Massey, Douglas S., and Nancy A. Denton. [1993] 2005. "American Apartheid". Pp. 366-372 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
Taking an objective approach, Massey and Denton identify what they deem the most important factor in understanding race relations and the persistence of racial inequality: residential segregation. Once the most commonly cited explanation by sociologists, the separation of black and white neighborhoods was the basis for numerous studies and the eventual Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education, and its resultant school desegregation programs. Following this decision and the passing of the Civil Rights Act (1964), Voting Rights Act (1965), and the Fair Housing Act (1968), many politicians declared the problem was solved, civil rights leaders stopped pressing for reforms, and the term "segregation" fell into disuse.
Showing posts with label class. Show all posts
Showing posts with label class. Show all posts
Friday, June 24, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Excerpt: Divorce and Remarriage
Arendell, Terry. [1997] 2005. "Divorce and Remarriage". Pp. 253-262 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
The divorce rate in the United States is on the rise, and at current rates will reach 60% for first marriages and even higher for second marriages. Demographically, blacks and whites are the most likely to divorce, although rates are rising for other races/ethnicities. Considering such changes to the American family, Terry Arendell reports on the effects of divorce and remarriage on children who are caught in the middle.
The divorce rate in the United States is on the rise, and at current rates will reach 60% for first marriages and even higher for second marriages. Demographically, blacks and whites are the most likely to divorce, although rates are rising for other races/ethnicities. Considering such changes to the American family, Terry Arendell reports on the effects of divorce and remarriage on children who are caught in the middle.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Excerpt: Diversity in the Power Elite
Zweigenhaft, Richard, and William Domhoff. [1998] 2005. "Diversity in the Power Elite". Pp. 337-342 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
Since the massive influence of Horatio Alger's rags-to-riches stories in the 1870s, American culture has featured prominently the myth that anyone who wants something and works hard enough to get it will be successful.
Post-World War II, United States culture had entered a period that C. Wright Mills calls "the Great American Celebration", in which the ever-growing mass media celebrated the rise of the country out of the Great Depression, the social progress of FDR's New Deal, and the recent dedication to and victory in the Second World War. Claims of a classless society abounded, and especially with the GI Bill allowing millions of Americans to go to attend college and millions more to buy a house, claims of Horatio Alger-esque individuals rising up the social ladder became the norm. Mills challenged this cultural myth, pointing out that almost all the members of the power elite were white, Christian, wealthy, and male, and a majority came from "an even narrower stratum, the 11 percent of U.S. families headed by businesspeople or highly educated professionals like physicians and lawyers."
Since the massive influence of Horatio Alger's rags-to-riches stories in the 1870s, American culture has featured prominently the myth that anyone who wants something and works hard enough to get it will be successful.
Post-World War II, United States culture had entered a period that C. Wright Mills calls "the Great American Celebration", in which the ever-growing mass media celebrated the rise of the country out of the Great Depression, the social progress of FDR's New Deal, and the recent dedication to and victory in the Second World War. Claims of a classless society abounded, and especially with the GI Bill allowing millions of Americans to go to attend college and millions more to buy a house, claims of Horatio Alger-esque individuals rising up the social ladder became the norm. Mills challenged this cultural myth, pointing out that almost all the members of the power elite were white, Christian, wealthy, and male, and a majority came from "an even narrower stratum, the 11 percent of U.S. families headed by businesspeople or highly educated professionals like physicians and lawyers."
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Excerpt: Wealth Matters
Conley, Dalton M. [1999] 2005. "Wealth Matters". Pp. 143-148 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
This is a powerful article with a powerful point: social and economic class is not described by income, but by wealth. Dalton Conley contrasts two real families that are strikingly similar; both were young couples with two small children, both were low-income (at or just above the poverty line), both fathers were laid off from a sheet-metal factory and ended up taking minimum-wage jobs, and both had the same living expenses.
The only real difference between them was their assets. The first family owned their home, due to a loan from his parents and a mortgage co-signed by hers. The second family rented a "cheap" apartment in a bad neighborhood, which turned out to be more expensive in the long run; they lived under poor conditions, drained their savings, fought, and eventually divorced.
This is a powerful article with a powerful point: social and economic class is not described by income, but by wealth. Dalton Conley contrasts two real families that are strikingly similar; both were young couples with two small children, both were low-income (at or just above the poverty line), both fathers were laid off from a sheet-metal factory and ended up taking minimum-wage jobs, and both had the same living expenses.
The only real difference between them was their assets. The first family owned their home, due to a loan from his parents and a mortgage co-signed by hers. The second family rented a "cheap" apartment in a bad neighborhood, which turned out to be more expensive in the long run; they lived under poor conditions, drained their savings, fought, and eventually divorced.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Excerpt: Great Divides
Shapiro, Thomas M. [2004] 2005. "Great Divides". Pp. 136-143 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
In the introductory essay of his own anthology, Thomas M. Shapiro refers to the Great U-Turn (a curious trend in which all measures of social inequality in the modern era decrease during the 20th Century, reach their low point in the 1970s, and then begin to rise up exponentially) and suggests that this reversal could be the result of economic restructuring. As American society becomes increasingly unequal, it is increasingly important that we understand how these social strata are formed, what qualities characterize them, what shape the hierarchy takes, and the nature of interactions between and among members of the different strata.
In the introductory essay of his own anthology, Thomas M. Shapiro refers to the Great U-Turn (a curious trend in which all measures of social inequality in the modern era decrease during the 20th Century, reach their low point in the 1970s, and then begin to rise up exponentially) and suggests that this reversal could be the result of economic restructuring. As American society becomes increasingly unequal, it is increasingly important that we understand how these social strata are formed, what qualities characterize them, what shape the hierarchy takes, and the nature of interactions between and among members of the different strata.
Excerpt: The Communist Manifesto
Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. [1848] 2005. "The Communist Manifesto". Pp. 132-135 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
I have a copy of the full document elsewhere, and a quick comparison reveals that the excerpt has less than half the content of the original...
The essay, published in 1848, effectively defines the conflict perspective in terms of class: "the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles".
I have a copy of the full document elsewhere, and a quick comparison reveals that the excerpt has less than half the content of the original...
The essay, published in 1848, effectively defines the conflict perspective in terms of class: "the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles".
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