Sociology 4035 Fall, 1992

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

Professor: Martha E. Gimenez
Office: Hunter 206
EMAIL: GIMENEZ_M@CUBLDR.COLORADO.EDU
Telephone: 492-7080

OFFICE HOURS: T 10:00 - 12:00 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.

Grades will be based on the best three scores from four exams including the (comprehensive) final. The exams will be part objective and part short-essay questions. The exams are scheduled for September 30, October 28, November 23, and December 15 (the final exam).

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:

Harold Kerbo, SOCIAL STRATIFICATION AND INEQUALITY. Class Conflict in Historical and Comparative Perspective. McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1991. Second Edition.

Steven Rose, THE AMERICAN POSTER BOOK.

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. *

McKinley L. Blackburn and David E. Bloom, "What is Happening to the Middle Class?," pp. 135-143 in D. Stanley Eitzen and Maxine Baca Zinn, THE RESHAPING OF AMERICA. Social Consequences of the Changing Economy. Prentice-Hall, 1989.*

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.*

Elaine Enarson, "Women's Realities, Women's Choices: An Introduction to Theories of Women's Oppression," pp. 221-240 in Berch Berberogly, ed. op. cit. above.*

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.

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

IMPORTANT: Bring Steve Rose's AMERICAN POSTER BOOK and your poster to class everyday. We will use them frequently and some of your exam questions will be based on the information provided by both book and poster.

Aug. 26-31 Kerbo, Chs. 1 and 2

Sept. 2-14 Kerbo, Chs. 2, 3, and 4

Sept. 16-28 Kerbo, Chs. 5 and 6

               Marx, Weber,  and Davis and Moore on Class and
               Stratification -  Handouts

Sept. 30       FIRST EXAM

Oct. 2-9       Kerbo Chs. 7 and 8
               Recent Data on Wealth Concentration

Oct. 12-26     Kerbo, Chs. 9 and 10
               Blackburn and Bloom, "What is Happening to the    
               Middle Class?
               Gimenez, "The Class nature of Poverty in the
               United States..." 
               Enarson, "Women's Realities, Women's Choices..."
               Omi and Winant,"Racial Formations"

Oct. 30        SECOND EXAM

Nov. 2-11      Kerbo, Chs. 11 and 12
               Marx on Ideology - handout

Nov. 13-25     Kerbo, Chs. 13, 14 and 15

Nov.30-Dec.2 Review

Dec. 4 THIRD EXAM

Dec. 7-9 COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

December 14 FINAL EXAM 3:30 pm