SOCIOLOGY 4035

Required Readings for the Final Exam

Gilbert & Kahl, chapters 8, 9, 10, 11
M. E. Gimenez, "The Class Nature of Poverty in the U.S." Relevant articles from the Eitzen and Baca Zinn readers chosen by you in the process of preparing for the exam. S. Rose, Social Stratification in the U.S.

Study Questions

  1. Who rules America, a power elite or a national capitalist class? Why? Be specific, presenting C. Wright Mills' theory as well as the main criticisms and alternatives to his views.
  2. Discuss in detail the economic and social basis of the national capitalist class.
  3. What are the major mechanisms or channels through which the national capitalist class exerts its power? In your view, is it possible to identify one as the most important or, instead, are they interrelated so that they are all equally necessary? Be specific and give examples.
  4. Marx and modern sociologists consider class consciousness a most important phenomenon. Why? Which are the conditions which, according to Marx, are liley to give rise to class consciousness among workers? Can you identify, among the current socioeconomic changes taking place today in the U.S. and elsewhere, conditions conducive to the resurgence of class consciousness in the U.S.? Why? Give sociological reasons to support your view.
  5. What is the difference of class consciousness and class psychology? What are the main correlates of class psychology and class identification in the U.S. and other industrial countries? Do those correlates affect all peple, regardless of race and gender? Why?
  6. What is poverty? How do social scientists and policy makers define it and explain it? Is poverty likely to be eradicated from industrial societies? Why?
  7. Poverty is not determined by gender, race, ethnicity, or age: it is a class issue. Explain, using the arguments I developed in my article as well as insights from your other readings.
  8. Suppose you are asked to give a lecture on the American class structure to a group of newly arrived immigrants who know nothing about the U.S. other than what they see in the movies and T.V. What would you tell them? Present an outline of the major points you would make, using information from your readings and the S. Rose book to support each one. How would you characterize the system as a whole?