SOC 322 - Class Inequality
Fall 2012
Section 001: 3716 HBLL on M W F from 11:00 am - 11:50 am
Name: Ben Gibbs
Office Location: 2032 JFSB
Office Hours: M W 2-4pm
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.
Texts and Materials
Item
THE CLASSLESS SOCIETY (STUDIES IN SOCIAL
INEQUALITY) Required
by P, KINGSTON,
ISBN: 9780804738064
Vendor
Price
(new)
Price
(used)
BYU
Bookstore
$24.95
$18.75
BYU
Bookstore
$27.95
$21.00
UNEQUAL CHILDHOODS 2E Required
by A, LAREAU,
Edition 2
ISBN: 9780520271425
Grading Scale
Grade
Percent
A
93% to 100%
A-
90% to 92%
B+
87% to 89%
B
83% to 86%
B-
80% to 82%
C+
77% to 79%
C
73% to 76%
C-
70% to 72%
D+
67% to 69%
D
63% to 66%
D-
60% to 62%
E
0% to 59%
Point Breakdown
Assignments
Percent of Grade
Research Paper
Does Class Exist?
300
Exams
Midterm
300
Final
300
Summaries
Part One Summary
25
Part Two Summary
25
Part Three Summary
25
Part Four Summary
25
Total
1000 points
Schedule
Date
Subject
M - Aug 27
Welcome
W - Aug 29
Introduction to Class Inequality
Readings (due the date posted)
No Readings Due
Davis and Moore "Some Principles of Stratification"
F - Aug 31
PART ONE: Class Counts
M - Sep 03
Labor Day Holiday
W - Sep 05
Origins of the Debate on Class
Tumin "Some Principles of Stratification: A Critical Analysis"
F - Sep 07
Origins of the Debate on Class
Marx "Class in Capitalism and Pre-Capitalism"
M - Sep 10
Origins of the Debate on Class
Weber "Class, Status, Party"
W - Sep 12
Origins of the Debate on Class
Wright "Class Counts" pp.48-51
F - Sep 14
Modern Discussions
M - Sep 17
Modern Discussions
Auyero and Swistun "Amidst Garbage and Poison: An
Essay on Polluted Peoples and Places"
Massey "How Stratification Works" from Categorically
Unequal pp.1-27
Tilley "Of Essences and Bonds" from Durable Inequality
pp.1-15
David Brooks "Bobos in Paradise"
Lareau "Introduction: Taking Stock of Class" (p.3-19, skip
the section "The Chapters: What Do They Show")
W - Sep 19
Modern Discussions
Dalton Conley "Reading Class Between the Lines: A
Reflection on Why We Should Stick to Folk Concepts of
Social Class"
Date
F - Sep 21
Subject
PART TWO: Unequal
Childhoods
Readings (due the date posted)
Unequal Childhoods Chapters 1 and 2
Part One Summary Due
M - Sep 24
Organization of Daily Life
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 3
W - Sep 26
Organization of Daily Life
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 4
F - Sep 28
Organization of Daily Life
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 5
M - Oct 01
Language Use
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 6
W - Oct 03
Language Use
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 7
F - Oct 05
Families and Institutions
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 8
M - Oct 08
Families and Institutions
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 9
W - Oct 10
Families and Institutions
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 10
F - Oct 12
Families and Institutions
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 11
M - Oct 15
Families and Institutions
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 12
W - Oct 17
Unequal Adulthoods
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 13
F - Oct 19
Unequal Adulthoods
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 14
M - Oct 22
Unequal Adulthoods
Unequal Childhoods Chapter 15
Review
W - Oct 24
Part Two Summary Due
Midterm Opens
F - Oct 26
No Class
Sa - Oct 27
M - Oct 29
Exam #1 in testing center
Midterm Closes
PART THREE: Classless
Society
Classless Society Chapter 1 and 2
W - Oct 31
Classless Society Chapter 3
F - Nov 02
Classless Society Chapter 4
M - Nov 05
Classless Society Chapter 5
W - Nov 07
Classless Society Chapter 6
F - Nov 09
Classless Society Chapter 7
Date
Subject
Readings (due the date posted)
Classless Society Chapter 8
M - Nov 12
Conduct Interviews
Classless Society Chapter 9
W - Nov 14
Conduct Interviews
Classless Society Chapter 12
So What?
F - Nov 16
Conduct Interviews
M - Nov 19
T - Nov 20
Part Three Summary Due
Research Groups
No Class
No Classes
F - Nov 23
Thanksgiving Holiday
PART FOUR: Future of Class
W - Nov 28
Work on Research Papers
Friday Instruction
W - Nov 21
M - Nov 26
Transcription Excerpts
Intersection of Race and
Housing, Race and the
Criminal Justice System
Immigration Post 9/11
Does Class Exist? Due
Rugh and Massey "Racial Segregation and the American
Foreclosure Crisis"
Devah Pager "Marked: Race, Crime, and Finding Work in
an Era of Mass Incarceration"
Massey "Postmodern Racialization" in Categorically
Unequal
Mark Regnerus "How different are the adult children of
parents who have same-sex relationships? Findings from
the New Family Structures Study" in Social Science
Research
F - Nov 30
The Importance and Perils of
Research on Gay Parenting
and the Black Family
Letter to the Editor, Johnson et al. in Social Science
Research
Gibbs and Downey "When and Why Does the Black/White
Gap in Cognitive Skills Emerge?"
Kate Ledger "The Moynihan Report, a Retrospective"
Milton Freidman "The Social Responsibility of a Business is
to Increase Its Profits"
M - Dec 03
Capitalism Reconsidered
Amartya Sen "Adam Smith's Market Never Stood Alone"
Zygmunt Bauman "The Uniqueness and Normality of the
Holocaust" in Modernity and the Holocaust
Conclusions
W - Dec 05
Part Four Summary Due
F - Dec 07
Exam Preparation Day
Class Inequality and the Scriptures
Date
Subject
Readings (due the date posted)
M - Dec 10
T - Dec 11
Final Exam:
3716 HBLL
W - Dec 12
2:30pm - 5:30pm
Final
F - Dec 14
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