SO 3060 - Social Inequality

This course explores the main mechanisms and institutions important in structuring inequality in the U.S., including education, labor markets, welfare policy and family structure, residential segregation and neighborhoods, health and the environment and the criminal justice system. Within each topic area, the course focuses on the significance of race and ethnicity, social class and gender. Special attention is also given to the popular and scientific explanations of inequality, especially with respect to the high and low ends of the distribution of income and wealth. (4 credits)