Social Stratification SOCI 333, CRN 10701

Winter Term 2012

Course Days: Tuesday and Thursday Course Time: 11:35 AM to 12:55 PM Class Location: Maas Chemistry Building 217 Prof. Giovani Burgos Office: Leacock 839 Office Hours: By appointment Teaching Assistant: "Ali Zeren" ali_zeren@yahoo.com Course Description: Every society in the world is socially stratified along different dimensions. Societies, groups, and individuals can be stratified along the lines of sex & gender, race & ethnicity, social class, religion, and politically--among other forms of stratification. This course examines patterns of stratification, theories of stratification, ideologies that give rise to social systems of inequality and that, also, help maintain systems of inequality. The focus will be comparative in nature and mostly examines inequality in the U.S. and Canada. Explanations of the causes of economic, social, and political inequalities in other parts of the world will also be covered throughout the readings and discussed in class. Course Organization: Class time will combine lectures, structured class discussions, and short films. Readings: It is crucial that you keep up with the readings. To provide you with a well-rounded education in stratification, the reading load is not light. In fact, this course has a heavy reading load. I trust, however, that you will find the readings very enjoyable, which makes the reading load less daunting. This means that you should keep up with the readings if you plan to do well in this course. Do the readings before each class. Course Pack (CP) readings will be available ONLY on WebCT. For an optimal learning experience, you should read all assignments before the beginning of the week. The class webpage, http://www.mcgill.ca/webct, will function as the primary source of information exchange. Be sure to check the webpage before each class for updated materials such as handouts and readings. Classrelated documents will be in Adobe Portable Document Format (.PDF)). Acrobat files can easily be downloaded and printed with the free acrobat reader. You may download the free acrobat reader from www.adobe.com. Everyone is expected to complete ALL assignments on time and be fully prepared for class sessions and exams. Class Participation: Students are responsible for all announcements made in class. There will be a series of 10 short assignments that will evaluate your level of class preparation. Participation marks may consist of in-class written assignments, short quizzes, or a short take home assignment to be turned in the following class period. In other words, you must attend class to maximize your chances of getting credit for the in-class or take-home assignments. The in-class assignments are restricted to 10 minutes and are primarily closed-booked. This means that you may no refer to any readings while you complete the assignment. However, some in-class assignments will be open-book. Note: To receive credit for in-class assignments, you must be in class the day it is given out AND the day the assignment is returned. No exceptions will be made, for whatever reason, including illness, travel plans, and/or other unexpected contingencies. The lectures are designed to provide a theoretical overview and grounding of the assigned readings. The

Social Stratification SOCI 333, CRN 10701

Winter Term 2012

goal of each lecture is to introduce a broad framework from which to critically assess assigned readings. Lectures are not based on specific readings for the week, but rather, they are designed to supplement the readings. Because lecture material might not be posted on WebCT and is only available during class time, students are well advised to attend class regularly to do well in this course and to visit me and/or the teaching assistant (TA) during office hours for clarification. Routine class participation is highly encouraged since you will be tested on materials and discussions that take place in class.

Course Grading and Requirements:

Grades are based on 2 Quizzes (20% and 25% each), a term paper (45%), and attendance (10%). Final grades are calculated in the following manner: First Quiz Second Quiz 10-Page Term Paper Participation Total: 20% 25% 45% 10% 100% Thursday, February 16 Thursday, April 05 Monday, April 16 Soc Drop Box Randomly Throughout Semester

Quizzes: Each Quiz can consist of multiple-choice, true-false, and may contain short-answer questions.
Material from lectures, discussion, films, and assigned readings will be covered on the quizzes. You will be responsible for all material covered up to the point of the quiz. The first quiz and the second quiz are not cumulative. This means that the first quiz will cover materials from the first day of class up to the day of the first exam. Similarly, the second quiz will cover material after the first quiz to the day of the second quiz. Grades will be posted on WebCT.

10-Page Research Paper: You are expected to write a 10-Page research paper for this course. You
should find a topic that is dear to you and that you are excited or even angry about. Further details will be provided on WebCT. You are encouraged to consult with Professor Burgos and Ali Zeren (TA) early and often during the semester as you find a topic and build your argument. I return emails right away and I encourage you to set up a meeting with me and/or the TA as soon as possible. After careful research, you should take a stand on your chosen issue, and provide recommendations on how to fix the problem (e.g., what should be done to rectify the situation). To support your paper stance, you should draw on class materials (e.g., readings, discussions) and your own timely research. Writing this paper will afford you the opportunity to actively and critically engage the materials covered in the course. The breakdown of the paper is as follows: 1) Summarize the issue, and the stance/position that you are taking. Be sure to explain why your stance is important (2 pages and 25% of Paper Mark). 2) Provide a convincing argument for your elaborated stance. You should provide supporting evidence from (6 pages and 50% of Paper Mark): a. Your own timely-research: articles from journals, books, newspapers, and b. Magazines. c. The assigned course readings.

Social Stratification SOCI 333, CRN 10701

Winter Term 2012

d. Lecture material. e. Your own personal observations. 3) Logical conclusion and recommendations (2 pages and 25% of Paper Mark). 4) Supporting documentation includes Title Page, Abstract, References, Figures, and Appendix. In short, the 10-page limit excludes all supporting documentation. Put differently, the supporting documentation is additional to the 10-page limit required from steps 1-3 above. The research papers will be graded according to content and writing styleespecially how the argument is related to the course, how persuasive it is, and examples given. The paper should be no longer than 10 double-spaced pages, in 12 pt Times font and with 1-inch margins. Your sources must be from academic journals (Canadian Journal of Sociology) or respected newspapers (e.g., LINKS: International Journal of Socialist Renewal, Globe and Mail, or New York Times). Website information from blogs and other personal opinion sources is not acceptable. I will post parts of the American Sociological Association Style Guide on WebCT so that you can properly cite your work. All cited works for the paper should be recent, as much as possible. You will be penalized for turning the paper in late or for exceeding the 10-page limit. Again, the ten-page limit does not include supporting documentation. You will lose one letter grade for each day that the paper is turned in late and for each page the paper goes over the page limit. Please do not ask if you can exceed the page limit or turn your paper in late; you can, but the above grading criteria will be applied regardless of the reason for turning the paper in late. Again, I will provide further details on WebCT and useful writing tips to reflect common issues, concerns, and questions by students.

REQUIRED BOOKS
All books are available at the paragraph bookstore located on McGill College. For questions about the books, contact: Peter Mandelos, Director, Paragraph Bookstore, 2220 McGill College Ave. Montreal, QC H3A 3P9, Tel: (514) 845-5811 - Fax: (514) 845-6917. The Books are also on reserve at the Red Path Library. *Course Pack (CP) Readings: Available on WebCT ONLY.

Alexander, Michelle. 2010. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press. Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. 2009. Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Kerbo, Harold R. 2012. Social Stratification and Inequality: Class Conflict in Historical, Comparative, and Global Perspective. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Social Stratification SOCI 333, CRN 10701

Winter Term 2012

SCHEDULE OF TOPIC
Topic/Reading Assignment

PART I: INTRODUCTION
Week 1: January 10 and 12Introduction
Tuesday: Introduction to Course Thursday Lecture: What is the study of social stratification Kerbo, Chapter 1

Week 2: January 17 and 19Dimensions of Inequality

Tuesday Kerbo, Chapter 2Dimensions of Inequality in the U.S. Thursday Kerbo, Chapter 3Stratification in Human Societies: The History of Inequality

PART II: Explanations of Social Stratification Theories

Week 3: January 24 and 26Theories of Stratification
Tuesday: Kerbo, Chapter 4Social Stratification Theory: Early Statements Thursday: Kerbo, Chapter 5Modern Theories of Social Stratification *CP (Course Pack on WebCT), Grabb and Hwang, Intro: Conceptual Issues in the Study of Social Inequality in Canada

PART III: NORTH AMERICAN CLASS STRUCTURE

Social Stratification SOCI 333, CRN 10701

Winter Term 2012

Week 4: January 31 and Feb 02Upper Class

Tuesday: Kerbo, Chapter 6 The Upper Class Thursday: Book EhrenreichBait and Switch

Week 5: February 07 and 09Corporate Class

Tuesday: Kerbo, Chapter 7 The Corporate Class Thursday: *CP Grabb and Hwang: Chapters 1 & 2

Week 6: February 14 and 16Middle and Working Classes

Tuesday: Kerbo, Chapter 8 The Middle and Working Classes Thursday: *CP Book: Krugman The Return of Depression Economics

*********FIRST QUIZ******* February 20 to February 24STUDY BREAK Week 7 February 28 and March 01Poverty and Political Economy
Tuesday: Kerbo, Chapter 9 Poverty and Political Economy Thursday: *CP Book EhrenreichNickel and Dimed

Week 8: March 06 and 08Gender Stratification and Inequalities

Tuesday: Kerbo, Chapter 10 The Persistence of Ascription Thursday: *CP Grabb and Hwang: Chapters 13 to 15

Week 9: March 13 and 15Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity

Social Stratification SOCI 333, CRN 10701

Winter Term 2012

Tuesday: Kerbo, Chapter 11 Racial and Ethnic Inequalities Thursday: Book: Bonilla-Silva, Racism without Racists

PART IV: The Process of Social Stratification

Week 10: March 20 and 22Social Mobility
Tuesday: Kerbo, Chapter 12 Class Ascription and Achievement Thursday: *CP Grabb and Hwang: Chapter 17

Week 11: March 27 and 29The Process of Legitimation

Tuesday: Kerbo, Chapters 13Legitimization Thursday: Michelle Alexander. 2010. Jim Crow Book (the Whole Book)

PART V: Social Stratification Beyond the U.S. and Canada

Week 12: April 03 and 05 World Stratification
Tuesday: Kerbo, Chapters 14 & 15 Thursday: Kerbo, Chapters 16

*********SECOND QUIZ******* Week 13: April 10 and 12World Stratification: Globalization

Tuesday: Kerbo, Chapters 16World Stratification and Globalization Thursday: Lecture Future Directions and Emerging Trends in the Study of Social Stratification *CP Grabb and Hwang: Chapter 26
Term Paper Due Sociology Drop Box to the right of Leacock 712Monday April 16 I will pick up the papers on Tuesday morning.