Sunday, June 19, 2005
Sociology 305-010
Dr. Elizabeth Higginbotham
ehiggin@udel.edu
Office Hours:
Tuesdays and Thursdays
Fall, 2005
Smith Hall, Room 316
(302)-831-2681
Syllabus
Social Class Inequality
Social stratification is a major field in the study of societies. This course will focus on
class inequality in the United States, helping students gain familiarity with the history,
the language, different theoretical perspectives, and recent developments. During the
class we focus on different subgroups, particularly the working class, the poor, and the
middle class, including changes in the economic foundations of these groups. We will
explore how social class inequality is linked to race, gender, region, and others systems
of stratification. Students should gain a firm understanding of the institutions within the
society that foster inequality as well as those that support equalizing trends. Students can
develop an accurate picture of the current social class distributions in the nation, critical
issues for different social class groups, and the implication of that for social policy.
This course meets the Arts and Sciences criteria for a second writing course, therefore
students are expected to review their work for grammar, presentation and argument. All
work is to be submitted on time. Furthermore, time in class will also be spent talking
about writing issues.
Students’ performance will be evaluated in many ways. There are examinations and
writing assignments that will be graded and some that encourage you to reflect and write,
but these assignments are not graded but students get credit for completing these
assignments. To successfully complete the course, you have to do all the writing
assignments. The first two writing assignments will be evaluated and returned for you to
revise them. They are due back two weeks after they are returned, only then will they be
graded. The writing suggestions should help you improve your writing for subsequent
papers, including your final paper. All assignments are to be completed on time and
turned in as hard copies. The due dates are clearly marked on each assignment. If you
have trouble meeting the deadlines, please contact the instructor immediately. Students
are expected to be academically honest and abide by all the university policies (e.g., no
cheating, no plagiarism, and so forth).
Examinations: There is a mid-term examination and a final examination. Each
examination is worth 20% of the final grade.
Written Assignments: There are three writing assignments that will show your mastery
of the course material. The first assignment is worth 15% of your final grade and the
second and third are worth 20%.
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Non-Graded Assignments: You will also do some writing that will be corrected, but not
graded. These assignments are reviewed, but not graded. Completing them will be 5%
of the final grade.
Attendance: You are required to attend the class. There will be many videos,
discussions, and group work that are critical to the learning. Attendance will be taken
and a poor attendance record can impact your final grade.
Reading: Students are expected to do the course readings prior to coming to class.
Think about the questions raised in the text or the syllabus and come to class ready to
discuss issues. There may be quizzes to help you keep on track with the readings
assignments.
Texts: We will primarily be readings from three books (listed below). The Shapiro book
is a reader and most of the selections are in this book.
Jacqueline Jones, A Social History of the Laboring Classes. (Blackwell Publishers, 1999).
Dierdre A. Royster, Race and the Invisible Hand: How White Networks Exclude Black
Men From Blue-Collar Jobs. (University of California Press, 2003)
Thomas Shapiro, editor. Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United
States, third edition. (Mayfield Publishing Co., 2005).
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Schedule
August 30
Quiz, Overview of Course Objectives and Goals, Review the Syllabus,
Ground Rules and Introductions.
Sept. 1
Social Class and Inequality: Deconstructing the American Dream:
Readings: “Introduction,” by Thomas Shapiro, pp. 1-6, Part 1
introduction, pp. 8-9, and “Why Inequality,” by Claude Fisher, et. al., pp.
9-15 in Great Divides.
Assignment: Non-graded Assignments # 1: Letters of Introduction Due
Sept. 6
Current Economic Trends and American Life
Readings: “Economic Restructuring and Systems of Inequality,” by
Maxine Baca Zinn and D. Stanley Eitzen, pp. 16-19; “A Half Century of
Incomes,” by Frank Levy pp. 19-22; “Social Immobility and the Land of
Opportunity” by Jay MacLeod, pp. 22-26 and “Wealth in America” by
Lisa Keister, pp. 26-33 in Great Divides.
Class Identification Exercise
Sept. 8 Urban Realities: Social Location and Life Options
Readings: “The Continuing Causes of Segregation” by Douglas Massey
and Nancy Denton, pp. 235-250; and “The Savage Inequalities of Public
Education in New York” by Jonathan Kozol, pp. 392-410 in Great
Divides.
Video: “Children in the City,” Part I
Distribute Assignment # 1:
Sept. 13
Rethinking our National Origins: A Land of Opportunity for Whom?
Readings: Jacqueline Jones, A Social History of the Laboring Classes,
Introduction and Chapter 1-3, pp. 1-88.
Video: Africans in American Part 4
Sept. 15
Northern Industrialization: Linking History and Theory
Readings: Jacqueline Jones, A Social History of the Laboring Classes,
Chapter 4, pp. 89-117 and Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, “Manifesto of
the Communist Party,” pp. 36-43 and Heidi Hartman, “Capitalism,
Patriarchy and Job Segregation by Sex,” pp. 53-57 in Great Divides.
Assignment # 1 Due
Sept. 20
Racial Divisions in the Modern Economy
Readings: Jacqueline Jones, A Social History of the Laboring Classes,
Chapter 5, pp. 118-144 and W.E.B. DuBois, “The Problem of the
Twentieth Century is the Problem of the Color Line,” pp. 188-193 and
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Michael Omi and Howard Winant, “Racial Formation” pp. 193-199 in
Great Divides.
Video: Chinese Immigrants
Sept. 22
The Beginning of the American Century
Readings: Jacqueline Jones, A Social History of the Laboring Classes,
Chapter 6, pp. 145-171 and Max Weber, “Class, Status and Power,” pp.
45-53 in Great Divides ed. by Thomas Shapiro.
Sept. 27
Economic Crisis and the New Deal
Readings: Jacqueline Jones, A Social History of the Laboring Classes,
Chapter 7, pp. 172-203.
Video: The Great Depression, Part 2: The Road to Rock Bottom. Check
on the status of the film.
Distribute Non-graded assignment # 2
Sept. 29
Class and Power in the New World Order
Readings: Jacqueline Jones, A Social History of the Laboring Classes,
Chapter 8, pp. 204-232.
Non-graded assignment # 2 Due
Oct. 4
Sociological Thinking About Social Class
Readings: Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore, “Some Principles of
Stratification,” pp. 76-84; C. Wright Mills, “The Structure of Power in
American Society,” pp. 139-145 and Eric Olin Wright, “A General
Framework for the Analysis of Class,” pp. 96-111 in Great Divides ed. by
Thomas Shapiro.
The three sociological pieces were written in 1945, 1958, and 1985,
respectively. Think about how the authors’ writing was influenced by the
historical era during which they lived.
Oct. 6
Modern Stratification and American Life
Video:
Assignment # 2 Due: Inequality in Historical Perspective
Oct. 11
Racial and Ethnic Stratification and Identity
Readings: Ronald Takaki, “A History of Multicultural America,” pp.
213-223 and Mary Water, “Optional Ethnicities: For Whites Only?” pp.
200-206.
Review for Mid-term examination
Oct. 13
Mid-term Examination
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Oct. 18
Economic Restructuring: Who Gains and Who Loses?
Readings: Richard J. Barnet and John Cavanagh, “Mass Production in
Postmodern Times,” pp. 112-120; Glenda Laws, “Globalization,
Immigration, and Changing Social Relations in U.S. Cities,” pp. 121-131
and Douglas Massey, et. al., “New Migration, New Theories,” pp. 132139 in Great Divides ed. by Thomas Shapiro.
Distribute Writing # 3 and Group Discussion
Oct. 20
Race in Contemporary Inequality
Readings: and Melvin Oliver and Thomas Shapiro, “Black Wealth/White
Wealth,” pp. 265-277; Marta Tienda and Haya Stier, “The Wages of
Race,” pp. 224-234; Elijah Anderson, “Beyond the Melting Pot
Reconsidered,” pp. 264-270 and Alejandro Portes and Ruben Rambaut,
“Not Everyone is Chosen: Segmented Assimilation and Its Determinants,”
pp. 271-283 in Great Divides.
Oct. 25
Gender in Part of the Equation
Readings: Barbara J. Risman, “Gender as Structure,” pp. 292-299;
Elizabeth Higginbotham, “Women and Work: Exploring Race, Ethnicity
and Class,” pp. 345-354; and Barbara Reskin and Irene Padavic, “Women,
Men and Work in the Twenty-First Century,” pp. 366-377 in Great
Divides ed. by Thomas Shapiro.
Group Discussions
Oct. 27
Poverty in the Modern Age
Readings: Kathryn Edin and Laura Lein, “Making Ends Meet at a Lowwage Job,” pp. 173-185; Lis Catanzarite and Vilma Ortiz, “Family
Matters, Work Matters?” pp. 165-172 in Elijah Anderson, “Campaigning
for Respect,” 207-213 in Great Divides ed. by Thomas Shapiro.
Nov. 1
Social Mobility or Class Reproduction
Readings: Ralph Turner, “Sponsored and Contest Mobility and the School
System,” pp. 73-78; Roslyn Arlin Mickelson and Stephen Samuel Smith,
“Can Education Eliminate Race, Class, and Gender Inequality,” pp. 411418 in Great Divides and Diedre Royster, The Invisible Hand, Chapters 1
and 2, pp. 1-36. Suggested: If you want to read more about Edna
Bonacich’s theory, see her selection “A theory of Ethic Antagonism” pp.
57-70 in Great Divides.
Nov. 3
Race and Networks and the Persistence of Prejudice
Readings: Diedre Royster, The Invisible Hand, Chapters 3-5, pp. 37-103.
Nov. 8
Exploring Durable Racial Inequality: What Role Can Schools Play?
Readings: Diedre Royster, The Invisible Hand, Chapters 6-8, pp. 104194
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Nov. 10
Nov. 15
Educational Paths: Does Class Matter?
Readings: Peter Cookson, Jr. and Caroline Persell, “The Vital Link: Prep
Schools and Higher Education” pp. 380-391 and Roslyn Arlin Mickelson,
“Why Jane Reads and Writes of Well,” pp. 354-366 in Great Divides
Nov. 15
Elite Groups
Readings: G. William Domhoff, “The American Upper Class,” pp. 156164 and Jeffrey Reiman, “Weeding Out the Wealthy,” pp. 146-155 in
Great Divides.
Nov. 22
Social Policy: Visible and Invisible
Readings: William J. Wilson, “Racial Antagonisms and Race-Based
Social Policy,” pp. 284-290 in Great Divides ed. by Thomas Shapiro.
Writing Assignment # 2 Due
Nov. 24
Thanksgiving Holiday Break
Nov. 29
Theorizing about Stratification
Readings: Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill, “Theorizing
Difference from Multiracial Feminism,” pp. 308-314 in Great Divides.
Dec. 1
Group Meetings to Prepare Oral Presentations on Social Class and
the Media
Dec. 6
Oral Presentations on Social Class and the Media
Writing Assignment # 3 Due
TBA
Final Examination