Inequality & Mobility in American Society:
From Penthouse to Poorhouse
Fall 2003
OLIN 306
MW
Instructor: David
A. Cotter
Office:
Social Science 215c
Phone:
388-6457
e-mail:
cotterd@union.edu
Office
Hours: Monday
It can be argued that the study of stratification is the
heart of sociology. In its essence the
study of stratification asks (and seeks to answer) the question of “Who gets
what and why?” (Lenski, 1966). There is nothing
that we as sociologists have contributed more to and there is nothing that is
more central to our discipline. This is
also a place in which sociologists (and other social scientists) have had
considerable impact on public perceptions and public policy.
In this course we’ll seek to look at the wide variety of
ways in which sociologists have approached this question and some of the
answers they’ve come up with. To that end
we’ll be critically examining the theoretical, methodological and substantive
directions pursued by sociologists interested in the two major elements of
systems of stratification: inequality and mobility.
Overall, by the end of the term I expect you to have a degree of familiarity and facility with:
· The central concepts and theories of stratification
· The methods and materials used by stratification researchers
· The overall patterns and trends in inequality and mobility in American society, and
· The contours of contemporary policy relating to inequality and mobility.
This course will rely heavily on reading “real sociology”
– quantitative and qualitative empirical and theoretical books and articles
written by sociologists (and others) largely for fellow sociologists and other interested publics. We’ll also supplement this with some
journalistic accounts. While much of the
reading is quite accessible, some of this material can be dense and difficult
going. Though we will work through it in
class, it’s largely up to you to determine what the authors are arguing, how
they support the argument and how well their evidence in fact supports that
argument. This is a tricky process, one
which many journalists and legislators often get wrong. Because of this, we will also talk about the
policy implications of the research – especially in light of existing public
policy.
Duncan, Cynthia M.
1999. Worlds Apart: Why Poverty Persists in Rural
Hays,
2003. Flat
Broke with Children: Women in the Age of Welfare Reform.
Levine, Rhonda F. ed.
1998. Social Class and Stratification: Classic
Statements and Theoretical Debates.
MacLeod, Jay.
1995. Ain’t No Makin’ It: Aspirations & Attainment in a Low-Income Neighborhood.
Oliver,
Melvin and Thomas Shapiro.
1995.
Black Wealth/White Wealth: A New Perspective on
Racial Inequality.
Shirk, Martha, Neil G.
Bennett and J. Lawrence Aber.
1999. Lives on the Line: American Families and
the Struggle to Make Ends Meet.
Assorted library/internet reserve items listed in schedule.
Course
Conduct
As noted above, the course depends on your continued preparation and participation. You should have completed the assigned readings before class. While some of each class period will be devoted to lectures, much of our time will be engaged in discussion and debate over the texts. We’ll also do several simulation activities, some hands-on data analysis, have some guest speakers and view some documentary films.
Course
Requirements and Assessment
Your Grade in this course will be based on three things:
1.
Your
in-class performance & Homework
2.
Four
short projects: You will be required to complete four projects for
this class. In each you will learn apply
the conceptual and methodological tools of a stratification researcher. More details on the specific assignments are
outlined below.
3.
Take-home
exam: A final exam consisting of three short and two longer
essay questions. Short means one to two
page answers, longer
The relative weighting for these is as follows
In class
performance & Homework = 25%
Short
Projects =
50%
Final
Exam =
25%
Course
Outline and Schedule
Weeks & Days
|
Topics, |
Week
One
|
Fundamentals
of Stratification: Forms, Causes & Consequences
|
|
Monday |
Introduction, From Penthouse to Poorhouse web page (http://www.union.edu/PUBLIC/SOCDEPT/cotterd/inequality/index.htm) |
|
Wednesday |
Levine Part I & II |
Week Two
|
Fundamentals of Stratification: Forms, Causes &
Consequences (cont’) |
|
Monday |
Levine Part
III Shirk, Bennett and Aber
“Introduction”, Ch 1 & 2 |
|
Wednesday |
Levine Part IV Shirk, Bennett and Aber, Ch 3
& 4 Due:Assignment One: Where do you stand? |
Week Three
|
Inequality in
|
|
Monday |
Oliver and Shapiro “Introduction” & Chapter 1 Differences
Among Americans in Living Standards in the 20th Century Claude
S. Fischer and Michael Hout http://ucdata.berkeley.edu/rsfcensus/papers/livingstandards.pdf |
|
Wednesday |
Oliver and Shapiro, Chapter 2-4 |
Week Four
|
Inequality in |
|
Monday |
Shirk, Bennett and Aber, Oliver and Shapiro Chapter 5 |
|
Wednesday |
Oliver and Shapiro Chapter 6 & 7 |
Week Five
|
From Rags to Rags & Riches to Riches: Who Gets
Ahead, How, and Why |
|
Monday |
Shirk, Bennett and Aber, MacLeod, Ch. 1-3 |
|
Wednesday |
MacLeod, Ch. 4-6 Blau
& Duncan “The Process of Stratification” (reserve) Sewell, Haller & Portes
“The Educational and Early Occupational Attainment Process.” (reserve) |
|
|
|
Week Six
|
Rags to Rags/Riches to Riches (continued) |
|
Monday |
Shirk, Bennett and Aber, |
|
Wednesday |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Week Seven
|
Creating Poverty
|
|
Monday |
Duncan Chapter 1 Shirk, Bennett and Aber, Due: Assignment
Three: Who gets ahead, who stays behind? |
|
Wednesday |
Duncan Chapter 2 “As American as Apple Pie: Poverty and Welfare” Mark R.
Rank (reserve) |
Week Eight
|
Poor People, Poor Places
|
|
Monday |
Duncan Chapter 3 |
|
Wednesday |
Duncan Chapter 4 Due: Assignment Three: Mapping Race/Ethnicity, Poverty &_______ in _______ |
Week Nine
|
Policies and Politics of Inequality (Continued)
|
|
Monday |
Hays Chapter 1 Mayer “ CQ Researcher “Welfare Reform” http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/
& search for welfare reform |
|
Wednesday |
Hays Chapters 2 & 3 |
|
|
|
Week Ten
|
Policies and Politics of Inequality (Concluded)
|
|
Monday |
Hays Chapter 4, 5 & 6 |
|
Wednesday |
Hays Chapter 7& 8 Shirk, Bennett and Aber, Due: Assignment
Four: Making Ends Meet |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brief
Description of Assignments (details to follow)
I will make sure to set aside time in class to work on assignments two and three which require computer skills that most of you won’t yet have. Trust me it’s nowhere near as hard as it looks these days.
Assignment One: Where do you stand?
For this assignment you’ll have two options:
1. How
would you define and measure “class” based on the readings
2. How do
you know what your own position in
the stratification system is? What first
made you aware of this position?
Assignment Two: Who gets ahead?
Who stays behind?
For this assignment you’ll use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and SPSS to analyze intergenerational mobility or attainment.
Assignment Three: Mapping Race/Ethnicity, Poverty & ______ in
_______
The Windows on Urban Poverty web site and some other resources will be used to test hypotheses about the “social ecology” poverty, segregation and inequality.
Assignment Four: Making Ends Meet when Life Happens
Here you’ll be asked to make ends meet on a budget given a certain hypothetical family structure. Your “materials” for this exercise will be the newspaper and some handouts based on local costs of living plus scenarios regarding family circumstances and happenstances.
Final Exam
The Final exam will consist of three short-answer
questions based on specific texts from the course, and two broader more
integrative questions spanning the entire course. These questions will be distributed during
the ninth week of class and the exams will be due