Social Class

For this discussion, you must read Chapter 7 of the text, Sociology: Beyond Common Sense, and watch the two videos, Social Class in America 1957 McGraw-Hill text-films (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. [Transcript] (an old video but great example) and How Class Works – Richard Wolff Examines Class (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Then, review the document, Knowledge of Hidden Rules of Social Class. Read through the descriptions of daily activities and commonplace knowledge for lower, middle, and upper class people. Print it out and place an ‘X’ next to the things you know how to do [you can also just note your ‘X’ marks], and look to see how many ‘X’ marks you have in each category [If you don’t have children, use yourself and your siblings as a reference group.]. This will help you gain insight into the taken for granted or hidden knowledge you need to survive in various social classes. After completing these tasks, consider the following questions:

• Social Class in the US
  How would you categorize the types of knowledge? How and where would someone acquire and learn this knowledge? How do you gain access to the people and places this can be learned? Is this access generally equal in the US?
• You as a Social Being
  On which questionnaires did you have the most and least marks? Were you surprised by the outcome? Do you have equal access to the people and places required to acquire knowledge you currently do not have?
• Conclusions
  What conclusions can you make about the nature of the hidden knowledge necessary to be successful in each social class?

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.

Discussion adapted from: Ashton, P. (2005) Discussion ideas on Social Class. Resources for Teachers. Washington, D.C.: American Sociological Association