Mount Ida College
SO 302 – Social Inequality
Fall, 2010

(For printable version click here.)

Instructor: Dr. Madeleine Cousineau
Hours: Mon 1–3; Tu/Th 9:30–10:30
(other times by appointment) 		Office: Academic Tech Center, Rm. 232
 Telephone: 617–928–7304
Email: mcousineau(at)mountida.edu
mrcousineau(at)comcast.net

PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE
This course presents the structural causes of social inequality, with an emphasis on class and a brief introduction to racial and sexual inequality. Classes include both lectures and discussions, and student input is encouraged. Specific course objectives are:

  • To understand the economic roots of social class inequality

  • To distinguish between individual and structural inequality

  • To explore the causes and consequences of racial and sexual inequality

  • To strengthen skills in writing, critical thinking, team work, and oral communication

READINGS
Two books are assigned for this course:
      Martin N. Marger, Social Inequality: Patterns and Processes (Fourth Edition)
      Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

There will also be one hand-out due on November 11.

Due dates for reading assignments are at the end of this syllabus. 

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
Study questions based on the readings the readings may be found on the Angel Learning Network by clicking on the Lessons tab and then on the link for Weekly Written Assignments. Typewritten answers to these questions must be handed in each Wednesday. You may skip one assignment in October and one in November. (In other words, you must hand in 12 out of 14 assignments.) However, you will still need to do the readings for those weeks because the tests are based on them. Since the class will be divided into small groups for discussion of the readings, please coordinate with the members of your group, so that no more than two people in each group are skipping the written assignment for any one week. If you choose to do 13 or 14 assignments, 1 or 2 of your lowest grades will be dropped. Late assignments will lose 10 percent of the grade for each week that they are late.

[CAUTION: If you skip more than 2 assignments, the additional ones will be averaged in as zeros, which will have serious consequences for your final grade.]

Other written assignments will include short questionnaires handed out in class and three pairs of short interviews to be conducted among students outside of this class. Interviews may not be skipped or handed in late, because the results will be analyzed all together and reported in class.

(back to top) 

EXAMS
There will be a midterm exam on October 19 and a final during the exam period. The exams will be based on information from lectures and readings, as well as on concepts that may be found on the website by following the “study guide” link. It is important to study the concepts each week, rather than try to learn them all at once.

ATTENDANCE

Your contribution to the class is valuable, both for yourself and for the other students. For this reason, attendance is required. Being absent five times will result in an automatic F for the course. Late arrival will count as one-third of an absence. If there are special circum­stances affecting your attendance, please let me know. To be excused for a religious holiday, you will need to let me know one week in advance that you will be absent on that day.

PLEASE NOTE: Class cancellations will be posted on Angel. There is no ten minute rule in this course. If a class is not cancelled, students who leave after ten minutes will be marked absent.

INDIVIDUAL NEEDS

If you have a documented learning disability, please let me know by September 14, so that appropriate testing accommodations and other help may be made available to you if needed.

 

COMMUNICATION

You are welcomed to drop in during my office hours, to talk with me after class, or to make an appointment. At other times the best way to reach me is by email. If a message is urgent, please send it to both of my addresses: mcousineau(at)mountida.edu and mrcousineau(at)comcast.net. Announcements are posted on Angel. Please check it every week.

GRADES 
 Grades are determined as follows:

Distribution of Points Points to Final Grade
Midterm exam.............................. 331/3 points 93-100
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82
77-79 		A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+		 73-76
70-72
67-69
63-66
60-62
< 60		 C
C- 
D+
D
D-
F
Final exam................................... 331/3 points
Average of written assignments... 331/3 points
Total............................................ 100 points

Grades of C-minus or lower will be reported as midterm warnings. 

Students may earn extra credit for each of the following once a week: (1) extra help sessions with the instructor;  (2) writing a typewritten reflection of at least one full page on the content of a class. Ten points will be added to the grade of the written assignment for that week. In addition, the written assignments include extra credit questions that may increase the grade by up to ten points. 

All students are graded according to the same standards and final grades are non-negotiable.

(back to top)

ACADEMIC HONESTY  
 Honesty is an absolute requirement in this course. It is obvious that cheating is harmful to the student who does it, since that student is not learning as much as he or she could learn by studying. In addition, it is also unfair to other students, who may study hard for a test and get lower grades than students who cheat. For these reasons, there is a policy of ZERO TOLERANCE for cheating on any assignment or test. Students who are caught cheating or encouraging others to cheat will be dismissed from the course with a grade of F. In the case of plagiarism on written assignments, students will be given a warning for the first offense, to allow for the possibility that it was unintentional, and dismissed on the second offense.

Plagiarism is using someone else's ideas without giving credit to the original author.  This includes: (1) copying all or part of another student's assignment; (2) copying word-for-word from the Internet, a book, or an article for an assignment or open-book test without using quotation marks around the words copied; (3) taking ideas from the Internet, a book, or an article without giving credit to the source. Some­times students may think that they have not understood a reading assignment very well, and that if they copy the words of the author they will be sure to get it right. However, these students need to realize that professors know what is in the reading assign­ments, and will recognize the words that the students copied. Use reading assignments to develop your own ideas, but do not copy the words of others.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
We all have a right to be respected. In this class each person is expected to treat other students and the professor with courtesy and respect, to listen when others speak, and to refrain from distracting behavior. In addition, in order to ensure that everyone feels accepted and supported, negative com­ments related to race, ethnicity, immigration status, religion, age, disability, gender, or sexual orientation are not permitted. Students who disregard any of these principles will be asked to leave the class until they have a meeting with me to discuss appropriate classroom behavior. The intent of this policy is to create an environment in which all students may feel comfortable while maximizing their learning potential. 

BARKS, BEEPS, AND TWEETS
Seeing eye dogs and other helper animals are welcomed in the classroom, but all other non-human companions will be asked to stay outside.
Please keep in mind that a class is a community of learners. Conversations among students before and after class strengthen that community. So please turn off your cell phone, iPod, and any other electronic devices before you enter the classroom. There is to be no text messaging during class.

 

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

Interview forms 
handed out

Interview forms
due

 Exams

September 28

October 26

November 16
October 12

November 9

November 30
Midterm: October 19

Finals: December 15–20 
(Please do not make plans to travel before Dec. 20.)

(back to top)

CALENDAR

I. Introduction (August 31–September 9)
Read by September 7: Marger, Social Inequality, Chapter 1, and pages 25, 28–30, 37–39, 45–48 of Chapter 2
II. Social Class in the United States (September 14)
Read by September 14: Marger, Chapter 3.

III. Poverty: The Underclass and the Working Poor (September 16–October 7)
Read by September 21: Marger, Chapter 6;
Read by September 28: Ehrenreich, Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2;  
Read by October 5: Ehrenreich, Chapter 3, Evaluation, and Afterword.

 I N T E R V I E W S   D U E   O N   O C T O B E R   1 2
IV. The Classes in the Middle and the Global Economy (October 12–14)
Read by October 14: Marger, Chapter 5.

  

M I D T E R M    E X A M   O N     O C T O B E R   1 9

V. The Prospects for Upward Mobility (October 21)
Read by: October 21: Marger, Chapter 7.
VI. The Upper Classes (October 26)
Read by October 26:

Marger, Chapter 4.
VII. Power, Politics, and Public Policy (October 28–November 11)
Read by November 2:
Read by November 9:		 Marger, Chapter 13;
Marger, Chapter 9 + handout.

I N T E R V I E W S   D U E   O N   N O V E M B E R   1 3
VIII. Racial and Ethnic Inequality (November 16–23)
Read by November 16:
Read by November 23:		 Marger, Chapter 10;
Marger, Chapter 11.

I N T E R V I E W S   D U E   O N   N O V E M B E R   3 0
IX. Sexual Inequality and Gendered Expectations (November 30–December 2)
Read by December 2: Marger, Chapter 12.

X. Ideology and Change (December 7–9)
Read by December 9:
 		 Marger, Chapter 8 + 384–388 of Chapter 13.
 

    

F I N A L    E X A M S  :    D E C E M B E R   1 5 – 2 0