SOC 322 - Class Inequality
Fall 2013
Section 001: 3716 HBLL, Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 am - 10:45 am
Name: Ben Gibbs
Office Location: 2032 JFSB
Office Hours: Tues and Thursday 3pm - 5pm
Email: benjamin_gibbs@byu.edu
Course Information
Description
Since the inception of sociology, class inequality has been a central force in explaining how society arranges scarce
resources unfairly. Yet today the concept of class is theoretically and empirically unclear with some scholars doubting
whether class exists at all. In this course we will explore the historical and contemporary discussions of class to
unravel whether class still has a bearing on who gets what and why in modern society.
Materials
Image
Item
Vendor
Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, 2nd
BYU
Edition with an Update a Decade Later Required
Bookstore
Price
Price
(new)
(used)
27.95
21.00
25.95
19.50
$18.95
$13.18
by Lareau, Annette
University of California Press; Edition 2 (1316498400)
ISBN: 9780520271425
The Classless Society (Studies in Social Inequality)
BYU
Required
Bookstore
by Kingston, Paul
Stanford University Press; Edition 1 (965109600)
ISBN: 9780804738064
Unanticipated Gains: Origins of Network Inequality in
Everyday Life Required
by Mario Luis Small
Oxford University Press, USA; Edition Reprint (2010-1005)
ISBN: 0199764093
Amazon
Grading Scale
Grades
Percent
A
93%
A-
90%
B+
87%
B
83%
B-
80%
C+
77%
C
73%
C-
70%
D+
67%
D
63%
D-
60%
E
0%
Reading Notes (100 pts)
After every reading, post your notes on digital dialog. I expect a couple paragraphs to summarize and note the main
point for each reading with a sentence or two reaction. You must include page numbers after each concept/idea.
Examples posted on Learning Suite.
Reading Notes (First Quarter)
Ongoing till Thursday, Sep 12
Reading Notes (Second Quarter)
Ongoing till Tuesday, Oct 08
Reading Notes (Third Quarter)
Ongoing till Tuesday, Oct 29
Reading Notes (Fourth Quarter)
Ongoing till Thursday, Nov 14
Research Paper (300 pts)
Does Class Exist?
Due: Thursday, Dec 05 start of class
The purpose of this assignment is to take the readings “to the streets.” You will be interviewing three BYU students
from three different socioeconomic backgrounds. You will also interview one professor and one professional that have
some knowledge of the issue. Personal recorders are available at the Media Center at the Library. Description of
assignment posted on Learning Suite.
Exams (300 pts each)
Tests are part multiple choice (150 pts) and essay (150 pts). About 6-10 potential essay questions will be given a
week in advance.
Midterm
Testing Center, Friday and Saturday, Oct 11 and 12
Final Exam
In Class, Tuesday, Dec 17 7am-10am
Extra Credit (10 pts) Before each class period I will post discussion prompts. If you participate throughout the
semester your grade will be increase by 1%.
Date
T - Sep 03
Th - Sep 05
Subject
Readings (due the date posted)
Welcome
PART ONE: The Class Debate
Lareau "Introduction: Taking Stock of Class" (p.3-19,
skip the section "The Chapters: What Do They Show")
Marx "Class in Capitalism and Pre-Capitalism"
Wright "Class Counts" pp.48-51
T - Sep 10
Weber "Class, Status, Party"
David Brooks "Bobos in Paradise"
Dalton Conley "Reading Class Between the Lines: A
Reflection on Why We Should Stick to Folk Concepts of
Social Class"
Th - Sep 12
Origins of the Debate on Class
Massey "How Stratification Works" from Categorically
Unequal pp.1-27
T - Sep 17
PART TWO: Unequal Childhoods
Unequal Childhoods Chapters 1 and 2
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 3
Th - Sep 19
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 4
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 5
T - Sep 24
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 6
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 7
Th - Sep 26
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 8
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 9
T - Oct 01
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 10
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 11
Th - Oct 03
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 12
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 13
T - Oct 08
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 14
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 15
Th - Oct 10
T - Oct 15
Th - Oct 17
Review
Test in Testing Center Friday and Saturday
PART THREE: Classless Society
Classless Society Chapters 1 and 2
Classless Society Chapter 3
Classless Society Chapter 4
T - Oct 22
Classless Society Chapter 5
Classless Society Chapter 6
Th - Oct 24
Classless Society Chapter 7
Classless Society Chapter 8
T - Oct 29
Classless Society Chapter 9
Classless Society Chapter 12
Th - Oct 31
PART FOUR: Unanticipated Gains
T - Nov 05
Unanticipated Gains Chapters 2 and 3
Th - Nov 07
Unanticipated Gains Chapters 4 and 5
T - Nov 12
Unanticipated Gains Chapters 6 and 7
Th - Nov 14
T - Nov 19
Unanticipated Gains Chapter 1
Unanticipated Gains Chapter 8
PART FIVE: Researching Class
Lareau Methodology: Enduring Dilemmas in Fieldwork
Small A Multimethod Case Study
Th - Nov 21
T - Nov 26
Research Groups
Friday Instruction
Research Groups
W - Nov 27
No Classes
Th - Nov 28
Thanksgiving Holiday
T - Dec 03
Th - Dec 05
T - Dec 10
Research Findings
Research Findings
Research Papers Due
PART SIX: Conclusions
Class Inequality and the Scriptures
Zygmunt Bauman "The Uniqueness and Normality of the
Holocaust" in Modernity and the Holocaust
Th - Dec 12
T - Dec 17
Review
Final Exam 7am-10am in classroom
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honesty means, most fundamentally, that any work you present as your own must in fact be your own work and not that of another.
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contact the University Accessibility Center (UAC), 2170 WSC or 422-2767. Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed
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