Sociologist sheds light on social inequality and urban marginality

According to Loic Wacquant, America is no longer the home of equal opportunity.

Wacquant, a prominent French social scientist, visited Houston Hall this past Friday to discuss social and racial inequality. The professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, came to promote his upcoming book, third in a trilogy on urban marginality.

In his lecture, Wacquant began by attempting to provide “a conceptual bridge” between the first two volumes of his trilogy to entice audience members to read his work.

He detailed the first volume’s focus on the state acting as a major force for urban marginality on both sides of the Atlantic. The book compares the evolution of the ghetto in the United States with that of working-class territories in Western Europe.

Wacquant explained that since the 1970s, the U.S. has shifted to a society of “hyperghettos” — in which the dominant economic group does not extract monetary value from the subordinate group — while Europe has formed “anti-ghettos” — in which the ghettos become more heterogeneous.

The second volume of the trilogy, Wacquant said, focuses on the glorification and expansion of the penal state, examining the prison as a core societal institution. Wacquant examines the role of the state as a dualistic power, where the left hand of the state nurtures those deprived of economic and cultural capital and the right hand punishes.

Wacquant expressed the belief that the country perpetuates its marginality by creating a “centaur state” — the government intervenes with greater authority on the lower end of the economic ladder.

“The state as the embodiment of the collective will should present the same face to every citizen,” he criticized.

Wacquant also commented on the nature of being a sociologist.

“We need to de-couple our analysis from the short-term and resist the temptation to talk about what happened last week,” Wacquant noted. “There is too much turbulence you cannot control.”

Despite Wacquant’s words of caution, College sophomore Laura Destribats said she was not deterred from pursuing a career in sociology.

She noted that after hearing Wacquant “explain the intricacies of his social theories with incredible fervor,” her “commitment to majoring in Sociology is stronger than ever.”

Faculty members also praised Wacquant’s skills as an author.

“His writing is exciting,” Michael Katz, professor of history, claimed. “It dazzles and is bold.”

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