This course examines how social, economical and political inequality is organized along the lines of class, age, gender, race, and ethnicity. Students are introduced to the major theoretical and ideological explanations (and justifications) for such inequalities and given the opportunity to engage in a critical examination of how power, ideology, and the distribution of material, cultural, and social resources continue to contribute to social injustice.
Ball, J. (2021). The Stacked Deck: An Introduction to Social Inequality (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3
Ball, J. (2016). The Stacked Deck: An Introduction to Social Inequality (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 9
Davis, Kingsley and Wilbert E. Moore. 1945. "Some Principles of Stratification," American Sociological Review, 10: 242-249.
Gans, Herbert. 1972. "The Positive Function of Poverty," The American Journal of Sociology, vol. 78 (2), pp. 275-289.
Tumin, Melvin. 1953. "Some Principles of Stratification: A Critical Analysis," American Sociological Review, vol. 18 (4), 387-394.
Urmetzer, Peter. 2017. "Poverty and Income Inequality in Canada," pp. 47-60 in Social Inequality in Canada: patterns, Problems, and Policies (6th edition), Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall.