Blog Archives

Narrative Rough Drafts and Reading Time

9/29/2017

Starter 17: Hillbilly Elegy and Evicted

What are you noticing so far about this book?
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve read so far? What did it make you think about?
Make one connection to a class concept or activity.

Writing Time
Work on your rough draft narrative.

Reading Time
While you read, annotate (using sticky notes!) for the following:

Places where individual choice influenced social class
Places where larger social structures/systems influenced social class
Connections to class concepts
Places you find difficult to understand
Places that make you curious, or that raise questions for you
Places that strike you as particularly important or interesting

By Tuesday, read and annotate:

Hillbilly Elegy- Chapters 2-5 (to page 80). This is a chapter a day for the next 4 days.
Evicted- Part One, Chapters 3-8 (to page 107). This is about 20 pages a day for the next 4 days.

HOMEWORK
Reading:
By the start of class on Tuesday, read and annotate:

Hillbilly Elegy- Chapters 2-5 (to page 80). This is a chapter a day for the next 4 days.
Evicted- Part One, Chapters 3-8 (to page 107). This is about 20 pages a day for the next 4 days.

Writing:
Finish your rough draft class narrative. Bring FIVE printed copies for peer critique on Monday. Please print before class!

Class Narrative Writing and Books

9/28/2017

Starter 16: StoryCorps

What was the unifying idea in this story?
What stories or examples did he use to illustrate that idea?

Strategy of the Day
Use the interview structure from the StoryCorps to help you talk your way into some stories and ideas!

Pass out Books
Sign them out, give a brief overview

Hillbilly Elegy- Story of upward social mobility coming from Appalachia and the midwest. Look carefully for balance of individual vs. structural elements to poverty.
Evicted- Ethnographic research on the impacts of housing policy and eviction laws on poverty.

Writing Time
Work on your rough draft narrative.

Reading Time
While you read, annotate (using sticky notes!) for the following:

Places where individual choice influenced social class/mobility
Places where larger social structures/systems influenced social class/mobility
Connections to class concepts (functionalism, conflict theory, intersectionality, privilege, stereotype vs. generalization, etc.)
Places you find difficult to understand
Places that make you curious, or that raise questions for you
Places that strike you as particularly important or interesting

By tomorrow, read and annotate:

Hillbilly Elegy- Intro and Chapter 1 (to page 22)
Evicted- Prologue and Chapters 1 and 2 (to page 31)

HOMEWORK

Rough Draft Class Narrative- Due Monday, 10/2, Start of Class
Reading and annotating Hillbilly Elegy (to page 22) or Evicted (to page 31).

Start Writing Class Narratives

9/27/2017

NO STARTER
No starter in order to get you more writing time!

Finish Rubric Analysis

Have your brainstorm out or open on your screen so I can check it.
Show me your rubric analysis when it's finished.

Writing Time
Use the rest of class to write.

HOMEWORK:
Rough draft class narrative due on MONDAY at the start of class for critique. You will get writing and reading time tomorrow in class.

Social Class Narratives

9/26/2017

Starter 14: Graphs from Pew Research

Describe what you see here in terms of data. What stands out to you?
What are some potential explanations for this? How do these graphs inter-relate?
What questions does this raise for you? List at least 3.

Intersectionality

What it is: The recognition that are social identities are complex, and that different social categorizations such as race, class, and gender often overlap and interconnect, creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.
Why it’s important: The idea of intersectionality helps keep us from reducing people’s identities to just one social category. Keeps us from oversimplifying. Helps us recognize how different systems of oppression intersect.
Big Realization: We are not just one thing, we are many things.

Intersectionality Activity
This is like a more complicated version of 4 corners. The purpose of this is to get us thinking of social identities as a complex thing, so that we can see that though we are focusing on class here, these all impact each other.

After each question, move under the sign that best fills in the blank.

The part of my identity I am most aware of on a daily basis is ________.
The part of my identity that I am least aware of on a daily basis is ________.
The part of my identity that was most emphasized or important in my family growing up was____________.
The part of my identity that I wish I knew more about is _____________.
The part of my identity that garners me the most privilege is ____________.
The part of my identity that I believe is the most misunderstood by others is ___________.
The part of my identity that I feel is difficult to discuss with others who identify differently is ____________.
The part of my identity that makes me feel discriminated against is __________.

Debrief

What patterns did you see here?
What surprised you?
How does this connect to the idea of intersectionality? Why is it important to see the multiple identities that people inhabit?
How did you see intersectionality in the class narratives you read yesterday?

Class Narratives Discussions

In ASSIGNED Classes, discuss:
1. Summarize the story you read about your assigned class.
2. What themes do your stories have in common? What differences?
3. What new understanding did you gain about the experiences of class from reading this narrative?
In MIXED groups, discuss:
1. What class narratives did you read?
2. What commonalities did you see between the two classes?
3. What differences did you see?
4. What themes stood out to you?
5. What connections can you make to class concepts?
6. What ideas did this give you for writing your own narrative?

Class Narrative Writing Analysis
We’re now going to turn our eye towards how these were written. First, let’s look at your assignment so you know where we’re headed. Read the assignment and rubric, make note of any questions.

Now, we’re going to use the rubric for this project to reverse-engineer your example.

In partners, look at the class narrative they read that they liked the most
Answer the following questions, which are based on the rubric categories:
1. Thesis and Unifying idea:
  1. What is the unifying idea or insight of this narrative?
  2. List three supporting details that illuminate that idea.
2. Authentic Voice: Find sentences that do the following things, and explain how the sentence was able to achieve that effect.
  1. Reveal the author’s personality
  2. Creates an emotional experience
3. Communal Relevance
  1. What is the “so what?” of this essay? What is the larger truth?
  2. Choose a page (probably somewhere in the middle), and mark on that page where the author is telling a story, and where they are doing commentary or analysis.
4. Narrative Coherence
  1. Does this essay end with an intellectual or emotional punch? If so, what is it? How was it achieved?
  2. What connections does this author make between their social class and their beliefs/experiences?
5. Style/Descriptive Language
  1. What is the engaging lead of this essay? (copy it) What makes it engaging?
  2. Choose two sentences where the author effective used an element of good storytelling. Write each sentence down, and explain what is good about it.

HOMEWORK:
Complete an initial brainstorm for your social class narrative. This could be a freewrite, an idea web, a list of stories from your life. Stuck? Answer these questions:

How would you describe your class background and current class status? How do you know what class you’re from?
How do you feel about your class background and status?
Did your parents tell you that you were from a specific class?
How do your attitudes about your work and money compare with those of your parents?
Do you see yourself as upwardly or downwardly mobile?
How do you relate to people in school or at work who are in a different class?
What are some examples of oppressions and/or privileges you experience now that relate to your class background?

Class Privilege and Class Narratives

9/25/2017

Questions:

What does it mean to have privilege?
What are the experiences of different social classes?

Feedback Responses
Key takeaways for me:

Vast majority see the relevance and are interested (at least to some extent) in what we’re studying
People struggle to express themselves for a few reasons:
1. Fear of judgment
2. Fear of offending others
3. Their views run counter to the dominant views in class (conservative views especially noted here)
Desire for data and facts, rather than just experiences: VALID! Know that this is coming- we’re going to spend the next week focusing on the lived experiences of people in different classes, as we prepare to write our own class narratives. My reasoning for this is that it is harder to stereotype and oversimplify when you have complex stories of real people as touchstones. NEXT week, we will start digging into the facts and statistics of income inequality in the United States, and the week after that we will be looking at social mobility, using both stats and data, and the experiences of people who have moved classes (up and down).
Concern about liberal bias. I’m trying really hard to be even-handed and allow room for all voices here. I can’t control other faculty members or other students. I’m also trying to be honest with you guys. Please let me know if you feel like I’m not being open to other views. What I am asking all of us to do right now, is to recognize the complexity of this issue, and not make blanket statements about any one class- let your views become more complicated. As we move forward, I’ll be asking you to look carefully at data, and to think about how that data supports or does not support your views on class and social mobility. There are no easy answers here- only better questions.

Starter 13-

How do you feel about the concept of privilege (the idea that people have unearned advantages because of a part of their social identities)?
List all the different parts of your social identity you can think of. For example, my list would be:
1. Female
2. White
3. Straight
4. Cisgender
5. Middle clas
6. Highly educated
7. Atheist
8. Married
9. Mother
10. Teacher
What parts of your identities are typically associated with privilege?
What parts of your identities are disadvantaged in our society?

Vocab Lecture: Privilege

What it is: Unearned advantage because of prejudice or social structures, because our society values some social identities over others.
What it isn’t: Something you should feel guilty about, something that is meant to discount your hard work and efforts, accomplishments
Big realization: Being aware of your privilege simply means being aware that some people have to work much harder just to experience the things you take for granted (if they ever can experience them at all). It does NOT mean that people with fewer or more privileges are better or worse people, that you cannot overcome a lack of privilege, or that people with more social privileges have easy lives.

Privilege Quiz
Students take the quiz, enter their scores in a the Class Privilege Scores Table
Complete written reflection on the back of the quiz.

Debrief Discussion in Small Groups

What is your “gut reaction” to where you find yourself at the end of this list of privileges? Are you surprised at where you are?
What do see in our data?
What were your thoughts and feelings as you did this exercise?
1. How do you feel about where you are relative to other people in the room?
2. What went through your mind as you answered these questions?
3. Which of the statements did you find surprising or unexpected? Why?
4. Which of the statements made you feel uncomfortable or hurt? Why?
5. Which of the statements you felt unsure whether it applies to you or not? Why?
How has your social position (i.e., your privileged or marginalized position in society based on your social group membership) affected you, your family, and your community, in terms of opportunity and access?
What does your position in the room say about societal messages about your worth and the worth of people with similar privilege levels?
Which of the privileges did you inherit from your family? For inherited privileges, how far does the privilege go back in your family tree?
How does this exercise make you think differently about your own identity, daily experience, or relationships with other people?

Class Narratives
Doing this to get a picture into the lives of different classes, AND to model for you what I am looking for in your class narratives. Will be looking at these in different ways tomorrow and Wednesday, and then starting to write your own on Thursday and Friday.

Divide students into class groups

Find a partner in your class group (AM will have groups of 3 in each class)
Choose a class narrative from that class to read (see the ones linked on the documents page of my DP- if you would like me to print you a copy, let me know)
Read that class narrative, and take notes on the following:
1. What are your big takeaways (2-3) from reading this?
2. How did this person react and relate to other classes they came into contact with?
3. Where does their social identity create privilege? Where does it create disadvantages?
4. What connections can you make to any of the following:
  1. A Touchy Subject
  2. Privilege
  3. Conflict theory (including Marx and Weber)
  4. Functionalism
Now, with your partner, choose a narrative from ANOTHER class to read. Read the second narrative and answer the following:
1. What were the biggest differences between the first narrative and this one? Similarities?
2. How did this person react and relate to other classes?
3. Where does their social identity create privilege? Where does it create disadvantage?

HOMEWORK:
Read TWO class narratives and take notes on the questions above. DUE: SOC, Tuesday.

A Touchy Subject: Seminar Response

9/22/2017

Starter 12: Stories About Poverty
IF ABSENT, TED TALK IS LINKED ON THE DOCUMENTS PAGE!
Before we watch this:

What story do you tell yourself about poverty? Why do you think people are in poverty in the US? What keeps them there?

After we watch:

What is her critique of the typical story that is told about poor people?
How did the story you tell yourself differ from the story this speaker told? What do you think accounts for the difference (or similarity, if your story was very similar)?

Give me some feedback!
Give me some feedback about how this project is going so far using the anonymous Google form above.

Seminar Response

Type. This should be 4 paragraphs (1 paragraph of intro, two body paragraphs, 1 conclusion)
1. To what extent do the ideas in this text apply to your life? Choose two specific ideas/quotes, and discuss how they apply to your life, using specific examples.
2. Remember, this is a chance to practice and make progress on your writing goals! Revisit them before you start writing, and revisit the relevant rubric to make sure you know what you will be assessed on!

HOMEWORK:
Finish and share seminar response with Lori. DUE: SOC, Monday

A Touchy Subject: Seminar

9/21/2017

Starter 11

What do you, personally, need to do to ensure we have a successful seminar today?
What’s one topic that you want to make sure we hit in seminar today? Why do you think it’s important to talk about this?

Seminar: Whole Class
Opening Questions

Why is it hard for Americans to talk about class?

Core Questions

What is the relationship between status and class?
P2- Fussell says that in America, the idea of class is “notably embarrassing.” Why?
P3- Do you agree that you “reveal a great deal about your social class by the amount of annoyance or fury you feel when the subject is brought up?”
Do you think that there are social classes in Durango? How/where/explain.
What makes class in the US more complicated than in Europe or other places? Why is it harder to detect? (paragraph 6-8)
Why does Fussell say that class “should be a serious subject in America?” (paragraph 9)
P9- “...each generation has to define the hierarchies all over again.” Why do we need to do this?
P10- “...one of the unique anxieties is going to be the constant struggle for individual self-respect based upon social approval.” How do you feel this in your own life? How does this express itself?
How much do you think class determines? Do you think that people are “trapped in a class system you’ve been half persuaded isn’t important?” (paragraph 11)
How do you see class envy play out?
Fussell refers to “the official myth of classlessness.” What is the content, and where have you encountered this myth?
Where do you stand on the question of whether Americans, in their heart of hearts, “don’t want agglomeration but distinctions”? Why?
On the very last page, Fussell has detailed examples of class distinctions of instruments and desks. What else can you think of that has class connotations? Why do we divide everything by class?

Closing Questions

How much of what he describes rings true to you? Do you feel like this is a forbidden or awkward topic?
Are there topics within the larger topic of social class that are hard to talk about? Is it different talking about your personal experiences?

Seminar Response

Type. This should be 4 paragraphs (1 paragraph of intro, two body paragraphs, 1 conclusion)
1. To what extent do the ideas in this text apply to your life? Choose two specific ideas/quotes, and discuss how they apply to your life, using specific examples.
2. Remember, this is a chance to practice and make progress on your writing goals! Revisit them before you start writing, and revisit the relevant rubric to make sure you know what you will be assessed on!

HOMEWORK:
None- we will have class time tomorrow to finish and revise your seminar response. Seminar Response is due on MONDAY, SOC.

Theories of Social Stratification

9/20/2017

Key Questions

What are different theories that explain why we have social stratification?
What are the main critiques of these theories?
Which theory do I think is most accurate right now?

NO STARTER DUE TO SHORTENED SCHEDULE

Lecture: Social Stratification and Theories
See documents page for lecture slides. If absent, get notes from a classmate.

Application of Theories
In your group, discuss:

Which of these theories do you think is dominant in the popular American narrative? Explain.
Which of these theories do you think best explains class stratification in the US? Why?
What questions do you have about social stratification? Put them on the board!

A Touchy Subject
Finish the reading from yesterday- read carefully and annotate!

Fussell Coaching
As you finish, add your name to a coaching group on the board. When you hit 4 or 5, gather your group and begin this process!

Summarize his main point in one sentence
Go paragraph by paragraph. For each paragraph:
1. What is the main point of this paragraph?
2. How does this relate to previous paragraphs, OR to class concepts we’ve been discussing?
3. Is there anything here you find confusing? Discuss, and clarify your confusions!
Write two discussion questions, give them to Lori

Seminar Prewrite
For your seminar prewrite, choose one quote from this text that strikes you. This could strike you as particularly insightful, invoke a strong emotional reaction, or be something that you dispute. In your prewrite, write down the quote and then react to it. Describe what you think the quote means, then discuss why you chose it, what it makes you think/feel, and how it connects to what we've been learning in class so far.

HOMEWORK:

Get sticky notes for annotating books. DUE: Monday, 9/25, SOC
Seminar Prewrite. See above for details. DUE: Thursday, 9/21, SOC

The Hidden Rules of Social Class

9/19/2017

Key Takeaways:

What are “hidden rules?”
How do hidden rules work?
Which rules do I know? What rules make me uncomfortable?

Starter 10- Hidden Rules of Social Class: The Wire
The clip you are about to watch is taken from The Wire, a tv show that explores poverty in a Baltimore neighborhood. In this clip, Bunny, a police officer, is taking a group of teenagers from the inner-city out to a fancy dinner as a reward. This has mature language. If you want to remain innocent, cover your ears! As you watch this, keep track of the following:

When do the students seem confused or uncomfortable?
Why were they unable to relax and enjoy this experience?
What “rules” were they unaware of?

Hidden Rules Demo
Participate in this demonstration designed to have you uncovering hidden rules. Then debrief and discuss:

What were your expectations when you entered the game?
What strategies did you use to uncover the hidden rule?
What rules did you consider as you developed hypotheses about the rule?
How did you feel if you discovered the rule early? How did you feel if you struggled to discover the rule?
If you discovered the rule early, were you motivated to share it with others? Why/why not?
If you were struggling to discover the rule, how did you feel about those how figured it out early?
How did you feel about yourself as you discovered or struggled?
What did you notice about others in the circle? Expressions, engagement, other?
How can you connect this to social class?

Could you survive in a different class?
Take the quiz on the Hidden Rules of Social Class. Debrief:

Which class are you best equipped to survive in?
Were there any of these skills that stood out or surprised you in any of the classes?
How do you think it would feel if you were in a situation where it was assumed that you had the skills of a particular class...and you didn’t? Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t know the rules?

Hidden Rules of Social Class: Notes and Chart

Hidden Rules = unspoken rules, cues or habits that let you know if you do or do not belong
Economic class rules based on how stable your life is (more money generally = more stability)
Hidden rules are about how well we navigate different situations and understand economic environments different than our own.
It is helpful to learn hidden rules in order to improve relationships and resolve conflicts.
Hidden rules come directly from the environment in which we live. All of us bring with us the rules.
Let’s make some predictions. For each of the following, predict the hidden values or rules for lower, middle, and upper class.
1. Personality: What is valued?
2. Food: What is valued
3. Education: How is it seen?
4. Family Structure: What is it?
5. Driving Forces: What are they?

Okay, now let’s compare the hidden rules you came up with to the chart created by Dr. Ruby Payne, based on her research.

What did you get right? What did you get wrong?
Which rules does school follow?
What happens when you work or study in a place with middle class rules, but you personally are accustomed to the hidden rules of another class?
Are you at risk of being judgmental when someone uses one of the hidden rules? What hidden rules of another class are hard for you accept? Why?
How might these hidden rules cause conflict?
Can you come up with a situation in which you have seen the hidden rules of a class hinder someone’s education? Work life? Relationships with another?

Reading Time: Notes on Class
Read and annotate. Read carefully, looking for complexity! What are the reasons that Americans are uncomfortable talking about class?

HOMEWORK:

Get small sticky notes for annotating books. DUE: Monday, 9/29

What is class?

9/18/2017

Key Questions:

What classes do we have in the US?
What kinds of things do we use to make distinctions between classes?
What is the difference between a generalization and a stereotype?

Starter 9

What classes do you think we have in the United States? How many? What % of the US population do you think is in each class? What would you use to define each class?
Now, look at this class diagram.
After looking at the diagram, what’s one big difference you notice between your brainstorm and the data you see in front of you? What’s one thing about this diagram that surprises you or stands out to you?

Project Overview
Give students project overview. Read, write any questions, ask Lori.

Class Stereotypes
What’s the difference between a generalization and a stereotype? Talk in groups, then create a table on the board.

Generalizations

Describe a group
Allows for exceptions
Try to be accurate
Constantly modified by new input
Formed based on data and evidence
Attempt to capture patterns of similarity within a group

Stereotypes

Pass judgment
Leave little room for exceptions
Try to be simple
Don’t usually change, even when proven wrong
Formed based on anecdote and experience rather than empirical evidence
Do not help people understand their differences

EXAMPLES:

Trust is important in the Latino community; your business may be more successful if you first build personal relationships. VS Latinos are closed to outsiders, they only do business among themselves.
Many people who live in poverty come from parents who are uneducated. VS Poor people don’t care about education.
Wealthy people have large social networks that help them get jobs. VS Wealthy people get jobs because of who they know, not what they can do.
Students, in pairs, come up with one example of generalizations and stereotypes and write them on the board.

Stereotypes Activity
Now that you understand the differences, we’re going to work on identifying what stereotypes we are carrying around with us about different classes--ultimately, we hope to be able to make generalizations, but we probably don’t have the data for that yet. By examining and making visible these stereotypes, we will start to understand how we mentally define and categorize people. Our goal in this project will be to question and complicate these initial impressions. To make this simple, we’re going to do this on only 4 classes: Lower Class, Working Class, Middle Class, and Upper Class.

Individually: Write what class you think you belong to. Consider how you decided this (what indicators did you use...area, jobs, accent, income, dress, education, other?)
Tape poster down to table, divide into 4 quadrants
Label each quadrant:
1. Lower Class
2. Working Class
3. Middle Class
4. Upper Class
In groups of 5-6, on poster, we’re going to create class descriptions. These will be a mix of stereotypes and generalizations. For now, don’t think too hard about this! Think about:
1. What do they wear? What are visible external markers of class?
2. Where do they live?
3. What are their houses like?
4. What are their hobbies? What do they do for fun?
5. How do they talk and act?
6. What kinds of jobs do they have?
7. What kind of education do they have?
8. What bad or negative traits or habits do they have?
9. What do they value?
10. What skills do they have?
11. Anything else?
Now, go through your poster and put a G next to generalizations, and an S next to stereotypes.
Take 5-10 minutes to walk around and look at the groups. Take notes on…
1. What similarities or patterns do you see?
2. Anything that is surprising, or that stands out?
3. Is there anything on here that makes you uncomfortable? That seems wrong or inaccurate?
Compare your initial decision you made about your social class with the group definitions.
1. Did your characteristics match what’s here? Why/why not (fragmentation)
2. How have you formed these impressions? What experiences have led you to these impressions?
3. Objective vs. subjective indicators...which are better? How/why?
4. Did it feel different when you were making the poster for your identified class rather than other classes? Why?

Fussell: Notes on Class

Start reading this text.
Will need to annotate well!
We will be seminaring on this text on Thursday.
Will have class time tomorrow to read

HOMEWORK:

Get little post it notes for annotating books. DUE: Next Monday

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