SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
Dr. Myron Orleans; Soc. 436; 3 Units; W 7:00-9:45; H5414; Sp., 2001
Tel: 278-3868; Fax:
278-2001; e-mail: morleans@fullerton.edu
Office: H-725L; Office
Hrs: Wed 5:00-7:00pm; Thurs 5:00-7:00.
Course Objectives:
· To examine the hierarchical differentiations characterizing human society with a particular focus on the United States.
· To analyze the ideological and practical justifications offered for the existence of social inequality.
· To present conceptual and methodological tools for the analysis of the lifestyles and life chances of diverse social groupings.
· To promote an understanding of the various kinds of relationships that occur within structural levels and between members of different social strata.
·
To develop skills in working productively with
economically disadvantaged people.
Texts:
EVERYDAY
INEQUALITIES: CRITICAL INQUIRIES, edited by Jodi O'Brien and Judith A. Howard,
Blackwell Publishers, 1998. (O&H)
Online Book Price
Comparisons: www.bookarea.com
Requirements:
Project—You
will submit a paper approximately 5 pages in length describing and analyzing
the micro-stratificational
structure, ranking system, perceived equity, and power practices
of any organized collectivity. You will study hierarchical interaction by
personally observing and interviewing the members of a specific organization,
agency or formal social grouping of your own choosing. You will analyze
the data that you collect using ideas developed in this course, including class
lectures and the text materials. For each description of an event, offer
an interpretation of the stratificational significance of the event using a highlighted sociological term from the
course or a direct quotation from the texts. Cite the source of the concept
with a date in parentheses followed by a period and cite the authors' names and
page reference to the text in parentheses followed by a period.
Substantial applications of concepts and at least 10 brief quotations from
diverse sections of both texts are expected. Insert appropriate
organizational headings and conceptual subheadings for each
section. Introduce your paper with an issue or process of sociological
interest that is evident in this situation.
Conclude your paper with an overall assessment of the degree of
structural inequality of the enterprise and the consequent level of employee
commitment or discontent. Please wordprocess the paper. Use a 12 point
font with 1" margins and make certain that your printout is easily
readable. Single space with a blank line between paragraphs. Please
do not refer to yourself in the first person. Remain in the past tense
throughout the paper. You are invited to discuss the paper or review drafts of
the paper anytime prior to submission.
Due on May 16.
A graduate
student sample paper.
An
undergraduate student sample paper.
Service Component—Students will provide service to economically disadvantaged individuals within a formal organizational setting for a minimum of 10 hours during the semester exclusive of training. Services may include tutoring, mentoring, social services, health and nutritional services, recreational activities, employment development, substance abuse counseling, violence reduction, family enrichment and other similar kinds of assistive functions directed at lower SES individuals. Proper certification of the program specifying the services that the student will provide must be provided by the director, principal, pastor, or administrator of the program on the organization's letterhead prior to the start time and no later than February 21. Ms. Christy Livingston will be overseeing and monitoring placements during the semester under a service-learning mini-grant from the CSUF Faculty Development Center. Ms. Livingston’s email address is: Karisma824@aol.com. Either Ms. Livingston or a field supervisor will validate a tally sheet of hours served, including a final total. A one-page single-spaced typewritten assessment of your activities, contributions to clients and learning benefits must be submitted with the tally sheet on May 16. [Students may participate in the Ruby Drive School computer tutoring program as a means of fulfilling this assignment. Information on this and other CLASC programs {tel.: (714) 278-3211} will be provided in class. Contact Susan Schuman, Director of Public Relations for the Volunteer Center of Orange County at (714) 953-5597 ext. 136, for other referrals.] Service may be coordinated with other internships or placements, but the student is required to provide services for lower SES individuals and meet the requirements of this course. Up to two absences may be made up by performing an additional three hours of service for each absence. No more than three hours service may be performed in any given week.
Presentations—The
class will be divided up into discussion/presentation groups. Students will organize and prepare oral
presentations and demonstrations to the class explaining assigned chapters from
the texts. A schedule of presentations
will be developed during the second meeting of the semester. Each student is likely to make two
presentations during the semester. Each
presenter will be responsible for providing a one-page synopsis of his/her
presentation that is to be included in a group packet to be distributed to all
members of the class. The presenter
will talk extemporaneously and is asked to explain the content and not read the
synopsis. Please make sure that your
name is on your synopsis and that the group’s presentation is organized into a
convenient packet for easy distribution to all members of the class. Visual means may be used to enhance
communication.
Essay Exam—An open notebook essay exam covering the topics discussed subsequent to the midterm will be given on May 23 at 7:30. Questions are linked to the class web page. A small blue book is required.
Attendance—Students
are asked to sign an attendance sheet at the start of each of the two sessions
of each class meeting. Students who arrive late or leave early may sign
the attendance sheet but, in fairness to all students, are required to note
this on the sheet next to their signature.
Grading
Policy:
1) The project is worth up to
40 points.
2) The service component tally sheet and the one- page assessment of the
service experience is worth up to 10 points with bonus points possible.
3) Group discussion and presentations
are worth up to 15 points.
4)
The essay exam is worth up to 25 points.
5) Students with a perfect attendance record receive 12 points toward the
final grade. Students who miss no more than one full class meeting (two
sessions) receive 11 points toward the final grade while 10 points are given if
a student misses no more than two full classes. Seven points are given if
no more than three full classes are missed and five points are given if there
are no more than four full class absences. No points are given if more than
five full class meetings are missed. Thus, a student who misses eleven
sessions loses 10 points out of 100.
5)
Up to 3 bonus points for web work.
**Failure to meet a stated deadline results in the loss of 3 points. **
Final Grade---The
student’s points are totaled and an appropriate letter grade is awarded in the
following manner: A=105-90; B=89-80; C=79-70; D=69-60; F=59-.
The highest grade for a student who receives an Incomplete for the course is a
"C".
Web Page:
Our course syllabus is posted on
the World Wide Web at the following address: http://hss.fullerton.edu/sociology/orleans/436.htm
This homepage will point you to sources of information that will significantly supplement
our course materials. Links to sites of relevance to stratification,
social class and inequality will be added as we proceed through the
semester. Please check our homepage regularly. E-mail additional
site addresses to me and I will add them as appropriate. Any suggestions
regarding this page would be very much appreciated. Up to 3 bonus
points may be awarded for significant contributions toward the development of
this course page, i.e, updating of links or suggesting additional links or contents.
For information on how to gain Web
access and e-mail via CSUF:
http://www.access.fullerton.edu/general.html
Course related links:
Please view and enjoy our own Journal of Mundane Behavior:
http://www.mundanebehavior.org/
EXPLORATIONS IN SOCIAL
INEQUALITY
Social
Inequality and Classes
Are Justice and Inequality
Compatible?
Annual Review Sociology Online
Blackwell
Publishers - Sociology Journals
CSUF Sociology
Department web page
Links to Sociology on
the Web
CSUF Library Links to Social
Science Resources on the Web
To subscribe to
the Social Class list
International Sociological
Association Research Committee on Social Stratification
General Directory for Listservs
Participate
in PSA conference
Topical Web sites
in sociology
We The People: an organization dedicated to
political reform and social justice
Some Relevant
Literary Classics
U.S. News: How booming Austin copes with growing wealth gap (2/21/00)
1) Introduction
Income
disparity, inequity and injustice
PC skills vs. a
living wage
Wage
disparities
LA's Pay Gap
2,3,4) Perspectives on
stratification:
Karl Marx; Max Weber; Recent Views;
Read (B) ch 1.
5) Prestige and Class; Presentations from (B) ch 2.
6) Social Mobility and social attainment; Presentations from (B) ch 3;11.
7) Micro-stratificational analysis
8) 9) Everyday Inequalities; Presentations from (O&H).
10) The Poor in America;
Read (B) ch 10.
Helping the poor
11) The Working class; Read (B) ch 9.
12 13) The Middle masses; Read (B) ch 8.
14) The Upper Crust; Read (B) ch 7.
15) Essay Exam.