 🧵
Another excellent article on families and wealth, this time by @cassandracotton.bsky.social and Raphaël Charron-Chénier!
Excited to finally share my new paper (w/Raphaël Charron-Chénier) out in BJS! Staying Apart for the Kids looks at how older adults consider preserving family wealth in their new relationships. Drawing on my interviews with mid/late-life daters, we show how accumulated wealth shapes dating decisions.
Staying Apart for the Kids? Older American Daters and the Preservation of Family Wealth
Romantic repartnering in later life has received substantial scholarly and public attention in light of population aging and changes in family dynamics. In the United States, the importance of househ...
doi.org
October 23, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Another excellent article on families and wealth, this time by @cassandracotton.bsky.social and Raphaël Charron-Chénier!
Reposted by Katie Higgins
Excited to finally share my new paper (w/Raphaël Charron-Chénier) out in BJS! Staying Apart for the Kids looks at how older adults consider preserving family wealth in their new relationships. Drawing on my interviews with mid/late-life daters, we show how accumulated wealth shapes dating decisions.
Staying Apart for the Kids? Older American Daters and the Preservation of Family Wealth
Romantic repartnering in later life has received substantial scholarly and public attention in light of population aging and changes in family dynamics. In the United States, the importance of househ...
doi.org
October 9, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Excited to finally share my new paper (w/Raphaël Charron-Chénier) out in BJS! Staying Apart for the Kids looks at how older adults consider preserving family wealth in their new relationships. Drawing on my interviews with mid/late-life daters, we show how accumulated wealth shapes dating decisions.
Highly recommend this fantastic article from @shayobrien.bsky.social!
I am soo excited to share my newest article, “Unnatural Wills.” It’s about inheritance disputes!!! Murder, gold diggers, sex work, racial passing, secret lesbian lovers…WOW this was fun to write, and I hope it’s fun to read, too.
Unnatural Wills: Inheritance Disputes and Inequality
Within the conceptual frame of relational economic sociology, inheritance disputes are a canonical form of relational mismatch. But the social patterning of relational mismatches, and their various t...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 24, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Highly recommend this fantastic article from @shayobrien.bsky.social!
Reposted by Katie Higgins
I am soo excited to share my newest article, “Unnatural Wills.” It’s about inheritance disputes!!! Murder, gold diggers, sex work, racial passing, secret lesbian lovers…WOW this was fun to write, and I hope it’s fun to read, too.
Unnatural Wills: Inheritance Disputes and Inequality
Within the conceptual frame of relational economic sociology, inheritance disputes are a canonical form of relational mismatch. But the social patterning of relational mismatches, and their various t...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 23, 2025 at 2:56 PM
I am soo excited to share my newest article, “Unnatural Wills.” It’s about inheritance disputes!!! Murder, gold diggers, sex work, racial passing, secret lesbian lovers…WOW this was fun to write, and I hope it’s fun to read, too.
Reposted by Katie Higgins
1/10 🚨Why do women accumulate less wealth than men across countries and time?
I had the privilege of co-directing the latest Special Issue of #SER @sasemeeting.bsky.social with @celinebessiere.bsky.social on gender and wealth accumulation. 🧵 ⤵️
academic.oup.com/ser/article/...
I had the privilege of co-directing the latest Special Issue of #SER @sasemeeting.bsky.social with @celinebessiere.bsky.social on gender and wealth accumulation. 🧵 ⤵️
academic.oup.com/ser/article/...
Gender and wealth accumulation: an international perspective
Abstract. Why do women accumulate less wealth than men globally? As wealth inequality rises both within countries and worldwide, studies on gender and weal
academic.oup.com
July 9, 2025 at 3:58 PM
1/10 🚨Why do women accumulate less wealth than men across countries and time?
I had the privilege of co-directing the latest Special Issue of #SER @sasemeeting.bsky.social with @celinebessiere.bsky.social on gender and wealth accumulation. 🧵 ⤵️
academic.oup.com/ser/article/...
I had the privilege of co-directing the latest Special Issue of #SER @sasemeeting.bsky.social with @celinebessiere.bsky.social on gender and wealth accumulation. 🧵 ⤵️
academic.oup.com/ser/article/...
Reposted by Katie Higgins
First draft of a new book sent to the publisher. (And already noticed two typos in the table of contents!)
May 28, 2025 at 1:25 PM
First draft of a new book sent to the publisher. (And already noticed two typos in the table of contents!)
Reposted by Katie Higgins
My first paper of my dissertation 'Patrimonial Relations. Kinship, capital and conflict in super-rich Families' is out now on open access!
Here I discuss how super-rich families use relational work on affective family ties as an economic resource.
@bupjournals.bsky.social
Here I discuss how super-rich families use relational work on affective family ties as an economic resource.
@bupjournals.bsky.social
Family feelings: affective ties and the reproduction of wealth in super-rich families
Rising wealth inequalities, concentrated in the hands of a few super-rich families, have recently sparked sociological interest in how these families sustain and legitimise their wealth across generat...
doi.org
April 28, 2025 at 1:37 PM
My first paper of my dissertation 'Patrimonial Relations. Kinship, capital and conflict in super-rich Families' is out now on open access!
Here I discuss how super-rich families use relational work on affective family ties as an economic resource.
@bupjournals.bsky.social
Here I discuss how super-rich families use relational work on affective family ties as an economic resource.
@bupjournals.bsky.social
It was brilliant to present at the Institute of Sociology @tuberlin.bsky.social and to learn more about the important research happening there -thanks for the invitation @isabellstamm.bsky.social!
May 22, 2025 at 6:04 AM
It was brilliant to present at the Institute of Sociology @tuberlin.bsky.social and to learn more about the important research happening there -thanks for the invitation @isabellstamm.bsky.social!
Reposted by Katie Higgins
In this year’s annual British Journal of Sociology lecture, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva will review the basics of his “racialized social system” with a focus on explaining how he has improved the theoretical apparatus over the years.
📆 Wednesday 19 March
⏰ 6.30pm to 8pm
📍 In person at LSE and online
📆 Wednesday 19 March
⏰ 6.30pm to 8pm
📍 In person at LSE and online
On white normativity, racial habituation, and cracks in racial teams
6.30pm Weds 19 Mar | Eduardo Bonilla-Silva | Free public event at LSE
buff.ly
March 4, 2025 at 12:00 PM
In this year’s annual British Journal of Sociology lecture, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva will review the basics of his “racialized social system” with a focus on explaining how he has improved the theoretical apparatus over the years.
📆 Wednesday 19 March
⏰ 6.30pm to 8pm
📍 In person at LSE and online
📆 Wednesday 19 March
⏰ 6.30pm to 8pm
📍 In person at LSE and online
Reposted by Katie Higgins
Another plug for my new @bjsociology.bsky.social article with Narzanin Massoumi examining the appointment of corporate elites to the boards of charities.
No paywall btw! 👇
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
No paywall btw! 👇
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Elite Status‐Seeking and Class Reproduction in Civil Society: An Analysis of Corporate Elite Appointments to Charity Boards
This article examines the relationship between economic elites and civil society by analysing the appointments of corporate elites to the boards of charitable companies in the UK. Whilst previous res...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
March 3, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Another plug for my new @bjsociology.bsky.social article with Narzanin Massoumi examining the appointment of corporate elites to the boards of charities.
No paywall btw! 👇
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
No paywall btw! 👇
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Katie Higgins
Tonight. I’m at the @sheffieldurbanism.bsky.social launch of Isaac Rose’s “The Rentier City - Manchester and the making of the Neoliberal Metropolis”. @repeaterbooks.bsky.social @urbaninstitute.bsky.social @invisiblemapper.bsky.social
January 30, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Tonight. I’m at the @sheffieldurbanism.bsky.social launch of Isaac Rose’s “The Rentier City - Manchester and the making of the Neoliberal Metropolis”. @repeaterbooks.bsky.social @urbaninstitute.bsky.social @invisiblemapper.bsky.social
Reposted by Katie Higgins
Going to plan a few trips to West Yorkshire this year bradford2025.co.uk/whats-on/
What's on | Bradford 2025
From events to exhibitions, find out what's on during Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.
bradford2025.co.uk
January 2, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Going to plan a few trips to West Yorkshire this year bradford2025.co.uk/whats-on/
Reposted by Katie Higgins
UK's regressive tax system.
Poorest 10% of households paid 48% of income in tax; richest 10% paid 39%.
Poorest 10% paying 12% of income in VAT; richest 10% pay 3%.
Council tax: Poorest 10% paying 7%; richest 10% pay 1.2%.
No govt plans to end inequity.
equalitytrust.org.uk/news/press-r...
Poorest 10% of households paid 48% of income in tax; richest 10% paid 39%.
Poorest 10% paying 12% of income in VAT; richest 10% pay 3%.
Council tax: Poorest 10% paying 7%; richest 10% pay 1.2%.
No govt plans to end inequity.
equalitytrust.org.uk/news/press-r...
UK Still Taxes the Poorest More Than the Richest - Equality Trust
New data from the Office for National Statistics shows that the poorest 10% of households in the UK are still paying a higher proportion of their income in tax than the richest.
equalitytrust.org.uk
December 29, 2024 at 10:56 AM
UK's regressive tax system.
Poorest 10% of households paid 48% of income in tax; richest 10% paid 39%.
Poorest 10% paying 12% of income in VAT; richest 10% pay 3%.
Council tax: Poorest 10% paying 7%; richest 10% pay 1.2%.
No govt plans to end inequity.
equalitytrust.org.uk/news/press-r...
Poorest 10% of households paid 48% of income in tax; richest 10% paid 39%.
Poorest 10% paying 12% of income in VAT; richest 10% pay 3%.
Council tax: Poorest 10% paying 7%; richest 10% pay 1.2%.
No govt plans to end inequity.
equalitytrust.org.uk/news/press-r...
Reposted by Katie Higgins
#16 in the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social critical theory Xmas countdown is one of the books of the year. @aaronreeves.bsky.social discussing “Born to Rule: The Making and Remaking of the British Elite” coauthored with @samfriedman.bsky.social newbooksnetwork.com/born-to-rule
Aaron Reeves and Sam Friedman, "Born to Rule: The Making and Remaking of the British Elite" (Harvard UP, 2024) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
December 16, 2024 at 10:44 AM
#16 in the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social critical theory Xmas countdown is one of the books of the year. @aaronreeves.bsky.social discussing “Born to Rule: The Making and Remaking of the British Elite” coauthored with @samfriedman.bsky.social newbooksnetwork.com/born-to-rule
Reposted by Katie Higgins
Save the date for our Annual British Journal of Sociology Lecture!
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva will review the basics of his “racialized social system” with a focus on explaining how he has improved the theoretical apparatus over the years.
📆 Wednesday 19 March
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva will review the basics of his “racialized social system” with a focus on explaining how he has improved the theoretical apparatus over the years.
📆 Wednesday 19 March
On white normativity, racial habituation, and cracks in racial teams
6.30pm Weds 19 Mar | Eduardo Bonilla-Silva | Free public event at LSE
buff.ly
December 16, 2024 at 11:00 AM
Save the date for our Annual British Journal of Sociology Lecture!
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva will review the basics of his “racialized social system” with a focus on explaining how he has improved the theoretical apparatus over the years.
📆 Wednesday 19 March
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva will review the basics of his “racialized social system” with a focus on explaining how he has improved the theoretical apparatus over the years.
📆 Wednesday 19 March
Reposted by Katie Higgins
This is a really interesting and important piece of work
1/
Wealth has raced ahead of earnings, creating a new caste society
Tax is only part of the answer: we also need a new political economy that differentiates good & bad wealth
My major new @ippr.bsky.social report: Earning Vs Owning
ippr-org.files.svdcdn.com/production/D...
Wealth has raced ahead of earnings, creating a new caste society
Tax is only part of the answer: we also need a new political economy that differentiates good & bad wealth
My major new @ippr.bsky.social report: Earning Vs Owning
ippr-org.files.svdcdn.com/production/D...
November 27, 2024 at 3:05 PM
This is a really interesting and important piece of work