| |
Aug 06, 2026
|
|
|
|
|
Undergraduate Catalog 2026-2027
|
SOC 208 Social Stratification Credits: (3)
Social stratification refers to systematic, patterned inequality in the access and distribution of opportunities, rewards and resources across social categories. Students will learn about the sociological approaches to understanding social stratification and inequality and the processes by which various statuses across the stratification spectrum come to be seen as undesirable, legitimate, or natural. This course focuses on industrialized societies, but does not preclude comparison to other economic systems and societies across the globe. Furthermore, the course addresses major forms of social stratification through a historical lens, especially those related to age, class, race, gender, and various social statuses related to work, privilege, wealth, politics and power. The course examines whether forms of stratification are inevitable, the relationship of industrialization and deindustrialization to stratification, and whether theories of a ruling class are well founded in post-industrial capitalism.
SUNY Gen Ed Area(s): DEISJ, Social Sciences
Designation(s): Liberal Arts
Learning Outcomes
- Apply major sociological theories and research methods to the study and analysis of social stratification in societies.
- Illustrate an understanding of the unequal distribution of socioeconomic resources, social statuses, life chances, and access to power and privilege for various groups in the US, including racial, gendered, aged, and classed groups.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the major quality of life indicators and be able to explain why they vary between social groups and across regions.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the differences in social stratification across historical periods.
- Differentiate social stratification systems across nations.
|
|
