Responses to courses on Inequality

Davis, Nancy J. (1992). Teaching about Inequality: Student Resistance, Paralysis, and Rage. Teaching Sociology. 20(3) 232-238.

In this article the author addresses three basic classroom responses to discussions of systematic inequality in American life. This subject can be touchy in a culture that socializes its young to view inequality as a natural division between winners and losers, and the result of a fair competition for resources. The three class types and some strategies are listed below.

The resistance class: This class resists the idea of stratification as a societal trait, and clings to the idea of a meritocracy.

You must find ways for them to report on inequality themselves. You ranting about it will be seen as political correctness, and the forcing of your “opinions” upon them. The author recommends such writing assignments as “Imagine if you were born the other gender” to highlight the impact gender stratification has on everyone’s life. You must find a way to shift the reporting of the inequality to the students.

The paralyzed class:

This class is usually the result of providing little or no historical context when discussing inequality. If the present is not discussed in the historical context of previous social change, students will correctly feel paralyzed. Students need to be presented with realistic ways in which they can make a difference. This is similar to the idea presented in the doom and gloom article.

The enraged class:

Anger can be a gift to help motivate students to get involved; however rage can also lead to reductionist (and therefore not sociological) thinking. Capitalism, white racism, patriarchy, or heterosexism can be seen as THE problem in the world, and not one dimension of stratification.

These enraged classes can become uncomfortable for students that feel silenced, uncomfortable, or attacked. Anonymous essays can be read and discussed; this separates the idea from the student.