Coordinator:
Bart Landry | (301) 405-6416
| blandry@socy.umd.edu
Stratification at the
University of Maryland is grounded in the classical
theories of Marx and Weber, but goes beyond their original
conceptualizations to include the study of prominent
neo-Marxists and neo-Weberians. The relevance of Marxian
and Weberian theories of stratification to race, gender,
globalization and the new economy are also explored.
Through a number of courses, students are further able
to explore in depth the major issues of the field such
as poverty, income and occupational inequality, labor
markets, the new economy, education and the relationships
among class, race, and gender. A special feature of
the study of stratification at Maryland is an emphasis
upon the analysis of the macro economy at the national
and global levels as the underpinning of class systems,
and the investigation of the relationship between macro
economic changes and class structure.
Faculty Interests
The principal faculty active in the area are
Suzanne
Bianchi,
Patricia Hill Collins,
Lory Dance,
William
Falk,
John Iceland,
Dae Young Kim,
Roberto Patricio Korzeniewicz,
Bart Landry,
Annette Lareau,
Alan Neustadtl,
and
Reeve Vanneman.
Bianchi is co-author of
Balancing
Act: Motherhood, Marriage and Employment Among American
Women; Collins is author of Black Feminist Thought,
and the recently published Black Sexual Politics: African
Americans, Gender, and the New Racism which won
the 2007 ASA Distinguished Book Award; Dance is the
author of Tough Fronts: The Impact of Street Culture
on Schooling; Falk has published Rooted in Place: Family and
Belonging in a Southern Black Community and High Tech, Low Tech,
No Tech. Iceland is
the author of Poverty in
America; Landry is the author of The New Black Middle
Class, and Black Working Wives: Pioneers of the American
Family Revolution,
and Race, Gender, and Class: Theory and Methods
of Analysis; Lareau has authored Home Advantage:
Social Class and Parental Intervention in Elementary
Education and Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family
Life; Neustadtl is co-author of Money Talks, and Dollars
and Votes; and Vanneman is co-author of The American
Perception of Class and Gender Inequality at Work.
Faculty research covers a wide array of stratification
issues. A number of faculty – Collins, Dance, Falk, Iceland,
Kim, Landry and Lareau – focus on a variety of issues
relevant to race and ethnicity. These include Collin’s
work on the new racism, Dance’s continuing research
on at-risk teenagers from segregated communities in
the U.S. and Sweden, Iceland’s work on racial residential
segregation, Kim’s study of Korean immigrants in the
United States, Falk’s research on a southern black community,
and Landry’s work on the Black Middle Class and black
families. The work of a number of faculty—Bianchi, Collins,
Dance, Korzeniewicz, Landry and Vanneman-explores gender
inequality issues.
Other ongoing research
includes Bianchi’s study of class differences in parental
investment in children during periods of growing societal
inequality; Lareau’s continued research on the effects
of parental class on children’s achievement; Iceland’s
research on poverty patterns, dynamics and measurement;
Korzeniewicz’s exploration of income inequality internationally,
and of state processes in Argentina; Landry’s work on
the New Economy focusing on software companies through
interviews with founders and programmers in the U.S.
and in Brazil, and his research on the development of
a global working class; Neustadtl’s research on issues
related to social networks among internet users; and
Vanneman’s study of changes in the stratification system
of India, and on the consequences of occupational sex
segregation in the United States.
Academic Program
Students wishing to specialize
in Stratification take one required course, Social Stratification
(SOCY 661) which focuses on theories of stratification,
and two electives from an approved list. Those interested
in a specific aspect of stratification are encouraged
to take additional relevant courses.
SOCY 637 Demography
of the Labor Force
SOCY 661 Social Stratification
SOCY 682 Race, Gender,
and Class: Theory and Research
SOCY 699X Schooling
and Inequality
SOCY 699X Poverty and
Welfare
SOCY 699X Income Inequality
SOCY 699X Sociology
of the New Economy
SOCY 789 Advanced Special
Topics in Social Stratification
Graduate Student
Research Opportunities and Employment
Students are encouraged
to present papers at meetings and to become involved
in faculty research. Currently a number of students
are collaborating with faculty in ongoing research projects.
A wide variety of data sets are also available for student
use. Students past and present have published journal
articles individually and in collaboration while in
the graduate program.
Recent graduates with
training in Stratification have accepted employment
at such schools as State University of New York-Stony Brook, The University
of Utah, Tulane University, Union College, the University
of Missouri-Columbia, and the University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill.
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