Community and Environmental Sociology 578: Poverty and Place

Overview:
This course presents an overview of rural minorities and rural poverty in the United States. The first objective is to increase awareness of the nature and scope of poverty among African American, Hispanic American, Native American and, to a limited extent, Asian American populations in rural America. The second objective is to develop an understanding of the explanations for poverty, especially among minority groups, and to encourage students to consider rural dimensions of poverty that are often considered without respect to rural/urban or non-metro/metro differences. The third objective is to encourage critical evaluation of public policy options intended to address rural poverty. The final objective is to actively engage in the social research process. The class is organized to promote professionalization. Class assignments aim to develop students’ abilities to summarize and critique information, generate new and theoretically grounded information, and to effectively communicate information through oral presentations and written papers. Students will learn or hone skills in using journal article databases, writing effectively, and analyzing data through statistical software packages.

C&E Soc 578 Syllabus