Three classes that I have taken at Longwood University regarding inequality were:
SOCL 233- Introduction to Social Inequality and Differences
SOCL 295- Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
SOCL 320- Sociology of Education
- Introduction to Social Inequality and Differences was taken in the Spring of 2021 and was taught by Dr. Milne. The main focus of this course was to give a basic understanding of how our world has developed to have social inequality and why there are so many differences within society. We learned about how people are brought up in different locations and socioeconomic statuses and live very diverse lives.
- Sociology of Race and Ethnicity was taken in the Fall of 2021, and it was taught by Dr. Grether. This class consisted of why people are racist towards other ethnicities and races. We talked about how there are stigmas and dislike towards interracial marriages that have been around since it was legalized.
- Sociology of Education was taken in the Fall of 2020 with Dr. Bidwell. We learned in this class about the inequalities that children face in our education system. The main focus of the class was to highlight the why, and how severe, the inequality in our education system really is.
These three classes taught us about inequality issues related to race, class, gender, disability and sexuality. Race was a theme throughout the three classes because it is such a reoccurring basis of inequality. Before taking these classes I do not think I realized the extent and ways racism based on race still exist in our society, especially race biases. SOCL 295- Sociology of Race and Ethnicity extended my knowledge about this. In a reflection paper I spoke to an article that we read in this class was “The New threat: ‘Racism without racists’ by J. Blake. This article spoke about the new threat is not obvious racism but more racial biases. These subtle biases effect interracial families and many times the person being biased may not even know they are being biased.
Inequality based on class status was also a reoccurring theme throughout the three classes. In SOCL 320- Sociology of Education, it was apparent that racism based on class was a heavily contributing factor. I was unaware of this before taking this class and in a literature review it was discovered that students who live in lower economic status areas tend to have a lower quality education based upon the amount of funding and support they receive, in combination with the level of training and experience their teachers possess.
In SOCL 233- Introduction to Social Inequality and Differences I learned more about inequality based on gender, especially in sports. In a research review paper completed in that class it was found that girls frequently choose sports that identify with more femininity instead of participation in all sports. Many girls even suffer internal conflict when trying to decide whether to choose to play a historically masculine sport. Many sports are still found to be largely geared toward boys and the systemic characteristics of masculinity. In this same research review paper inequality based on disabilities was also discussed. An article written by T Fay in 2011 deals specifically with ableism in sports. The main idea of the article was that even with the advances in equality based on gender or race, people with disabilities have not made the same advances and remain “invisible.” Advances have been made through Title IX for gender equality and the Americans with Disabilities Act has helped; but persons with disabilities are still on the margins of our sports teams.
Lastly, sexuality also continues to be an area of inequality, especially in sports. In SOCL 233- Introduction to Social Inequality and Differences, it was discovered that in a research review paper that athletes, especially males, express homophobic attitudes far greater than the general population. Athletes who play traditional sports like football have a much higher prejudice towards homosexual people. They found that there are still high amounts of discrimination throughout sports towards the LGBTQ community and that change will be slow. Before this class and research review paper I was not aware the extent of discrimination that is still occurring in the sports world.
My writing for every one of these classes clearly highlights and deeply explains my understanding for the topic. I feel this is one of the areas that my learning has expanded the most. Inequality in our society is a rampant plague that has been around for centuries and even though we have made progress, it is still not enough.