Equality Studies

This entry considers the intellectual project of Equality Studies as a form of applied ethics. It begins by defining Equality Studies as an interdisciplinary, critical social science that combines empirical, analytical and normative modes of inquiry to explain and challenge social inequalities within a broader project for transformative egalitarian change. It then offers an overview of the explicit normative commitments of Equality Studies, contrasting this with dominant, cryptonormative approaches of the critical social sciences. Next, it examines the key analytical and conceptual tasks of the Equality Studies project, which are: to establish why equality matters; to delineate and justify different conceptions of equality; and to answer the question, ‘equality of what?’ In each case, the entry canvasses key texts, approaches and debates animating the field. The entry concludes with an account of Equality Studies in practice, offering examples from anti-capitalist studies and emancipatory research.