Social Inequality: Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Class & Stratification

OVERVIEW

The study of social inequality has been a central focus of the Sociology Department at UCI since its inception. UCI sociologists study social inequality by race/ethnicity, gender, and class – as well as the intersections of these dimensions – by employing a wide variety of methods, from ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews to multilevel statistical models and social network methods. As a result, the work of those in the social inequality cluster frequently compliments – and is complimented by – research by other UCI sociology faculty.

Some of the ongoing research by UCI faculty in the Social Inequality cluster include:

• Immigrant and intergenerational mobility among immigrants in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area
• The effects of September 11 th on the ethnic and religious identities of Arab Americans
• Career prioritizing in dual-earner couples
• Effects of organizational and labor market characteristics on job segregation and wage inequality
• Patterns, determinants, and consequences of racial attitudes in Brazil
• How immigration and racial/ethnic diversity affect intermarriage and multiracial identification
• Cultural influences on racial/ethnic women's employment
• The impact of changes in Affirmative Action policy on the transition from high school to college and other educational outcomes

FACULTY

Gender

Catherine Bolzendahl
political sociology, sex and gender, comparative sociology/historical sociology

Francesca Cancian
sociology of the family, carework, sexual assault
 
Matt Huffman*
gender inequality, gender & work, discrimination, labor markets

Andrew Penner
gender, inequality, education, family, and race

Joy Pixley
life course, work & family, sex stratification, gender roles, research design
 
Belinda Robnett-Olsen
social movements, race & ethnicity, gender, social change, African-Americans

* Cluster coordinator

Race/Ethnicity

Stanley R. Bailey*
Latin America, race and ethnicity, religion, US-Mexico border

Frank Bean
international migration, demography, racial & ethnic relations, economic sociology, family

Cynthia Feliciano
race/ethnicity/minority relations, migration and immigration, education
 
Ann Hironaka
political sociology, war and peace, environmental sociology, ethnic and racial conflict
 
Matt Huffman
racial inequality, discrimination, research methods
 
Jennifer Lee
race & ethnicity, international migration, social inequality, urban sociology,
Asian American studies

John Liu
race & ethnicity, social theory

Andrew Penner
gender, inequality, education, family, and race

Belinda Robnett-Olsen
social movements, race & ethnicity, gender, social change, African-Americans
 
Rubén G. Rumbaut
international migration, the "1.5" generation, comparative race and ethnic relations, structural inequality, identity, health and mental health
 
* Cluster coordinator

Class & Stratification

Susan Brown
immigration, inequality, urban sociology     

Matt Huffman
social inequality, discrimination, research methods     
     
Andrew Penner
gender, inequality, education, family, and race    

David Smith
world systems analysis, urbanization, development, comparative-historical sociology, dependent development in east Asia

David Snow
collective behavior and social movements, social psychology, urban sociology, social problems, culture and qualitative methods
 
Judy Stepan-Norris*
labor unions, sociology of work, political sociology, American society, research methods, historical-comparative methods, class formation

* Cluster coordinator

For this year's schedule of Gender, Work, and Family Research Group Talks, click here.

FIELD EXAMS & GRADUATE COURSES

With respect to field exams, the three clusters in the inequality area (gender, race/ethnicity, class and stratification) are treated separately. Thus, graduate students may opt to take a field exam in any of the three sub-areas (gender, race/ethnicity, class and stratification). Alternatively, students may satisfy the two field exam requirement for the Sociology graduate program by taking exams in any two of the three inequality sub-areas (gender, race/ethnicity, class and stratification).

To qualify for a field exam in Social Inequality (no matter what sub-area or areas form the basis of the exam), students must complete the core course in Inequality (Sociology 232) and two elective courses. Elective courses offered over the next two years include all the courses listed below (the core course, Inequality, is also listed below, in bold ).

RACE AND ETHNICITY SUBAREA
 
To take the field exam in the area of Race and Ethnicity in the Social Inequalities cluster, students must first take the cluster's core course, Sociology 232 (Inequality), the Race and Ethnicity core course, Sociology 230A (Race and Ethnicity), and one elective course (from the list below). (Please note that other, more specialized courses are often listed as Sociology 232; those courses do not satisfy the requirement—only Sociology 232 [Inequality] does.)
 
Core courses:

• Inequality, Soc. 232
• Race and Ethnicity, Soc. 230A

Elective courses:

• Racial/Ethnic Feminist Perspectives (Robnett-Olsen)
• Ethnic America (Rumbaut)
• Race and Education (Feliciano)
• Immigration, Race, and the American Dream (Lee)
• Comparative Racial Perspectives (Bailey)
• Contemporary Racial/Ethnic Theory (Robnett-Olsen)
• Immigrant America (Rumbaut)

Contact the cluster coordinator for a list of readings to help prepare for the exam.
 
Students wishing to meet the requirements of a second field exam in Race and Ethnicity must submit all written work from the two core courses (Soc. 232 and Soc. 230A) and from one elective course from the list above.  The written work should be of sufficient quantity to evaluate (examples include a research paper or take-home final exam for each class). 

TWO YEAR TEACHING PLAN
(subject to change, check with the department or a cluster coordinator)

2009 - 2010

Fall
•  Race and Ethnicity (Robnett) -- Race/Ethnicity
•  Immigration, Race, and the American Dream (Lee) -- Race/Ethnicity

Winter
•  Organizational Inequality (Huffman) -- Gender; Class and Stratification
•  Families and Households (Bolzendahl) -- Gender
•  Nature and Nurture (Penner) -- Gender; Class and Stratification
•  Global Urbanization (Smith) -- Class and Stratification
•  Immigrant America (Rumbaut) -- Race/Ethnicity

Spring
•  Inequality (Huffman) -- Gender; Class and Stratification, Race/Ethnicity
•  Ethnic America (Rumbaut) -- Race/Ethnicity
•  Race and Education (Feliciano) -- Race/Ethnicity

2010-2011

Fall
•  Race, Immigration, and Opportunity (Lee) -- Race/Ethnicity
•  Race and Ethnicity (Feliciano) -- Race/Ethnicity

Winter
•  Organizational Inequality (Huffman) -- Gender; Class and Stratification
•  Gender, Family and the Welfare State (Bolzendahl) -- Gender
•  Nature and Nurture (Penner) -- Gender; Class and Stratification
•  Racial/Ethnic Feminist Perspectives (Robnett) -- Gender, Race/Ethnicity
•  Educational Inequality (Brown) -- Class and Stratification
•  Immigrant America (Rumbaut) -- Race/Ethnicity

Spring
• Gender and Politics (Bolzendahl) -- Gender
• Marriage and Cohabitation (Pixley) -- Gender
• Inequality (Huffman) -- Gender; Class and Stratification, Race/Ethnicity
• Ethnic America (Rumbaut) -- Race/Ethnicity
• Contemporary Racial/Ethnic Theory (Robnett) -- Race/Ethnicity