 Hello and welcome to a discussion of class within the parameters of cultural studies. The information cited in this video is drawn from D. F. Brown's Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. A good way to get into the very big field of class and class studies is understanding where the word class itself comes from. Brown explains that social class has its etymological root in the Latin term classis used by census takers to differentiate social strata based on wealth in order to assess Roman citizens' obligations to military service. So from the beginning we can begin to conceptualise class as a way that institutions and authorities categorise, divide and manage populations based on what kind of resources they have. So for example if you were of a lower class according to your financial situation you are more likely, and still are even in current contexts, to be sent to war and risk your life for the state. Already we can see how critical class is to the very foundations of our liberties and lives. In talking about class one can talk about the Marxist perspective which emerged from the writings of Karl Marx in the 19th century with the rise of industrialisation, modernity and early stage capitalism. As Brown continues the early Marxist categories of social class defined the social groups relationships to the ownership of the means of production. The key ones were peasantry, the lumpren proletariat which are the unemployed and criminal strata, the proletariat, employed working class, petite bourgeoisie, the middle class and the bourgeoisie, the capitalist class. The relationships were defined by exploitation under capitalism, this entailed the process whereby the bourgeoisie benefited from the surplus created by the proletariat. So now through Marxist theory we are beginning to link class to the more modern ideas about capitalism. For Marx, lower socio-economic groups, those who had to work in order to survive, what we might call the proletariat, were always disenfranchised and locked into their class because the only thing that they have of value is their labour which is always devalued and exploited in modern structures of capitalism. However, the upper class were those people who own the means of production, that is the very machines that make mass-produced commodities. As Brown explicates, the social process surrounding the formation of relationships of these classes was for Marx one of intense conflict and struggle. It was central to determining the course of history, for Marx the proletariat was the key to social change and the class that would ultimately bring freedom from capitalist domination. Of course as we know our western culture has not been liberated from the capitalist system and now we live in what is often referred to as late stage capitalism, exacerbated by programs of globalisation in which western corporations often exploit workers in non-western countries in order to make more profit. However, while taking on board many of Marx's theories, members of what is known as the Frankfurt School in the 1920s, quote, did not view the working class as a key liberating force. However, in the Weberian perspective, which is the writings emanating from the theorist Max Weber, he emphasised the other aspects of class that need to be considered. Brown points out that Weber also focused on concepts of status and political party, social groupings that cut across and create social cleavages in social classes. Weber gave examples of religious and ethnic associations, forming status groups with strong ties of identity and subjective perceptions of community. In addition, he emphasised market and consumption and saw property, or lack of property, as a key to defining class. The Weberian perspective helped nuance and shape discussions of class for future theorists. So these are the two big names which provide a fantastic place to start your journey learning about class and the complex systems it generates and is generated by. Thanks for watching.