Courses:

Course Info

• Course Number / Code:
• 21A.235 (Spring 2007) 
• Course Title:
• American Dream: Exploring Class in the U.S. 
• Course Level:
• Undergraduate 
• Offered by :
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  Massachusetts, United States  
• Department:
• Anthropology 
• Course Instructor(s):
• Prof. Christine Walley 
• Course Introduction:
•  
• 
  
  21A.235 American Dream: Exploring Class in the U.S.
  
  
  
  

  Spring 2007

  
  
  

  
  
  

  Course Highlights

  
  
  

  
  
  21A.235 American Dream: Exploring Class in the U.S.
  
  
  
  

  Spring 2007

  
  
  

  

  A business man and a construction worker, two jobs associated with different classes in the American socioeconomic hierarchy. This course explores how ideas about and performance of class shape our daily lives. (Composite image by MIT OCW. Original photos courtesy of Avi Flax [photos] and William Spaetzel, respectively.)

  
  
  

  Course Description

  
  
  

  Americans have historically preferred to think of the United States in classless terms, as a land of economic opportunity equally open to all. Yet, social class remains a central fault line in the U.S. Subject explores the experiences and understandings of class among Americans positioned at different points along the U.S. social spectrum. Considers a variety of classic frameworks for analyzing social class and uses memoirs, novels and ethnographies to gain a sense of how class is experienced in daily life and how it intersects with other forms of social difference such as race and gender.
  
  

  Recommended Citation

  
  
  

  For any use or distribution of these materials, please cite as follows:

  Christine Walley, course materials for 21A.235 American Dream: Exploring Class in the U.S., Spring 2007. MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].