SOCIAL INEQUALITY Fall Term 2013 Course Instructor: Martha Easton Email: measton@elmira.

edu Office Hours: and by appointment Phone: 735-1956 Office: Watson 212

Course Overview: Our society is unequal, and different groups of people are affected differently based on social group memberships such as race, class, and gender. This course will examine the causes, maintenance, and products of social inequality. We will look at stratification based on gender, race, social class, sexual orientation, age, religion, and ability. We will also look at issues of identity, distribution, and organizational inequality. Learning Objectives: 1. Students will be able to understand that social inequality is a social process that actively creates stratification 2. Students will be able to measure inequality through examining stratification in distribution, organizational experiences, and discrimination 3. Students will be able to assess different theories of explaining how inequality is maintained 4. Students will learn about different minority groups, and be able to analyze the relationship between minority and majority groups. 5. Students will be able to examine how people understand their multiple identities and social group memberships Requirements: Students are expected to attend class, although it is not required. You do not need permission if you cannot or choose not to attend class at any time. Students are also expected to participate in class and keep up with the assigned reading. I assume everyone has an A for participation, which means coming to class regularly, paying attention, and sometimes participating in class discussions. If you do not participate in some way, your grade may be affected. Grading: There will be a total of 300 points for this course. The point breakdown is as follows: Quizzes (3) [worth 25 points each; 75 points total] Final Exam [worth 75 points] Assignments (10) [worth 10 points each, 100 points total] Discussion Leadership [one time with group, worth 50 points]

Academic Honesty: All assignments are expected to be your own work. Online Policy: Please do not email assignments for this class unless you have made prior arrangements with me. All assignments are due online, in the drop-boxes on our ANGEL page, before class the day they are due. You may turn in assignments early; all assignments are listed in our syllabus. At any point, you may email me questions about the class, and Ill try to get back to you within 24 hours. The syllabus and other course material will be on ANGEL for you to download if you need them. Assignments: Quizzes: There will be 3 quizzes during the semester. These quizzes will be short, and will cover material from the readings and class discussions. Final Exam: The final exam will cover material and ideas from the entire class. It will be in essay form, and you will have a choice of questions. We will have a chance to review material in class before you take the final exam. Participation: While no points will be assigned for participation, you might lose points from your total grade if you do a very poor job of participating in class. Discussion Leadership: On discussion days (marked with ** in the syllabus), a small group will have the responsibility for presenting material on the topic for the day. The group is responsible for reading the assigned readings and working together to create a short presentation for the class and writing a set of discussion questions. After each presentation, we will break into small discussion groups to go through the questions. The purpose of the presentation is to get the class interested in and involved with the material. Do not summarize the readings, although you can highlight the main interesting points. You can certainly bring in extra material or discuss your own experiences or ideas. Cite all your sources. Aim for a presentation of about 10-15 minutes. We will sign up for groups and topics the first week of class. Please upload your final project material to the drop-box on our ANGEL page when you are finished. Assignments: We will have a total of 10 assignments in this class. The assignments are designed to get you to think more deeply about the topics we are discussing. I will collect assignments in class the day they are due. They will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Each assignment is explained in the syllabus for the day it is due. Upload the assignment to the drop-box on our ANGEL page on the day it is due. NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE DROP BOX CLOSES. IT DOES NOT MATTER THE REASON. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THE ASSIGNMENT IS TURNED IN ON TIME. Late Policy: Please watch the syllabus closely to make sure that you do not miss a duedate. Late assignments are not accepted for any reason. Only in VERY special circumstances can you make up a missed presentation or quiz. If you know you will have

a problem with a deadline in the class, please make arrangements BEFORE you miss the deadline. Note: Students with special learning needs should inform me at the beginning of the course so that reasonable accommodations may be made. Readings: We will use one main book for this class, and we will also have readings online (on our class ANGEL page). Please bring your book to class, and print out and bring any on-line readings for each day. Our book is: The Social Construction of Difference and Inequality, edited by Tracy Orr, 5th ed. (this is referred to as SCODAI in the syllabus) WEEK ONE (Sept 2) Monday: Introduction to the Course Wednesday: What is a minority? What is a Majority? What is a Minority? Online reserves Friday: Inequality: Power, Stratification, and Distribution The Distributive Dimension Online reserves

WEEK TWO (Sept 9) Monday: Power and Difference in Social Organizations The Organizational Dimension Online reserves Wednesday: Prejudice and Discrimination The Social Psychological Dimension Online reserves They are all the Same Online reserves Friday: Constructing Difference Constructing Difference in SCODAI

WEEK THREE (Sept 16) Monday: Quiz One in class Wednesday: NO CLASS: MOUNTAIN DAY Friday: Constructing Race: Racial Formations Racial Formations in SCODAI pp. 19-28 Constructing Race, Creating White Privilege online reserves The Phipps Case online reserve Assignment One: Susie Phipps case against the State of Louisiana is an example of the one drop rule used to determine racial identity. Mrs. Phipps is 29/32s white, and yet she was legally categorized as colored on her birth certificate in Louisiana. What does this case tell us about how race is socially constructed in the United States? Answer by writing a 1 page paper using at least one idea from the readings.

WEEK FOUR (Sept 23) Monday: Scientific Racism Perception of Reality online reserves Wednesday: Separate, Different, Violent, and Unequal The Black Codes online reserves An Act for the Better Ordering and Governing of Negroes and Slaves, South Carolina online reserves A Proclamation online reserves An Act Prohibiting the Teaching of Slaves to Read online reserves People v. Hall online reserves Dred Scott v. Sandford online reserve California Constitution, 1876 online reserve Elk v. Wilkins online reserve Plessy v. Ferguson online reserve Korematsu v. United States online reserve

Assignment Two: Pick any two of the laws we are reading for today. Write a paragraph for each one where you explain the impact of the law on the targeted racial group. Then explain in another two paragraphs, explaining how non-minority groups benefited from each of the two laws you chose. Friday: Color Blind? The Central Frames of Color Blind Racism online reserves I didnt get that Job because of a Black Man online reserves A Dozen Demons in SCODAI

WEEK FIVE (Sept 30) Monday: Race, Language, and Culture ** The Style of Color Blindness online reserves Racism in the English Language in SCODAI How to Tame a Wild Tongue in SCODAI Wednesday: The Dillingham Report Assignment Three. Write a 1-2 page paper using material from the Dillingham Report to Congress in 1910. The library has 8 volumes of this report on reserve. Pick any volume and go through it looking for interesting ideas and assumptions about race. Pay attention to the use of scientific data. Your paper should explain interesting things you find, using at least 3 specific examples.

Friday: Ethnicities ** Optional Ethnicities in SCODAI Becoming Suspects. In SCODAI How did Jews Become White Folks in SCODAI

WEEK SIX (Oct 7) Monday: Native Americans and Mascots Native American Mascots online reserves

The Dark Side of Sports Symbols online reserves Names, Logos, Mascots, and Flags in SCODAI Assignment Four: Use a fictional team nameThe Whites. Think of a mascot for The Whites. Think of what the costume of the mascot would look like, how it would act, what it would say, and what a cheer for the team might be. Write down your ideas, with sketches if you choose, and be prepared to discuss in class today. Upload your written notes to our ANGEL page. Wednesday: Whiteness and Race Privilege The Possessive Investment in Whiteness in SCODAI Whiteness as an Unmarked Category online reserves Friday: Quiz Two in class **this quiz will cover all the material up until this point in the class, but will be focused on the issue of race WEEK SEVEN (Oct 14) Monday: NO CLASS MIDTERM BREAK Wednesday: Constructing Social Class Class in America online reserves Doubly Divided: the Racial Wealth Gap in SCODAI Capitalism Hits the Fan in SCODAI Friday: What class are you? What class are you? Online reserves Assignment Five: Play the Chintz or Shag game from the link in online reserves. What class are you? Using your class as determined by the game, make a list of at least 10 other cultural or consumer objects that are highly associated with your particular class. Try to think of objects that are specific to your class.

WEEK EIGHT (Oct 21)

Monday: Wealth ** Why are Droves of Unqualified Kids Getting into our Top Colleges? online Their Hard-Earned Money Comes Stuffed in Their Genes online Preparing for Power in SCODAI Wednesday: Inheritance Stupid Rich Bastards online

Assignment Six. This assignment asks you to read the article Stupid Rich Bastards. Using the same autobiographical format, write your own social class autobiography of your time in college. Pay attention to how your own social class has specifically helped and hindered you here. Write 2-3 pages.

**We will play Inheritance Monopoly in class today Friday: Class, Consumption, and Culture ** Media Magic in SCODAI When the Joneses Wear Jeans online reserves Five Decades and Three Hundred Sitcoms in SCODAI

WEEK NINE (Oct 28) Monday: Poverty ** What Scholars can tell Politicians about the Poor online Deconstructing the Underclass online Families on the Fault Line in SCODAI Jobless Ghettos in SCODAI Assignment Seven: a common stereotype of poor people is that they get on welfare, stay on welfare for their entire lives, and have many children who go on welfare for their entire lives. This is not true. Who are the poor? Write one page using the readings and explain who really are the poor in America.

Wednesday: Class Mobility and the American Dream The Crumbling American Dream online

Friday: Quiz Three ** this quiz will cover all the material we have discussed and read in class so far. WEEK TEN (Nov 4) Monday: Constructing Gender The Social Construction of Gender in SCODAI The Five Sexes Revisited in SCODAI Wednesday: Gender, Patriarchy, and Power Patriarchy online Bisexuality, Feminism, Men, and Me online Homophobia as a Weapon of Sexism in SCODAI Assignment Eight: The readings for today suggest that homophobia is a tool that is used to keep women and men in their places. Explain how it works using 2-3 paragraphs.

Friday: Gender Inequality, Historically The Anti-Suffragists online Declaration of Sentiments online A History of Womens Bodies online WEEK ELEVEN (Nov 11) Monday: Men and Masculinity ** The Construction of Masculinity and the Triad of Mens Violence in SCODAI Masculinity as Homophobia in SCODAI Pigskin, Patriarchy, and Pain online Wednesday: Women Fast Girls online Missing in Interacton in SCODAI

The Motherhood Manifesto online Size Six, the Western Womens Harem online Assignment Nine: Read the three Love comic books posted in our ANGEL readings. These are from 1973 and have some very interesting ideas about women and womens roles. Pick 3 examples of womens roles from the comic books and write one paragraph explaining each. Then write a paragraph on what has or has not changed for womens roles today.

Friday: Sexual Identity The Invention of Heterosexuality in SCODAI Sexual Identity and Bisexual Identities in SCODAI Schools and the Social Control of Sexuality in SCODAI

WEEK TWELVE (Nov 18) Monday: Gays and Lesbians ** Gay and Lesbian Families are Here in SCODAI Naming all the Parts SCODAI Anti-Gay Slurs online Wednesday: Gays and Lesbians Friday: Dis/Ability ** Self, Identity, and the Naming Question in SCODAI Disability and the Justification of Inequality online Towards a Theory of Disability and Gender, online The Case of Sharon Kowalski and Karen Thompson online Assignment Ten: this college, like most, assumes that students are all able-bodied. What are some of the things that are built for or organized around the assumption that students here are able-bodied? Make a list of at least 10 things.

THANKSGIVING BREAK

WEEK THIRTEEN (Dec 2) Monday: Resistance ** Making Systems of Privilege Visible in SCODAI Living Fearlessly With and Within Differences in SCODAI Toward a New Vision in SCODAI Wednesday: Resistance ** Cultural Resistance in SCODAI Seeing More than Black and White in SCODAI pp. 768-781 How White People Can Serve as Allies online Friday: Wrap up and Review