Social Stratification

Classical and contemporary approaches to the unequal distribution of goods, status, and power. Modern analytic models of the effects of social contact, cultural capital, family background, and luck in producing inequality. The role of education in stratification. The causes and consequences of inequality by race and gender. The structure of social classes, status groupings, and prestige hierarchies in various societies. Labor markets and their role in inequality. The implications of inequality for individual lifestyles. The rise of the new class, the underclass, and other emerging forms of stratification. Prerequisite: Ph.D. student or consent of instructor.