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

Department of Sociology
University of California, Irvine
2008-11
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	Andrew Penner gender, inequality, education, family, and race
Francesca Cancian sociology of the family, carework, sexual assault	Joy Pixley life course, work & family, sex stratification, gender roles, research design
Matt Huffman* gender inequality, gender & work, discrimination, labor markets	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	John Liu race & ethnicity, social theory
Frank Bean international migration, demography, racial & ethnic relations, economic sociology, family	Andrew Penner gender, inequality, education, family, and race
Cynthia Feliciano race/ethnicity/minority relations, migration and immigration, education	Belinda Robnett-Olsen social movements, race & ethnicity, gender, social change, African-Americans
Matt Huffman racial inequality, discrimination, research methods	Rubén G. Rumbaut international migration, the "1.5" generation, comparative race and ethnic relations, structural inequality, identity, health and mental health
Jennifer Lee race & ethnicity, international migration, social inequality, urban sociology, Asian American studies

* Cluster coordinator

Class & Stratification

Susan Brown immigration, inequality, urban sociology	David Smith world systems analysis, urbanization, development, comparative-historical sociology, dependent development in east Asia
Matt Huffman* social inequality, discrimination, research methods	David Snow collective behavior and social movements, social psychology, urban sociology, social problems, culture and qualitative methods
Andrew Penner gender, inequality, education, family, and race	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 239) 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 ).

Two Year Teaching Plan (subject to change, check with the department or a cluster coordinator)

2008 – 2009

Winter
•  Gender and Work (Pixley) -- Gender
•  Smith, Globalization and the World-System (winter 2009) -- Class and Stratification

Spring
•  Marriage and Cohabitation (Pixley) -- Gender
•  Nature and Nurture (Penner) -- Gender; Class and Stratification
•  Educational Inequality (Brown) -- Class and Stratification

2009 - 2010

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

Spring
• Inequality (Huffman) -- Gender; Class and Stratification

2010-2011

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
•  Educational Inequality (Brown) -- Class and Stratification

Spring
• Gender and Politics (Bolzendahl) -- Gender
• Marriage and Cohabitation (Pixley) -- Gender
• Inequality (Huffman) -- Gender; Class and Stratification

 

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