Course Overview

Welcome to Social Stratification. This course is designed to offer a deeper empirical and theoretical understanding of stratification and inequality. The first half of the course will focus on the US class structure. The second half of the course will demonstrate how sociologists have theorized the causes and consequences of stratification both within the United States and cross-nationally.

My ultimate goal is to encourage you to think critically about the causes and consequences of stratification in the United States. To this end, it is imperative that you participate in the discussion forum and review each other's online assignments. Only by interacting with other students can your perspective be challenged and refined.

[top of page]

Course Objectives

The objectives of this course are to help you

• increase your awareness of the drastically different standards of living in the United States
• assess the class position of individuals and groups
• understand the theoretical background to determine why stratification exists, and how it can be altered
• identify sources of stratification
• critique policies and how they impact stratification.

[top of page]

Required Reading

The primary text used in this class is available at Friday Center Books & Gifts at the Friday Center. You may purchase it in person, online, or by printing out and mailing or faxing in a book order form. If you purchase the textbook elsewhere, please be sure to buy the correct edition (the sixth edition). It can take up to two weeks to receive books from online stores.

Harold R. Kerbo. 2005. Social Stratification and Inequality. McGraw Hill. (ISBN: 0072997699)

Other articles are available free online from JSTOR, which is available through the UNC Libraries online resources. Off-campus students will need to enter their UNC Onyen and password to access the articles. See Library Services for Distance Education Students for more details.

• Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore. 1945. "Some Principles of Stratification." American Sociological Review 10: 242-49. Access Article
• Herbert Gans. 1972. "The Positive Functions of Poverty." American Journal of Sociology 78: 275-289. Access Article
• Michael Useem. 1980. "Corporations and the Corporate Elite." Annual Review of Sociology 6: 41-77. Access Article
• Peter Blau. 1974. "Presidential Address: Parameters of Social Structure." American Sociological Review 39:615-635. Access Article

The remaining article is from the Annual Review of Sociology, also available free online through UNC Libraries. Off-campus students will need to enter their Onyen and password to access this article:

• Lisa Keister and Stephanie Moller. 2000. "Wealth Inequality in the United States." Annual Review of Sociology 26: 63-81. Access Article

[top of page]

Assignments

I use a variety of assignments to encourage discussion, understanding, and critical thought.

Short-Answer Assignments

The short-answer assignments will ensure that you comprehend the readings. These include multiple-choice and true/false questions that many instructors might include in midterm or final exams. I don't have a traditional midterm or final because I don't think it is necessary for you to memorize these details. However, to ensure that you comprehend the reading, I ask you to complete the short-answer assignments after reading the chapters. You may use your book and class notes to complete the assignment, but you may not consult with other students.

Short-answer assignments are administered through Blackboard. After you have submitted your assignment you will receive your grade and the correct answers to the questions. Please be sure to read through the answers to help you better understand the reading. Please submit your answers by the due date. The link to the assignments will disappear after their due dates. You may view the assignment more than once, but you may only submit your answers once. Do not distribute these assignments to others outside of the class. Please do not discuss the answers on the discussion forum as others might not have completed the assignment. Direct questions to me at moller@email.unc.edu.

Discussion Forums

I expect you to complete the required readings before participating in the discussion forum topics for the week. This will permit all students to participate fully in the discussion forum. It will also ensure informed conversations. I will post the discussion forum topics each week to encourage a critique of the literature and application to current events. Of course, students are also welcome to initiate their own discussions.

I expect full participation in the discussion forum after the short-answer assignments are due each week. For most lessons, I allow time to use the discussion forum after short-answer assignments are due. For example, the short-answer assignment for Lesson 2 is due a week before Lesson 3 begins. Therefore, during that week you should be completing your discussion forum assignments and participating regularly in the discussion forum conversation. The exception to that strategy is Lesson 1, where I ask you complete the first part of the discussion forum assignment, in which we introduce ourselves on the forum, before beginning the reading. This will allow us to get to know each other at the beginning of the course.

I encourage you to check the discussion forum EVERY day (you don't have to comment every day, but I do expect you to comment regularly). Participation in the discussion forum is worth 20 percent of your final grade. Please do not let this concern you. It is not my goal to fail students, but I do expect you to challenge yourself and others in the forum.

The discussion forum is designed for you to discuss issues amongst yourselves. If you have specific questions for me, then feel free to e-mail me. I will monitor the discussion forum and respond when appropriate. However, I will give other students an opportunity to comment on your questions and issues before I comment. I would like the discussion forum to be a discussion among class members and not simply multiple conversations between me and individual students.

Budget Assignment

The budget assignment is designed to emphasize the economic differences between classes. The first part of the budget assignment will ask you to create a budget for a family of four living the "American Dream." The second part will ask you to revise the budget to support a middle-class family, and the final part will ask you to revise the budget to support a poor family. Please post your budgets to the discussion forum as instructed. The discussion forum will be used to discuss and critique the differences between your budgets. Your grade will be based on adequate and thoughtful completion of the assignment along with your participation in the discussion of the assignment. I want you to share with the class the challenges you faced completing the budgets and what you have learned from the assignment.

Essay Assignments

The essay assignments are designed for students to apply and critique the readings. These essays are used in place of traditional exams to test your understanding of the literature. I encourage you to discuss the essay assignments on the discussion forum. Your essays will be much stronger and will receive higher grades if you help each other think through your ideas. You may include ideas from the discussion forum in your essays, but you must write them in your own words. You may not discuss the essay assignments with others outside of the discussion forum. Your essays should be grounded in the readings and class notes.

Please write your essay in Microsoft Word (four to five pages) and submit the Word file in Blackboard's Assignments section by the due date. (Or save your essay as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file if you don't have Word). Please type your name at the top of the assignment, above the first paragraph. Late assignments will be penalized. Essays will be graded and returned within a week.

Final Essay Exam

A final essay will be required in place of a final exam. A link to the instructions for the final essay will appear in Blackboard's Assignments section at the time indicated in the course schedule. Submit your final essay as a Word document or Rich Text Format (.rtf) file.

[top of page]

Learning Strategy

I include class notes with each lesson to help clarify some points, and to expand on the reading. I do not summarize the reading in the class notes. I chose Kerbo's text because I believe he does a fine job of presenting the stratification literature. I recommend that you complete each lesson in the following order:

1. Complete the reading assignment.
2. Complete the short-answer assignment.
3. Post questions regarding the reading to the discussion forum. If you are confused, then others probably are, too.
4. Complete the other assignments (the budget, Web, and discussion forum assignments). You should complete these assignments last because they are designed to help you apply the readings. These assignments should be completed before moving on to the next lesson.

[top of page]

Late Assignments

In order for this class to run smoothly, it is imperative that students turn assignments in on time. Links to each assignment will be made available about a week before you are scheduled to begin working on them (see the course calendar in Blackboard for the schedule). This will allow students who know they will go on vacation, or have a paper due in another class, or have an important report due at work, to finish the assignment early. I discuss the assignments, primarily the essays, on the discussion forum after they are completed and graded. I am unable to post this discussion until I receive all essays. Therefore, late assignments will be penalized five percentage points each DAY they are late. This is a strict, non-negotiable policy. I recommend that you aim to complete assignments at least two to three days before they are due so that you have extra time in case you get sick or have a family emergency. Due dates are posted in each lesson.

[top of page]

Communication

Feel free to contact me if you have questions. I do ask that you post questions regarding the reading, essay assignments, or class notes to the discussion forum. This will give students an opportunity to discuss challenging aspects of the reading. If you do not feel that the discussion forum provides useful guidance regarding your question, then e-mail me.

[top of page]

Honor Code

As a student of UNC-Chapel Hill, you are bound by the University's Honor Code: "It shall be the responsibility of every student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to obey and support enforcement of the Honor Code, which prohibits lying, cheating or stealing when these actions involve academic processes or University students or academic personnel acting in an official capacity." Plagiarism is a particularly serious Honor Code violation. If you are uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism, contact me.

[top of page]

Course Mechanics

Blackboard

Some of your class components (discussion forums, short answer assignments, and exams) are accessed through a software package called Blackboard, and you will need to login to Blackboard using a unique identifier known as your UNC Onyen (Only Name You'll Ever Need) and Onyen password.

If you do not already have a UNC Onyen, go to the Onyen Web site and follow the instructions for creating an Onyen. If you have an Onyen but have forgotten it (or the password), you will find help on the Onyen Web site.

Use your Onyen to login to Blackboard, then click on the "SOCI 412 CCO Spring 2008" link. You will see navigation buttons on the left taking you to the Discussion Forums, Gradebook, and so on.

If you experience problems accessing Blackboard, this is what you should do:

• If you do not already have a UNC Onyen, go to the Onyen Web site and follow the instructions for creating an Onyen.
• If you have an Onyen but have forgotten it (or the password), you will find help on go to the Onyen Web site.
• If you have your Onyen but can't log in to Blackboard, contact Janice Durham at the Friday Center.
• If you can log in to Blackboard but can't find this course listed, contact Janice Durham at the Friday Center.
• If you can't locate an exam or discussion forum in Blackboard, contact the Instructional Designer.
• If you have other technical problems while using Blackboard, contact Blackboard Help (use the Help button in Blackboard, or call 919-962-HELP).

Library Services and E-reserves

Students enrolled in Carolina Courses Online can access online library resources from the UNC Library System by linking to Library Services for Distance Education Students. This site includes information on using general online reference works as well as accessing e-reserves.

If you are using an off-campus computer, you will need to enter your UNC Onyen and password to access the readings. The UNC library staff is available to assist any students who have difficulties accessing online library resources. If you encounter difficulties, please report your problem by visiting this Web page for reporting a problem.

E-mail

All communication from your instructor will go to your UNC Onyen e-mail address (the one that appears when you post to the discussion forum). Off-campus users can access their UNC e-mail using Webmail. You can have your e-mail forwarded to a different e-mail address by clicking “Forward e-mail” at the Onyen Web site.

If you use a filter on your e-mail account, you are responsible for ensuring that it does not prevent you from receiving messages from me, the course listserv, or Friday Center staff. Hotmail users should be aware that Hotmail will block messages sent from within Blackboard because Blackboard uses “blind carbon copy” to protect privacy. We recommend that you use your UNC Onyen e-mail account rather than forwarding to Hotmail for this course.

It is your responsibility to maintain copies of your sent e-mails, as there is no way to guarantee that any e-mail message will be delivered. Please check your e-mail software to see how it manages sent and saved messages. Some software automatically deletes messages one month after they have been sent; others only save messages if they are filed in folders; others save messages received but not those sent. To have a record of an e-mail message you sent, you may need to send yourself a copy of your e-mail at the same time you send it to your instructor, or you may need to print a copy of the e-mail message and any attachments to keep in your paper files. No matter how your system works, make sure you know how to save a copy of all e-mail messages and that you save the copy for several months beyond the end of the course.

Submitting Assignments

It is extremely important for you to save copies of your assignments. If I don't receive your work, you must have a duplicate copy. Please do not e-mail assignments to me. If you are unable to access assignments via Blackboard or if you are unable to upload assignments, please contact the Instructional Designer. Also see Blackboard's Help section.

Other Questions

Contact me with questions regarding the content of the course and your progress. There is an e-mail link to your instructor at the top of every lesson page. Please include "SOCI 412" in the subject line of your e-mail.

Contact the Instructional Designer at the Friday Center about problems with this Web site, including bad links.

If you have any logistical questions as you work through the course (enrollment, Onyen, credits, withdrawal, and so on), contact the Student Services staff at the Friday Center for Continuing Education (phone 919-962-1134 or 800-862-5669).

[top of page]

Lesson Schedule

[top of page]

Lesson 1