Darby E. Southgate

Inequality: A Contemporary Approach to Race, Class, and Gender offers a comprehensive introduction to the topics animating current sociological research focused on inequality. Contemporary, engaging, and research-oriented, it is the ideal text to help undergraduate students master the basic concepts in inequality research and gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which race, class, and gender interact with systems of social stratification. Following an introduction to theories and research methods used in the field, the authors apply these concepts to areas that define inequality research, including social mobility, education, gender, race, and culture. The authors include up-to-date quantitative evidence throughout. The text concludes by examining policies that have facilitated inequality and reviewing the social movements that in turn seek to reshape those structures. Though primarily focused on the United States, it includes a chapter on stratification across the globe and draws on cross-national comparisons throughout.

Inequality: A Contemporary Approach to Race, Class, and Gender offers a comprehensive introduction to the topics animating current sociological research focused on inequality. Contemporary, engaging, and research-oriented, it is the ideal text to help undergraduate students master the basic concepts in inequality research and gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which race, class, and gender interact with systems of social stratification. Following an introduction to theories and research methods used in the field, the authors apply these concepts to areas that define inequality research, including social mobility, education, gender, race, and culture. The authors include up-to-date quantitative evidence throughout. The text concludes by examining policies that have facilitated inequality and reviewing the social movements that in turn seek to reshape those structures. Though primarily focused on the United States, it includes a chapter on stratification across the globe and draws on cross-national comparisons throughout.

Social stratification is the grouping of people based on income, wealth, political influence and other characteristics. Widely recognized categories such as upper, middle and lower class reflect the presence of social stratification in all societies. Inequality refers to the inevitable disparities in people's positions in this structure. The research presented in this book ranges from studies of income and wealth disparities to analyses of the nature of the class system. This textbook reflects a hybrid approach to studying stratification. It addresses the knowledge accumulated by stratification scholars and challenges students to apply this information to their social world. The authors include a wide range of topics and provide current research to round out their discussions. Each chapter includes a list of key concepts, questions for thought, suggested exercises and multimedia resources.