All Sections: Tuesday, 11:10-12:30, Bolton 282 ID 351: Perspectives on Inequality Section 1: Thursday, 11:10-12:30; Bolton 282 Professor John Brueggemann Office: Tisch 216 Ext: 5421 email: jbruegge@skidmore.edu Section 2: Thursday, 11:10-12:30; Tisch 308 Professor Jennifer Delton Office: Tisch 323 Ext: 5269 email: jdelton@skidmore.edu Section 3: Thursday, 11:10-12:30, Tisch 208 Professor Sheldon Solomon Office: Tisch 153 Ext: 5312 email: ssolomon@skidmore.edu Section 4: Thursday, 11:10-12:30, Bolton 102 Professor Bob Turner Office: Ladd 316 Ext: 5251 email: rturner@skidmore.edu Introduction: What is the basis of social inequality? What forms or levels of inequality are acceptable or inevitable? Which ones are not? What circumstances in the United States related to inequality are unique to this setting? How can these questions be productively explored from different disciplinary perspectives? How do you know when you know something? What sorts of evidence will convince you to change your mind? What convictions do you hold not subject to empirical consideration? What assumptions inform your convictions and how you weigh different kinds of logic or evidence? How do different academic disciplines respond to such issues? These are the questions that will guide this course. We will examine the topic of inequality from the perspective of multiple academic disciplines, including philosophy, history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, political science and economics. Every Tuesday our class will meet as one group and one of the four faculty members will take the lead. Every Tuesday we will split into four sections for smaller conversations. At least as important as mastering the substance of the material, a primary goal of this course is to cultivate several important skills. Students will demonstrate the ability to: 1. distinguish among the different academic disciplines and perspectives. 2. read critically, and gather and interpret evidence from different disciplines.
3. consider and address the complexities and ambiguities involved interdisciplinary study. 4. make connections among ideas. 5. recognize choices, examine assumptions, and ask questions of themselves relative to interdisciplinary study. 6. formulate conclusions based upon critically interpreted evidence. 7. communicate ideas in writing. 8. communicate ideas orally. 9. relate the results of the course to their educational goals. Requirements: Attendance and Participation: You will be expected to keep up with weekly readings and be prepared for each class. There will be some lectures, especially on Tuesdays, but discussion will also play an integral role, especially on Thursdays. Participation will count as 10% of your grade. Papers: There will be four short papers We will discuss these further in class. These assignments will each comprise 20% of your grade. Final Project: This will entail some in depth reflection and synthesis of material that we have covered over the course of the semester. This project will be worth 10% of your grade. If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need academic accommodation, you must formally request accommodation from Meg Hegener, Coordinator for Student Access Services. You will also need to provide documentation which verifies the existence of a disability and supports your request. For further information, please call 580-8150 or stop by the office of Student Academic Services in Starbuck Center. Grading: The conventional Skidmore standards will be in effect. A - Distinguished work B - Superior work C - Satisfactory work D - Passing but not satisfactory work F - Failure All readings will be available via Blackboard
Course Outline: Part I: Introduction Week 1 (1/26 & 27) Brueggemann Turner/Renwick Part II. How Inequality Became a Problem (Delton) Week 2 (2/2 & 4) John Locke, Second Treatise, ch. II, V, and IX; Rene Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men (1754), Part II, Week 3 (2/9 & 11) Barbara Fields, Slavery, Race, and Ideology in the United States of America ; Excerpts from David Walker s Appeal Week 4 (2/16 & 18) Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835), vol. 2, section 4 (chapters I- VII) 12/19: Short Paper #1 Due Part III. Social Dimensions of Inequality (Brueggemann) Week 5 (2/22 & 24) Karl Marx and Frederich Engels Manifesto of the Communist Party ; excerpts from The German Ideology; Andrew Carnegie The Gospel of Wealth Week 6 (3/1 & 3) Max Weber Class, Status and Party ; Status Groups and Classes ; Open and Closed Relationships ; Ethnic Groups Week 7 (3/8 & 10) John Cassidy The Return of Karl Marx ; William Julius Wilson excerpts from More than Just Race; Marianne Bertand and Sendhil Mullainathan Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination 3/11: Short Paper #2 Due Spring Break (3/14-18)
Part IV. Material and Psychological Bases of Inequality (Solomon) Week 8 (3/22 & 24) Kent Flannery and Joyce Marcus excerpts from The Creation of Inequality Week 9 (3/29 & 31) Ernest Becker excerpts from Escape from Evil Week 10 (4/5 & 7) Jacob Viner Adam Smith and Laissez Faire 4/8: Short Paper#3 Due Part V. Contemporary Considerations of Inequality (Turner) Week 11 (4/12 & 14) The Quiet Citizenry Lawrence Mead. 2004. The Great Passivity Perspectives on Politics. 2: 671-75. Nathan Glazer. 2003. On Americans and Inequality. Daedalus. 132(Summer): 111-15. Thomas Frank. 2004. Lie Down for America. Harper s Magazine. 308(1847(April)): 33-46 Larry M. Bartels. 2008. Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation. Pp.127-61. Ian Shapiro. 2002. Why the Poor Don t Soak the Rich. Daedalus. 131(1): 118-28. Week 12 (4/19 & 21) Citizens and Policy Change: What Role for the Public in the Politics of Tax Cuts? Kimberly J. Morgan. Tax Policy and the Political Movement to De-Fund the Welfare State. In J. Soss, J.S. Hacker, and S. Mettler, eds. Remaking America: Public Policy and Democracy in an Age of Inequality. Manuscript for the Russell Sage Foundation. Pp.27-50. Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson. 2005. Abandoning the Middle Perspectives on Politics. 3(1): 33-53. Larry M. Bartels. 2008. Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation. Pp.162-222. Michael J. Graetz and Ian Shapiro. 2005. Death by a Thousand Cuts: The Fight over Taxing Inherited Wealth. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Pp.3-23, 118-30, 221-265. Week 13 (4/26 & 28) 4/29: Short Paper #4 Due
Jacob S. Hacker, 2004, Privatizing Risk Without Privatizing the Welfare State: The Hidden Politics of Social Policy Retrenchment in the United States, American Political Science Review 98(2): 243-260. (http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/hacker%20apsr %20(May%2004).pdf) Suzzane Mettler, Submerged State, portions tbd Part VI. Wrap Up Week 14 (5/3) Final Exams Week 15 (5/9-13) Final Project Due