Instruction
**Please do the readings in this order. This topic is not going to be the easiest, it is pure theory and some people are just not theoretically inclined. I recognize that, however, the two theories we will be dealing with here are the basics, and very important in understanding inequality.
**I wrote an extensive lecture (below) as a supplement to the readings. It will help you understand the articles, particularly the Marx reading, which is difficult. I recommend you read the articles first, and attempt to understand it on your own, and only then read the lecture. I really want you to tackle a difficult reading on your own, it builds intellectual confidence. Read it slowly and carefully, and think about what the author is trying to say. Even if it doesn't make sense, persist. The lecture will clarify it for you.
**This introductory theoretical section is the most difficult and the most demanding part of the course, and it will get better I promise. But you must understand this well, because we will be revisiting the theories for the rest of the course. The theories are tools we need to acquire, so we can better understand different kinds of inequality.
1. Read: "The Uses of Poverty" - Herbert Gans. As you are reading it, try to identify the main point Gans is making. Just to give you a hint, he is not as cynical as it may seem at first. He is not saying that poverty is good!
2. Read: "Marx's Theory of Social Inequality". As you are reading Marx, be sure to fully understand and be able to give examples of the following concepts: " mode of production" (historical materialism) and " false consciousness"
3. Submit relevant part of the assignment