MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE of HUMANITIES and SOCIAL SCIENCE

Chasin Main Page DEPARTMENT of SOCIOLOGY

SOCI 567-01 Dr. Barbara H. Chasin Fall 2005

R 5:30-800 pm DI 340

Office hours: WF 1:30-2:30. R 4:30-5:30: and by appointment. Ext. 7224, DI-309

Email: chasinb@mail.montclair.edu

Required Materials:

Dennis Gilbert, The American Class Structure in an Age of Growing Inequality, 6th edition. (Thompson/Wadsworth 2003)

Thomas M. Shapiro (editor), Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United States, 3rd edition. (McGraw-hill, 2005) Readings from Shapiro are indicated by the underlined number of the reading. You should look at the end notes to each selection when doing the reading.

Michael Parenti, SuperPatriotism (City Lights Books, 2004)

Additional material may be handed out or placed on reserve.

Written Work and Evaluation,

Midterm 30 points

Final 30 points

Paper on Parenti 10 points

Stratification journal 15 points.

Attendance, participation 15 points.

The midterm and final examinations will consist of take-home essay questions. There will be no extra credit work for low grades.

Topics and Readings

I. Perspectives on Social Stratification

A. Theories of Stratification: The Conflict Approach

Gilbert 1-11 Shapiro, page 4, section on “Class”

6 Marx and Engels, Manifesto of the Communist party

7 Weber, Class, Status and Party

Shapiro, 95-96; 13 Wright, A General Framework for the Analysis of Class

B. The Functionalist Approach

11 Davis & Moore, Some Principles of Stratification

III. Studying American Stratification; Concepts and Methods

Gilbert, 24-52, 61-67, 112-113 ; 11-19

IV. The Distribution of Wealth and Income

Gilbert 19-23, 72 -74; Chapter 4

1 Fisher, et al, Why Inequality

3 Levy, A Half Century of Incomes

5 Keister, Wealth in America

V. The Distribution of Power

17 Mills, The Structure of Power in American Society

Gilbert, Chapter 8

Parenti, SuperPatriotism; “Why the Corporate Rich Oppose Environmentalism,” (handout)

VI. Life Styles, Life Chances

A. Upper Class/Capitalist Class/Corporate Class

Gilbert 52-53, 111

19 Domhoff, The American Upper Class

41 Cookson and Persell, The Vital Link

B. Middle Class, Working Class

Gilbert 54-58; 74-82; 140-144, 164-168

14 Barnet and Cavanagh, Mass Production in Postmodern Times

Gilbert 113-139

Gilbert, 146-153; Chapter 7

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C. Underclass/Lower Class

Gilbert, Chapter 10

21 Edin and Wise, Making Ends Meet at a Low-Wage Job

4 MacLeod Social Immobility in the Land of Opportunity

18 Reiman, Weeding Out the Wealthy

25 Anderson, Campaigning for Respect

12 Gans, The Uses of Undeservingness

VII. Race/Ethnicity

Shapiro, 4-5 (Race and Ethnicity); 378; 186-189

Gilbert 69-72

23 Omi and Winnat, Racial Formation

26 Takaki, A History of Multicultural America

24 Waters, Optional Ethnicities

22 Dubois The Problem of the Twentieth Century is the Color Line

29 Oliver and Shapiro, Black Wealth/White Wealth

28 Massey and Denton, The Continuing Causes of Segregation

27 Tienda and Stier, The Wages of Race

16 Massey, et al, New Migrations, New theories

15 Laws, Globalization, Immigration and Changing Social Relations in U.S. Cities

31 Portes and Rumbaut, Not Everyone Is Chosen

30 Anderson, Beyond the Melting Pot Reconsidered

32 Wilson, Racial Antagonisms and Race-Based Social policy

42 Kozol, The Savage Inequalities of Public Education in New York; Martell Blunt critic on schools, integration (ereserve)

43 Michelson and Smith, can Education Eliminate Race, Class and Gender Inequality

46 Austin and Schill, Black, Brown, Red and Poisoned

44 Bullard, Environmental justice for All

VIII Gender

Shapiro, 5, 291-292

Gilbert 67-69; 144-145, 168-170

34 McIntosh, White Privilege and Male Privilege

8 Hartmann, Capitalism, Patriarchy and Job Segregation by Sex

20 Catanzarite and Ortiz, Family Matters, Work matters?

38 Higginbotham, Women and Work

40 Reskin and Padavic, Women Men and Work in the Twenty-First Century

IX Class Consciousness and Class Conflict

Gilbert, Chapters 9, 10

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