Professor: Martha E. Gimenez Office: Ketchum 205A EMAIL: martha.gimenez@colorado.edu Telephone: 492-7080 OFFICE HOURS: T 10 to 12 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. ABOUT THE COURSE LIST All students are REQUIRED to join this list. Additional or substitute reading assignments, important deadlines, reminders, information and general discussion will be posted daily: READ THE COURSE EMAIL EVERYDAY TO KEEP INFORMED. To subscribe to strat-list send email to listproc@lists.colorado.edu in the message write: subscribe strat-list first name last name example: subscribe strat-list Jon Stewart Send your messages to: strat-list@lists.colorado.edu Professor Gimenez' HOME PAGE ONLINE RESOURCES: SOCIAL STRATIFICATION HOME PAGE Explore the course home page and adjacent pages: In these pages, students will find previous syllabi, exams, study questions, and useful links to data and sources of information that supplement, in important ways, the required readings. Throughout the semester, I will be adding new links, including those you find and send me through email. Students who make good contributions to the course page, updating or submitting new links accompanied by comments (at most two screens in length) indicating their relevance to the course, will be awarded extra credit. COURSE DESCRIPTION: The study of class, class power, race/ethnic, sex, and age stratification. Theories of social inequality will be examined to assess their relevance for understanding the intensification of social inequality in the United States and elsewhere, taking into account globalization and the global dimensions of social stratification. Social stratification is not just a sociological concept; it is the reality that shapes everyone's life and the paramount characteristic of today's world. Understanding the sources and effects of inequality and the manifold ways it impinges on people's lives, on our lives, is one of the main objectives of this course. General Course Objectives: At the end of the semester, students should be able to understand the key elements of the main classical and contemporary theories of social stratification describe the historical conditions that generate and reproduce current patterns of social, economic and political inequality. define social class and social stratification and describe some of the complex relationship between these different kinds of inequality. to define gender, racial/ethnic, age and other systems of inequality and discuss their interconnections in modern societies. describe the main characteristics of social stratification in the United States, placing it in a comparative context. describe the effects of social stratification upon the life chances of people in different class and socio-economic locations. contrast and compare the main theories of social stratification, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and ability to illuminate the realities of social stratification in the United States. develop an understanding of the global stratification system and the connections between the place of nation states within that system, and national stratification systems. 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. Class participation will be assessed by the quality of the comments made. Guidelines to prepare for class participation: I. Students should read the assigned materials, take notes, and ask and find answers to questions such as, for example: what are the author's main arguments? What new concepts does the author introduce? What am I learning from this author, or chapter, or article? How do these readings relate to my learning in previous courses and to what I know and experience as a member of this society? How am I reacting to these readings? Do they support or challenge my values, beliefs, knowledge? what do I find confusing, difficult to understand, wonderful, abhorrent, etc. in these readings? Bring your notes and answers to class everyday. Be prepared! Class attendance and participation can improve your grade II. Every student IS REQUIRED to complete this response sheet and email it by 1 pm every Friday, starting on Friday, August 26. This assignment is GRADED READING RESPONSE SHEET Name: Date: Concepts for Review: One topic, idea or theory I found confusing: One topic, idea or theory I found interesting: Topics or theories I'd like to discuss in class: Lectures will be brief and focused on theoretical analysis and integration, establishing the connections between the theories, research findings and other information examined in the course, thus setting the background for students' participation. Lectures will be related to but WILL NOT necessarily cover every aspect of the assigned readings; they are designed to supplement, NOT to replicate the readings. Grades will be based on the following: Response sheets (30 percent) Mid-term exam composed of multiple choice and short essay questions. Date: October 12 (25) percent of the grade) Final exam composed of three essay questions. Date: December 9 (45 percent of the grade) Improve the quality of your writing with these WRITING TIPS Improve your learning skills following these very useful General Tips IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Disability Policy If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services (DS) early in the semester so that your needs may be addressed. DS determines accommodations based on documented disabilities (303-492-8671, Willard 322, www.colorado.edu/sacs/disabilityservices) Religious Holidays Policy Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. In this class, a class missed to observe a religious holiday will not be counted as an absence. If you have to miss an exam because of a religious holiday, please notify me two weeks in advance, so that we identify an alternative date for fulfilling that course requirement. See full details at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html Appropriate Classroom Behavior Policy Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat all students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which they and their students express opinions. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. See polices at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code Academic Integrity Policy All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/ Plagiarism Policy "Plagiarism (Portrayal of another's work or ideas as one's own), Cheating (Using unauthorized notes or study aids, allowing another party to do one's work/exam and turning in that work/exam as one's own; submitting the same or similar papers in more than one course without permission from the course instructors)" and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Please see additional information about academic dishonesty in http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/Code1.html and learn about the new Student Honor Code System in http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/Home.html Sexual Harassment Policy The University of Colorado at Boulder policy on Discrimination and Harassment (http://www.colorado.edu/policies/discrimination.html, the University of Colorado policy on Sexual Harassment and the University of Colorado policy on Amorous Relationships applies to all students, staff and faculty. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been the subject of discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at http://www.colorado.edu/odh CELL PHONES AND PAGERS MUST BE TURNED OFF BEFORE ENTERING THE CLASSROOM REQUIRED READINGS: Books: Harold R. Kerbo, Social Stratification and Inequality, Sixth Edition. McGraw Hill, 2006. Please keep in mind that in the scheduled readings, K will refer to Kerbo ONLINE REQUIRED READINGS CLASS MATTERS - SPECIAL SERIES OF ARTICLES IN THE NEW YORK TIMES: http://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/class/ Jean Anyon, "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work" http://www.pipeline.com/~rgibson/hiddencurriculum.htm REQUIRED READINGS ON RESERVE AT NORLIN LIBRARY K. Marx and F. Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party: Section on Bourgeois and Proletarians Max Weber, Class, Status, Party Kingsley Davis and W. Moore, Some Principles of Stratification Melvin Tumin, Some Principles of Stratification: A Critical Analysis. IMPORTANT: You will find the readings by Marx and Engels, Weber, and Davis and Moore in these books: Thomas M. Shapiro, ed., GREAT DIVIDES. Readings in Social Inequality in the United States Rhonda Levine, ed., SOCIAL CLASS AND STRATIFICATION; Classical statements ad theoretical Debates You will find Tumin's article ONLY in R. Levine's book OPTIONAL READINGS Denny Braun, THE RICH GET RICHER. The Rise of Income Inequality in the United States and the World. Nelson-Hall Publishers, 1991. Dalton Conley, BEING BLACK, LIVING IN THE RED. race, Wealth, and Social Policy in America. University of California Press, 1999. Barbara Ehrenreich, FEAR OF FALLING. The Inner Life of the Middle Classes. Harper Perennial, 1990. Lynda Ann Ewen, SOCIAL STRATIFICATION AND POWER IN AMERICA. The view from Below. General Hall, 1998. Louis Kushnik and James Jennings, eds., A NEW INTRODUCTION TO POVERTY. The Role of Race, Power, and Politics. New York University Press, 1999. Andrew Milner, CLASS. Core Cultural Concepts. Sage, 1999. Katherine Newman, DECLINING FORTUNES. The Withering of the American Dream. Basic Books, 1993.* Kevin Phillips, THE POLITICS OF RICH AND POOR. Wealth and the American Electorate in the Reagan Aftermath. Random House, 1990. Paula Rothenberg, ed., RACE, CLASS & GENDER IN THE UNITED STATES. An Integrated Study. St Martin's Press, 1992. Maurice Zeitlin, THE LARGE CORPORATIONS AND CONTEMPORARY CLASSES. Rutgers University Press, 1989. SCHEDULED READINGS Important: From the very beginning of the semester read all the assignments, particularly Marx and Engels, Weber, Davis and Moore, and Tumin; write down concepts which you do not understand, ideas and conclusions that you find unclear as well as the main issues and questions you think these and other sociologists contribute to the study of stratification. Keep those notes with you and bring up these questions and the authors' contributions every time you think they are relevant to the topics we are examining in class. Weeks 1 - 2, 8/22-31 K - Ch. 1, Perspectives and Concepts in the Study of Social Stratification Learning Objectives Ch. 2, Dimensions of Inequality in the U.S.: Class, Gender and Race Learning Objectives Week 3, 9/5-7 K - Ch. 3, Social Stratification in Human Societies: The History of Inequality Learning Objectives Week 4, 9/12-14 K - Ch. 4, Social Stratification Theory: Early Statements Learning Objectives K. Marx, Bourgeois and Proletarians Week 5, 9/19-21 K - Ch.5, Modern Theories of Social Stratification Learning Objectives Davis & Moore Tumin's Critique Week 6, 9/26-28 K - Ch. 6, The Upper Class Learning Objectives K - Ch. 7, The Corporate Class Learning Objectives K - Ch. 8, The Middle and Working Classes Learning Objectives Week 7, 10/3-5 K - Ch. 8, The Middle and Working Classes Learning Objectives K - Ch. 9, Poverty and the Political Economy of Welfare - Counting the Poor Learning Objectives Week 8, 10/10-12 K - Ch. 9, Poverty and the Political Economy of Welfare - Counting the Poor Learning Objectives K - Chs. 10 and 11, The Persistence of Ascription Learning Objectives Learning Objectives October 13-14 FALL BREAK Week 9, 10/17-19 K - Chs. 10 and 11, The Persistence of Ascription Learning Objectives Learning Objectives Weeks 10-11, 10/24-11/2 K - Chs. 10 and 11, The Persistence of Ascription Learning Objectives Learning Objectives K - Ch. 12, Social Mobility: Class Ascription and Achievement Learning Objectives REVIEW Weeks 12, 11/7-9 K - Ch. 13, The Process of Legitimation Learning Objectives K - Ch. 14, The World Stratification System Weeks 13-14, 11/14-21 K - Ch. 14, The World Stratification System K - Ch. 17, World Stratification and Globalization: The Poor of this Earth November 25 Thanksgiving Break Weeks 15-16, 11/28-12/7 K- Chs. 15 and 16, Social Stratification in Japan and Germany REVIEW December 8 - LAST DAY OF CLASSES FINAL EXAM December 9 10:30 - 1:00 Credits: Writing Tips from Professor Mary Klage's English 2010 Page        Return to MARTHA'S HOME PAGE