Exploring Inequality A Sociological Approach

by Stuber, Jenny

• ISBN13: 9780199331123
• ISBN10: 019933112X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2015-08-31
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Exploring Inequality: A Sociological Approach uses a sociological lens to explore the topics of diversity and social inequality. This sociological perspective demonstrates how social identities--like sex, gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity, social class, and disability status--are socially constructed. The book also focuses on social inequality, illustrating how individual forces at the micro-level--along with structural factors on the macro-level--often perpetuate inequalities. In so doing, it shows that power and privilege, along with face-to-face meetings and interactions, structure the unequal worlds in which we live. Exploring Inequality explains how identities and inequalities that we take for granted are never static, but always changing-and how everyday examples of activism work to erode these inequalities.

Author Biography

Jenny Stuber is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of North Florida. In addition to her book, Inside the College Gates (2011), her research has appeared in Sociological Forum, The Journal of Contemporary Sociology, The International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and Teaching in Higher Education.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Can't We All Just Get Along? A Sociological Approach to Diversity

Unit 1: The Social Construction of Identity and Difference

2. Is Biology Destiny? Understanding Sex and Gender
3. Baby, Was I Born This Way? Understanding Sexual Orientation and Sexuality
4. More than Skin Deep? Understanding Race and Ethnicity
5. Living the American Dream? Understanding Social Class
6. Deficit or Difference? Understanding Disabilities

Unit 2: Socialization: The Process by Which We Become Who We Are

7. Enlisting in Gender Boot Camp: How We Become Gendered Beings
8. "We Make Each Other Racial": How We Become Racialized Beings
9. Calling Class to Order: How We Become Classed Beings

Unit 3: Of Prejudice and Privilege: A Sociologist's Tool Kit

10. Bigots, Cheats, and Unsportsmanlike Players: Understanding Inequality at the Micro-Level
11. Don't Hate the Player, Hate the Game: Understanding Inequality at the Macro-Level

Unit 4: Unequal Outcomes: The Interplay of Micro- and Macro-Levels

12. Graduating with Honors? Understanding Inequalities in Education
13. Lean In or Opt Out? Understanding Gender Inequalities at Work
14. Living to a Ripe Old Age? Understanding Inequalities in Health and Well-Being