Poverty/Inequality in America

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

T 6:30 - 9:00 PM This course will examine the science of poverty and inequality. We'll cover the major empirical debates on the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality. We'll look at what the social scientific literature can tell us about how inequality shapes life chances, neighborhoods, political institutions, and health, among other outcomes. We'll look at several dimensions of inequality, including race, class, income, education, and gender and we'll cover multiple methodological approaches to the study of inequality, including quantitative, experimental, and ethnographic methods. Students will leave the course with a comprehensive survey of the literature in the field, and a better understanding, grounded in science, of why increasing income inequality is one of the most pressing social issues of our time.