Social Inequality in the US

Social Inequality in the United States

Fall 2017 Final Exam

Your final consists of 3 short essay questions (length: 300-500 words each). In part one, you’ll be selecting one of two questions to write on. To be clear, you should only respond to either question 1A or question 1B, not both. In part two, everyone must respond to the two questions provided. Again, for the second portion, you should respond to both question 2A and 2B.

PART ONE

Choose ONE of the following two essays; your responses should be 300-500 words each, and should clearly draw from course materials.

1A. What is deindustrialization? What are the core features of deindustrialization, what developments have encouraged deindustrialization, and what are some of its effects?

1B. Write an essay discussing the history of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) policies and their effects. How did FHA policies affect racial inequality in the US? How are those policies examples of institutionalized racism? What insights does this case provide on broader issues of inequality in the US?

PART TWO

2A. What factors contribute to the maintenance and reproduction of inequality? Include a discussion of AT LEAST 4 distinct factors. Discuss HOW they contribute to the reproduction of inequality. You should choose factors that you think help provide broad insight into inequality in the US, and include a discussion of why you think each factor is important.