This dissertation relates the lessons of historical materialism to literary production in nineteenth-century America. In an attempt to refocus discussion of social class in this time period, I argue an emphasis on labor is essential to assess the political and economic understanding of authors writing during the reorganization of laboring life of the Market Revolution. I examine American authors from Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln to Herman Melville, Mark Twain, and Frederick Douglass whose interests in the aesthetics and politics of labor underlie the foundations of our understanding of class in nineteenth-century American literature.

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This thesis investigates the co-evolution of the changing structure of occupations and the growth in wage inequality in Britain since the 1970s and the subsequent stabilisation during the 2000s. Occupations provide the single most important unit of analysis for economic inequality in stratification research, providing the basis for socioeconomic status, prestige scales, job desirability scores, and social class schemas. Although there was a ‘massive rise’ in wage inequality, relatively little is known about the relationship between the occupational structure and the growth in wage inequality. Since sociologists tend to place a lot of emphasis on the role of occupations in structuring economic inequalities, we might expect them to play a key role in accounting for trends in overall wage inequality. More recent strands of sociological theory, however, argue that the link between occupations and economic inequalities might have been weakening over time. This thesis assesses these claims in relation to the over time trends in between- and within-occupation-inequality. It finds that the growth in overall wage inequality was largely due to growing inequality between occupations, not within them. The growth in between-occupation inequality was largely due to higher-paying occupations receiving the largest wage gains. Furthermore, and perhaps surprisingly, only a handful of occupations account for the majority of the rise in wage inequality, indicating caution should be exercised in generating accounts about the role for occupations in accounting for overall inequality. Along the way, this thesis attempts to address the extent to which the structuring of the growth in wage inequality by occupations was due to the changing composition of incumbents within occupations (namely the rise in educational attainment), in spite of data limitations. Finally, this thesis takes to task what the implications of the ‘massive rise’ in wage inequality implies for the broader categories sociologists use to capture economic inequalities based on aggregations of occupations.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is the relationship of social class to intellectual attitudes and behavior. It ascertains attitudes toward and use of the public library.

Thesis advisor: Juliet B. Schor / Since the 1970's, social scientists have argued that general pro-environmental attitudes have diffused throughout American society, rendering socio-demographics largely irrelevant in predicting support for such issues. The public reaction to the issue of climate change, however, evades this narrative. While media bias, ideological framing, and business influence, among others, are partial explanations, I argue that ignoring the potential implications of structure and culture--specifically social class--in determining why the issue is so demonstrably divisive is a crucial mistake. Building upon the postmaterialism thesis of Inglehart with the cultural theory of Bourdieu, I examine how the conception of and reaction to the issue varies with economic and cultural capital using data from 42 interviews of Boston-area respondents. The results suggest that climate change may indeed be a `classed' issue--both in how the respondents conceive of it in the first place, and how they speak of social class in the context of it. The political implications are various, but suggest that coalition formation will need to take account of these differences, both real and perceived, in both engendering public support for mitigation efforts and subsequently combating the problem. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

College mismatch occurs when a student enrolls in a college with a selectivity level that is above (overmatch) or below (undermatch) his or her academic qualifications. A primary concern regarding college mismatch is that it could lead to social stratification. However, studies on mismatch provide mixed results and fail to articulate the determinants of college mismatch and the effects of college mismatch on degree attainment. My dissertation comprises two studies. The first study examines the role of social capital in college mismatch. Using data from ELS:2002, I find students from families with a lower level of social capital are more likely to apply to and enroll in an undermatched college, and less likely to apply to and enroll in an overmatched college. I further find intergenerational alignment of educational goal is associated with both college undermatch and overmatch. Results suggest that enhancing family social capital may help low-SES students to engage in broader college searches and find a college with a better academic fit. The second study examines the association between college mismatch and degree attainment within a timely manner. I find students who enrolled in a matched college are less likely to graduate within 6 years than those who enrolled in an overmatched college, but have a higher probability of obtaining a bachelor’s degree than those who enrolled in an undermatched college. Furthermore, I find there is no significant difference in obtaining a bachelor’s degree between matched and mismatched students as far as institutional characteristics are concerned. Results suggest that scholars need to be cautious before claiming systemic mismatch penalty or match advantage.

This paper discusses the development of the Perceived Classism Scales. Three separate studies were conducted to create and validate scales designed to measure Liu, Soleck, Hopps, Dunston, and Pickett's (2004) upward, downward, and lateral classism constructs in their Modern Classism Theory. An initial pool of 51-items was created to assess each of the three classism domains. Three hundred and three individuals participated in the first study, which consisted of an exploratory factor analysis of the 51 items. Results from the first study provided preliminary support for the measurement of two factors. The 51 items were pared down to two, 8-item scales reflecting upward and downward classism. The second study consisted of a confirmatory factor analysis to ensure each scale represented a good model fit to the data from 237 participants. Findings from the confirmatory factor analysis suggested some overlap between items and the downward classism scale was further reduced to 5-items and the upward classism scale was reduced to 6-items. The revised scales represented a good fit to the data and the scales were named Upward and Downward Classism. The third study served to establish construct validity and test-retest reliability of the Upward and Downward scales. One hundred sixty-nine people participated in the third and final study. Results provided initial support for the validity of the scales and the scales also showed good stability over a two-week period. In addition, implications of the current study for both researchers and clinicians are presented. Lastly, recommendations for improving the validity of the PCS scales and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine children's perceptions of parens as these are related to the child's social class background. Four pictures from the Tasks of Emotional Development Test were administered individually to a sample of 60 fourth grade children from two Ogden, Utah, Public schools, These picture tasks were intended to encourage subjects to project their perceptions toward parents specific to the pictorial situation. The findings of this study seemed to indicate a tendency toward differences between middle and lower class children in their perceptions of parents. Middle class children were shown to obtain higher maturity scores in their perceptions of three pictorial tasks plus higher total maturity scores than children of the lower class. Lower class children obtained higher maturity scores for one picture task (acceptance of limits from adults). Differences between boys and girls in their perceptions toward parents were not found to be supported by the statistical data. only one picture (Separation from mother) showed a significant difference between boys and girls at the .05 level.

The purpose of this study was to examine children's perceptions of social situations as these are related to the social environment in which the child lives, and to investigate the influence of social class upon their perceptions. An oral picture test, consisting of seven pictures, was administered to 60 fourth grade children in two Ogden, Utah, public schools. The findings of this study are that there are differences between middle and lower class children, but not between boys and girls, in their perceptions of their social environment. Middle class children were shown to be more positive in their social environment. Middle class children were shown to be more positive in their general outlook towards life, and lower class children are found to have tendencies toward a more negative perception of life. The conclusions are that social class does influence children's perceptions of their social environment, and the most favorable life circumstances for the lower class child seem to be those which are encountered in relationship with siblings. Also, there is need for concern about the image of the peace officer in the minds of children in both social classes, and about the lower class child's perception of the teacher in the classroom.

Despite the fact that all U.S. states offer some form of civil protection orders to intimate partner violence (IPV) victims, little research has assessed their efficacy. In this analysis, the effect of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status on civil protection order effectiveness is examined. The results indicate that race/ethnicity, overall, is not a significant predictor in protection order efficacy. However, SES, as measured by the petitioner?s highest educational attainment, employment status, and income, is statistically related to repeat victimization and perceptions of efficacy. Policy recommendations and areas for future research are proposed.