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A Critical Literature Review of Social Class in American Sociology

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / A theoretical understanding of stratification and inequality is necessary to understand social phenomena in general. Unfortunately, professional sociology in the United States has historically promoted a limited theoretical understanding of stratification that tends to ignore economic realities, social structures, institutional mechanisms, power relations, and other important factors such as racial discrimination in reproducing social class. In fact, mainstream sociology has replaced class-based theories altogether with the concept of socio-economic status (SES) and, at the same time, all too often embraces problematic theories that justify inequality. This critical literature review of social class in American sociology attempts to: 1) provide a more comprehensive history of sociological theory in the United States regarding stratification and social class, 2) expose the sociological factors affecting these social theories and concepts, and 3) deconstruct and critique mainstream social theories that offer weak explanations of stratification.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:IUPUI/oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/3167
Date29 November 2012
CreatorsMouser, Brandon L.
ContributorsSeybold, Peter James, 1950-, Modibo, Najja N., White, Robert W. (Robert William), 1958-
Source SetsIndiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis

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