Social Inequality

Sociology 111.01

This course examines the complex phenomenon of social inequality.  Social inequality refers to the vertical classifications or hierarchical relations by which human populations are differentially valued.  Patterns of inequality are observable across social settings such as the family, the community, social institutions (i.e., the educational system, the legal system), the nation-state, and the global system.  In this course we will examine theories and patterns of social inequality in a wide range of contexts.  After examining major theories about why inequality exists and persists in societies, we will spend several weeks discussing disparities between social classes (the working poor, the middle class, and the power elite) in the United States.  Thereafter we will investigate race, ethnicity, gender and age as the bases of inequality.  Finally, we will focus on stratification on a global level.

Required Readings

There are 3 required books and several required articles for this course.  The books may be purchased at the Duke University Bookstore.  Articles are listed as A1, A2, A3... in the syllabus.  The links to articles are listed below.  Most articles are on Electronic Reserve in the library.  At the E-reserve web page you must enter my name (Buchmann) and the course number (soc 111) to get to the list of reserve readings for this class, you can then locate each article by the author and title in bold text below.  Articles available on the web have their direct links listed.  Additional readings may be announced throughout the semester.

Books:

Sernau, Scott.  2001.  Worlds Apart: Social Inequalities in a New Century. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

Barbara Ehrenreich. 2001. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. NY: Henry Holt.

Juliet Schorr. 1998. The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting and the New Consumer. Basic Books.

Articles:

A1:  Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore. 1945.  “Some Principles of Stratification.” American Sociological Review 10:242-49.  http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-1224%28194504%2910%3A2%3C242%3ASPOS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-A

A2: Melvin Tumin. 1953. “Some Principles of Stratification: A Critical Analysis.” American Sociological Review 18:387-94. 

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-1224%28195308%2918%3A4%3C387%3ASPOSAC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3

A3: Herbert J. Gans. 2001. “The Uses of Undeservingness.” Pp. 87-96 in Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United States, 2^nd edition, edited by Thomas M. Shapiro. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing.

A4: G. William Domhoff. 1998. “The Corporate Community and the Upper Class.” Pp. 71-123 in Who Rules America? Power and Politics in the Year 2000. 3^rd Edition. Mountain View: CA: Mayfield Publishing.

A5: Edward L. Glaeser and Jacob L. Vigdor. 2001. Racial Segregation in the 2000 Census: Promising News.  The Brookings Institution Survey Series. http://www.brookings.edu/dybdocroot/urban/census/glaeserexsum.htm

A6: Douglas Massey and Nancy A. Denton. 2001. The Continuing Causes of Segregation.” Pp. 249-65 in Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United States, 2^nd edition, edited by Thomas M. Shapiro. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing.

A7: Douglas S. Massey. 2001. “Segregation and Violent Crime in Urban America.” Pp. 317-344 in Problem of the Century: Racial Stratification in the United States.  Elijah Anderson and Douglas S. Massey, editors.

A8:  Melvin L. Oliver and Thomas M. Shapiro. 1997. Black Wealth/White Wealth. Pp. 265-277 in Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United States, 2^nd edition, edited by Thomas M. Shapiro. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing.

A9: Alejandro Portes and Robert D. Manning. 2001. “The Immigrant Enclave: Theory and Empirical Examples.” Pp. 568-579 in Social Stratification: Class, Race and Gender in Sociological Perspective. 2^nd Edition.  Edited by David B. Grusky. Boulder: Westview Press. 

A10: Alejandro Portes. 2002. “Immigration’s Aftermath.” The American Prospect 13, no. 7, April 8, 2002.  http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/7/portes-a.html

A11: Angela O’Rand and John C. Henretta. 1999.  “Asynchronous Lives: The Normal Life Course and Its Variations.” Chapter 3 in Age and Inequality: Diverse Pathways Through Later Life. Boulder: Westview Press.

A12: NCES (National Center for Education Statistics). 2000. Educational Equity for Girls and Women. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.  http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000030

A13: Donald J. Hernandez. 1997. “Poverty Trends.” Chapter 2 in The Consequences of Growing Up Poor, Greg Duncan and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, editors. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

A14: Susan E. Mayer. 1997. “Trends in the Economic Well-being and Life Chances of America’s Children.” Chapter 4 in The Consequences of Growing Up Poor, Greg Duncan and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, editors. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

A15: Angela O’Rand and John C. Henretta. 1999. “Aging in the Welfare State: Strategic Cross-National Comparisons of Life Course Variability and Inequality.” Chapter  7 in Age and Inequality: Diverse Pathways Through Later Life. Boulder: Westview Press.

Course Requirements

Your grade for this course will be based on class participation  (this includes two short “current issues” papers), two essays, a midterm and a final exam. 

In evaluating your class participation, I will consider your: 1) participation in class generally, 2)  contributions to focused discussion sessions (listed as Discussions in course schedule), and 3)  contributions to the “current issues” discussions (listed as Current Issues Discussion).  Four times during the semester we will devote a class to the discussion of current issues related to the topics of social inequality that are covered in that section of the course.  You will be in one of two groups.  Each group is responsible for contributing material to two discussion sessions during the semester.  This will involve turning in a 1-2 page paper which links topics covered in class to a related issue, current event, personal experience, etc. (see course schedule for due dates).  You are encouraged to turn in the materials to which your comments pertain (i.e., newspaper or magazine article, web page, etc.) with your comments.  These papers will serve as topics for class discussion.      

Essays:  You will write two short essays of 4-5 pages each on topics to be announced in class.  The first essay, an ethnography of your social class background, is due on Friday, September 27^th.  The second essay, the topic of which will be announced in class, is due on Wednesday, November 13^th.  Details are forthcoming.

Mid-Term Exam:  A take-home midterm will be distributed on Friday October 18th and will be due at the BEGINNING of class the following Wednesday October 23rd.  There will be no class on Monday October 21^st in order to give you substantial time to complete the take home exam.  While you may use your class notes and readings during the exam, your answers on the exam are to be entirely your own and you are not to discuss the content of the exam or your answers with anyone during the time the exam is in your possession.

Final Exam: The final exam will be on Thursday December 12, 2002 from 2-5 p.m.  Alternative scheduling of the final exam will be considered for only the most extreme circumstances.

These requirements will comprise your final grade as follows: