Class in the U.S.

CRN: fall: 10205; winter: 20154
Note: This 8-credit class will meet from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. First class will meet in SEM 2 A1105. This program also offers an integrated study option for students seeking a total registration of 12 or more credits. See www.evergreen.edu/eveningandweekend/integratedstudies for details.

What are we talking about when we talk about "class"? Are there identifiable social classes in the US? Or were there in the past? How fixed or how fluid is our society in terms of who has wealth or power? Are we a middle class society? What relationships exist among class, race and gender? How do you look at numbers that describe wealth and population groups and decide what kind of story the statistics tell?

This program will use the tools of sociology and statistics to look at these and other questions. We’ll study theories that attempt to define or explain the phenomenon of social class and read works by authors who study a particular class.

Students will gain a working knowledge of basic statistical methods and learn to apply them to demographic and economic statistics, in order to critique an argument, test a thesis, or advocate a position. In the fall, we’ll work with existing economic and demographic data sets. Later, students will design and administer a survey with questions of value to the college. Class time will include two hours of hands-on computer work using Excel, as well as book seminars, films, lectures and workshops. Credit will be awarded in labor studies or sociology and statistics.