Sociology 4035 Fall, 1998

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

Professor: Martha E. Gimenez
Office: Ketchum 215A
EMAIL: gimenez@csf.colorado.edu
Telephone: 492-7080

OFFICE HOURS: Th 3:30 - 4:30 and by appointment.

VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS: All students are encouraged to ask questions using email. Questions and answers will be posted so that everyone benefits.

Course Description: The study of theories of social, race/ethnic, sex, and age stratification. Social inequality in the United States will be examined in a comparative context, giving emphasis to the analysis of resulting conflicts.

Course Requirements: This is a lecture and discussion course. Students will be expected to attend classes regularly, read all assignments and come prepared to participate in class discussions and structured debates. Lectures will be brief and focused on theoretical analysis and integration, setting the background for students' participation.

Written study questions will be distributed regularly and they will be discussed in class. The exam questions will be created on the basis of the study questions.

REQUIRED READINGS:

Leonard Beeghley, THE STRUCTURE OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION IN THE UNITED STATES. Allyn and Bacon, 1996 (second edition).

Rhonda F. Levine, ed.,SOCIAL CLASS AND SOCIAL STRATIFICATION. Classic Statements and Theoretical Debates. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1998.

Jay Macleod, AIN'T NO MAKIN' IT. Aspirations & Attainment in a Low-Income Neighborhood. Westview Press, 1995.

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READINGS

Denny Braun, THE RICH GET RICHER. The Rise of Income Inequality in the United States and the World. Nelson-Hall Publishers, 1991.

Martha E. Gimenez, "The Class Nature of Poverty: The Immiseration of the U.S. Working Class," pp. 185-196 in Berch Berberoglu, ed., CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES IN SOCIOLOGY. KendallHunt, 1991. *

Michael Omi and Harold Winant, "Racial Formations," pp. 26-35 in Paula S. Rothenberg, ed., RACE, CLASS, & GENDER IN THE UNITED STATES. St. Martin's Press, 1992.*

Kevin Phillips, THE POLITICS OF RICH AND POOR. Wealth and the American Electorate in the Reagan Aftermath. andom House, 1990.

Paula Rothenberg, ed., RACE, CLASS & GENDER IN THE UNITED STATES. An Integrated Study. St Martin's Press, 1992.

SCHEDULED READINGS

Aug. 25 - 27 Beeghley, Ch.1 Sociology and the Sudy of

     Stratification. 
     K. Marx and F. Engels, "Manifesto of the Communist Party"
     (Levine)

Sept. 1 - 10 same as above

     K. Marx, "On Classes;" Max Weber, "Class, Status, Party."
     W. Lloyd Warner, M. Meeker, and K. Eells, "What Social
     Class is in America."
     K. Davis and Wilbert E. Moore, "Some Principles of
     Stratification" (Levine).

Sept 15 - 17 same as above

     Melvin M. Tumin, "Some Principles of Stratification: A
     Critical Analysis." (Levine)

Sept 22 - 30 Beeghley, Ch. 2, Prestige and Class.

Ch. 3, Social Mobility and Status Attainment.

Oct. 1 - 8 Beeghley, Ch. 4, Poor People

     MacLeod, Ch. 1  Social Mobility in the Land of Opportunity.
     Ch. 2, Social Reproduction in Theoretical Perspective
     Chs. 3, 4, 5.

Oct. 13 - 15 same as above

Macleod, Chs. 6, 7, 8.

Oct. 20 - 22 Beeghley, Ch. 5, Working-Class People

Ch. 6, Middle-Class People

Oct. 27 -29 Beeghley, Ch. 7 Rich People

Ch. 8, Political Participation and Power

Nov. 3 - 10 Beeghley, Ch. 9 Gender Inequality

     F. Engels, The Patriarchal Family
     J. Mitchell, The Position of Women
     D. Lockwood, Class, Status and Gender

Nov. 12 - 24 Beeghley, Ch. 9, Racial and Ethnic Inequality

     W. E. B. Dubois, Double-Consciousness and the Veil
     G. Myrdal, Facets of the Negro Problem
     O. Cox, Race and Class

Dec. 1 - 8 REVIEW
Dec. 15 FINAL EXAM DUE