Identities and Inequalities: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality

Abstract

This course syllabus explores sociological theories, research, and experiences of privileged and oppressed identities, including race-ethnicity, social class, gender, sexuality, and ability. Sociologists have many ways of conceptualizing identity-based inequality, and this couse will explore these various frames, focusing specifically on theories of...

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Details

Subject Area(s):

Race, Class and Gender

Resource Type(s):

Syllabus

Class Level(s):

College 300

Class Size(s):

Medium

Usage Notes

This syllabus is taught as an upper-level seminar at a liberal arts college. The seminars tend to be small with about 15 students enrolled. The course syllabus can be adapted to larger classes and the reading load reduced to fit a 200-level course.

The course is semester long.

The original course was designed to update Race, Class,...

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. Students will be able to identify essential concepts, theories, and research used in sociology to analyze privileged and oppressed identities and social inequality.
2. Students will be able to draw critical connections between the personal, lived experiences and sociological scholarship.
3. Students will explore how unequal identities are located in social institutions, including the family, education, employment, the media, health care, and the government.

Goal Assessment(s):

1. To assess Goal 1 of student understanding of essential concepts and theories, the students will write an essay that examines a current research article and applies concepts and theories learned in class.
2. To assess Goal 2, of drawing connections between lived experiences and sociological scholarship, students will read one of five assigned memoirs and write a research paper on the connections between the individual's life and the sociological scholarship.
3. To assess Goal 3, of examining inequality in different social institutions, students will each lead discussion on the readings assigned to one institution over the course of the semester.