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HNPG 033V
The Underclass Debate
Important
Note: This syllabus is from a past course, it is intended for
informational purposes ONLY. Actual class requirements, texts, and grading
may vary.
Instructor: Professor Wetherell
In the 1980s and 1990s much of the debate over American social policy focused
on the "underclass" and the effectiveness of welfare. In essence,
though, the underclass debate was and is about the past and present condition of
African-Americans. Understanding the essentials of the underclass debate
provides a broad window onto contemporary social policy and competing visions of
the history of African-Americans in the United States.
The purpose of the course is to expose students to the major positions in the
underclass debate and to provoke critical thinking about social policy
generally, and different historical visions of the African- American experience.
The course will consist of weekly discussions of the following books. In a fmal
paper, students will be required to evaluate the various positions using both
the assigned class material and contemporary reactions.
The following books will be required:
- Charles Murray, Losing Ground: American Social Policy, lOth Anniversary
Edition ([1984]New York, 1994).
- William Julius Wilson, The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the
Underclass, and Public Policy, pb. edn ([1987] Chicago, 1990)
- Christopher Jencks, Rethinking Social Policy: Race Poverty, and the
Underclass (Cambridge, 1992)
- Douglas S. Massey and Nacy A. Denton, American Apartheid: Segregation and
the Making of the Underclass (Cambridge, 1993)
- Stephan Themstrom and Abigail Thernstrom, America in Black and White: One
Nation, Indivisible (New York, 1997)
Additional readings will be assigned from:
Michael B. Katz, ed., The Underclass Debate: Views from History (Princeton,
1993).
Attendance is class meetings is required.
Grades will be based upon class discussion (70%) and a final, 13- 17 page
paper (30%).
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