Class and Stratification (SOC*2390)
Code and section: SOC*2390*01
Term: Fall 2025
Instructor: Elena Chou
Details
UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Fall 2025
SOC* 2390 Class and Social Stratification
Instructor: Elena Chou
Office: TBA
Office Hours: Monday 6:00pm-6:50pm
Email: echou03@uoguelph.ca
Course location: Landscape Architecture (LA) 204 (in person)
Meeting times and days: Monday 7:00pm-9:50pm
Calendar Description An examination of the persistent bases of social inequalities such as wealth, income, power and prestige including class formation, class consciousness, political activity and social mobility.
Pre-requisites: SOC* 1100
Course Description Drawing on a variety of theoretical and conceptual approaches, this course interrogates some of the systemic/structural origins of social inequality and social stratification in contemporary Canada and examines the everyday effects of social inequality for Canadians, with a focus on how social class intersects with other social locations such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, ability/disability, and immigration status. We will explore case studies of social stratification and social inequality in areas including healthcare, employment, and education, as well as some ways in which Canadians are challenging social inequality. Another key focus of our course will be on the social processes and policies that create and reproduce inequality from one generation to the next.
Course-Specific Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Be able to define the concepts of intersectionality, social class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age/ageism, ability/disability, and immigration status, and explain how they intersect to produce and reproduce social inequality and social stratification in Canadian society
2. Be able to have a conceptual foundation for theorizing and understanding some of the macro level, or structural/systemic, origins of social inequality as well as the micro level, or everyday, effects of social inequality, from an intersectional basis
3. Be able to utilize interdisciplinary approaches in analyzing social inequality and social stratification in Canadian society
4. Be able to apply course concepts, themes, and theories to the analysis of empirical case studies and the everyday world in relation to social inequality and social stratification
5. Have further developed their critical thinking, reading and writing skills
Required Texts: Students do not have to purchase a textbook. All required readings are available online via CourseLink, Ares Course Reserve (the library online course reserves), and or on websites via the links on the syllabus.
Evaluation: TBA
Please note: This is a draft outline and is for informational purposes only; a complete course syllabus will be provided via CourseLink on the first day of class. As such, the assessments are subject to change prior to the finalized syllabus.