Social Inequality | Ira Sliver

Spring 2016
Sociology 263
Mondays/Wednesdays: 8:30am – 10:20am

Office: Crocker 109
Office Hours: Thursdays: 10-1 or by appointment
Phone: (508) 626-4864
E-mail: isilver@framingham.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course investigates how inequalities pertaining to class, race, and gender manifest themselves and are perpetuated within American society. Our emphasis will be on people’s lived experience within these hierarchies. We will explore a variety of explanations for the persistence of social inequalities.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

This course will enable you to:

Critically examine the deeply rooted and widely held belief that any person in our society can achieve mobility by putting forth sufficient effort and hard work.
Gain awareness of your own place within the American stratification system.
Become comfortable with expressing your ideas orally in front of your peers.
Write with focus, clarity, and brevity.

TEACHING STYLE:

The success of this course hinges on the productive exchange of ideas through discussions. While I will at times give short lectures, your active participation is essential. I am convinced that the more you each bring to class, the better it will go and the more that you will take from it. I may call on you to voice your ideas in the event that discussions begin to drag or if it becomes clear that only a handful of people are participating. My reason for taking the liberty to do this is to convince you that what you have to say matters. In a liberal arts course, there are often not “right” or “wrong” answers. Therefore, just contributing something to the discussion can be very constructive in productively moving it along.

ATTENDANCE:

I understand sometimes there are justifiable reasons for missing a class, but if you miss more than two it will affect your grade. If you have to be absent, please let me know. There is no need to give me a doctor’s note. It is your responsibility to catch up on material you missed.

READINGS:

There is one book to purchase either from the College Bookstore or online by clicking below:

Annette Lareau, Home Advantage: Social Class and Parental Intervention in Elementary Education. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2000.

The links for all other readings are posted below as indicated.

*Please bring assigned material to class. Either print it or bring a device to class so you can access it electronically.

GRADING AND EVALUATION:

Your final grade will be based on the following:

20%   Paper 1
30%   Paper 2
30%   Paper 3
20% Class attendance and participation

THE OPPORTUNITY DIVIDE: CLASS INEQUALITY IN THE U.S.

Wednesday, January 20^th

Course overview

*READ IN CLASS: Linda Tirado, “This Is Why Poor People’s Bad Decisions Make Perfect Sense.” The Huffington Post, November 22, 2013.

Monday, January 25^th

*READ: Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley, “The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3.” Education Review 2003.

Wednesday, January 27^th

*READ: Annette Lareau, chapters 2-3 in Home Advantage: Social Class and Parental Intervention in Elementary Education. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2000. This is the book required for purchase. If you do not yet have a copy of the book, you may access the readings here: Chapter 2 and Chapter 3.

Monday, February 1^st

*READ: Annette Lareau, chapters 4-5 in Home Advantage.

Wednesday, February 3^rd

*READ: Annette Lareau, chapters 6-7 in Home Advantage.

Monday, February 8^th

Snow day!

Wednesday, February 10^th

*WATCH: “First Generation”

*READ: Paul Tough, “Who Gets to Graduate?” New York Times Magazine, May 15, 2014.

Monday, February 15^th

NO CLASS – Presidents’ Day

Wednesday, February 17^th