This country was founded on principles of inequality, despite aspirations otherwise stated in the Constitution. In the generations since, the fundamental inequalities based on race, gender and class, as well as other bases of difference and identity, remain foundational to our society. While the way social inequality is exercised and enforced has changed, the fact of our society being built on a bedrock of inequality has persisted, and class inequality is greater now than at any time in the history of this nation. In this course, we will examine the experience of social inequality through the lens of different genres: qualitative social science, fiction, and the personal narrative of memoir. We will read different kinds of texts to explore both the impact and experience of poverty, racism and other forms of inequality, and consider how the texts can teach us about the social structure of inequality in America.
Educational opportunities inside Oregon prisons and in the community