Social Inequality in a Global Age

The only undergraduate text that analyzes inequality within the United States in the context of our changing global economy

This Third Edition of Scott Sernau's highly acclaimed text provides a sociological framework for analyzing inequality within U.S. society. US inequalities of race, class and gender can only be understood in the context of the changing global economy, and this is the first text to make that connection its focus, bringing domestic inequalities and the global context home to students with vivid examples and analysis. Using lively writing and examples straight from today's headlines, the author places each issue and dimension of inequality in the context of a changing global economy. He also introduces both classical and contemporary theories of stratification to help interpret these real-world illustrations. This edition features two new chapters: The Gordian Knot of Race, Class, and Gender (3) and Challenging the System: Social Movements (12), as well as a new focus on how the current regime of market-driven solutions actually contributes to, rather than reduces, social inequality.

New and Proven Features

• Primarily highlights social inequalities in the United States, while addressing how American inequalities are impacting-and are affected by-global ones
• Illustrates the intersection of race, class, and gender throughout the book as a pervasive institutionalized system of privilege and oppression
• Features Visual Essays, including three new ones demonstrating global (Honduras), rural (Navajoland), and urban (Deindustrialized) contexts, providing powerful photographic depictions of inequality in global contexts
• Includes Making Connections exercises that allow students to amplify the local–global connections made throughout the book and that provide links to reliable sources of additional information
• Incorporates updated information and statistics, featuring key data in clear graphical formats and tying numeric data to examples that illustrate their significance

Scott Sernau is Associate Professor of Sociology at Indiana University, South Bend where he regularly teaches Social Inequality, International Inequalities, Sociology of the Family, Race and Ethnic Relations, Social Problems, Mexican Culture and Society, and Urban Society. He has received a number of teaching awards including the IUSB Distinguished Teaching Award and the IU Sylvia Bowman Award for distinguished teaching. He is editor of the ASA Teaching Resources Guide: Social Stratification Courses: Syllabi and Instructional Materials and his several previous books include Economies of Exclusion: Underclass Poverty and Labor Market Change in Mexico (Praeger).