Paul Furssell's Class Analysis

In the article, "Class in America", Gregory Mantsios (Myths and Realities 2000) shows us how what class a person is in affects his or hers life more than they think. This article is written sufficiently well however, it does have some weak spots. I will prove my thesis by examining his use of examples and showing factual data and statistics, but also show how this article could have been better.

There is much debate about the issue of social class in the United States. There are arguments about whether social classes are distinctly separate or fluid, dependent upon one’s community or society as a whole, and if they are subjective or objective (Hughes and Jenkins). However, despite the debate surrounding social classes, it is still important to try to define them and analyze their effects, as they are such an important part of our identity and our opportunities in society. Although our society has tried to appear as though we have no classes, and it is becoming harder to tell what class someone is in by material goods, classes do still exist today (Scott and Leonhardt). The trend has been to divide the U.S. into four major

“The percentage of Americans who say they are in the lower-middle or lower class has risen from a quarter of the adult population to about a third in the past four years, according to a national survey of 2,508 adults by the Pew Research Center” (http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/09/10/a-third-of-americans-now-say-they-are-in-the-lower-classes/). Today’s adults stating that they are in the lower class are most likely to have had a rough life growing up, and can now not escape the lower class. Social class is the idea of “a division of a society based on social and economic status” (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/social-class). Social class has the greatest impact on who a person turns out to be and what decisions they make because those

In the U.S there are several different methods used to categorize Americans. One of those methods is class. Class is defined as, the system of ordering a society in which people are divided into sets based on perceived social or economic status. Class matters because whatever class we are a part of affects the education we receive, Marriage, parenting and even the areas we get to live in.

In Class Matters, Bill Keller examines the meaning of the word class and how it plays on the life of the US citizens.According to Class Matters, a class is represented as four cards, one from each suit: education, income, occupation, and wealth. Based on your cards you are put into a class. Most people end up with the same cards as their parents. Keller explains how a class can be predetermined by a person’s upbringing or how they were raised. In this book, Bill Keller suggests that it is quite difficult to move into other social classes than the one we were born in, or a class we have been associated with for a long time. Based on the reading of this book along with other resources, moving into other social classes is exceptionally

In his novel, Making Societies, William G. Roy expresses class as “social relationships that are understood by participants to be hierarchical on the basis of socioeconomic group membership, reinforced by major institutions and recurrent over time” (Roy, 158). With this definition in mind, my family would be considered upper-middle class in today’s societal terms, or upper class based upon Roy’s explanation. Max Weber identifies three concepts that determine the class categories: education, religion, and medicine. We can use these parameters in order to argue that my family has used class advantages in order to get into ISU.

Have you ever referred to someone as “high class,” “middle class,” or “low class?” The article “Class In America” is a very educated read and describes the way people are characterized by their “class.” I think that this article informs all types of readers and allows people to see how people are grouped based on themselves. “Class in America” is written to show and prove to society that people do not talk about “class” anymore, because of the way the world looks at it today. Gregory Mantosis is the author of the article, and he uses many facts and data to prove his points.

Social class is a topic of discussion that is generally avoided, especially in America. In a country where all of one's dreams can allegedly come true; the notion of class highlights the jarring inequalities and social divisions between one American and another. In recent years, recognizing one's privilege is beginning to become a cultural value. However, it has always been something that people were aware of, as seen in the eye-opening documentary, People Like Us: Social Class is America (2001). The documentary strives to accurately portray how the contrasted people of America live, interact, and see themselves and others. Of the ideas the doc showcases the most important are, the higher classes influence over the poor, and the poor's poor self-image, as these ideas strike the core of why one should be conscientious of their class.

Approximately 26 million animals are used every year in the United States alone for research and commercial testing (“Background of the Issue” 1). For years, legislators have debated the pros and cons of animal testing, and laws were passed to attempt to fix the inhumane treatment of the cute, innocent testing subjects, the animals. Although the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) was revised numerous times, “the species most commonly used in experiments (mice, rats, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians) comprise 99% of all animals in laboratories” and are the animals that are specifically exempted from protection under the act (“Experiments on Animals” 2). A simple fix to animal cruelty during testing is to use alternative methods since human and animal bodies already vary greatly. For years, animal testing was the best option because there was no alternative to testing on a living, whole-body system; however, in the age of technology, there is no reason for millions of animals to be killed due to the severity of the testing. Therefore, animal testing should be banned because alternative methods provide more accurate results since human bodies are very different than animal bodies; furthermore, animal advocacy organizations should promote cruelty-free products more so customers know what to purchase and use.

Stereotypes and misconceptions are mainly false assumptions and beliefs about different cultures and groups. The reason as to why stereotypes and misconceptions exist is because many individuals Stereotypes are basically oversimplified images or ideas used to describe the gender, nationality or even nature of a certain type of person. While some stereotypes are humourous, they can also provide a negative impact upon their targets. Misconceptions, on the other hand, are false and rude accusations directed upon a certain individual or group. There are many stereotypes and misconceptions that are directed towards individuals of the Pagan religion because, since it represents only a small portion of the population, other individuals are

Last class we watched an informative documentary named “People like Us, Social Class in America”. America is known to be a country defined by class. Throughout the movie it showed different opinions on what class was based on by different people and the answers varied from looks, house size, career choice, race, manners, upbringing, and education. As we move through life, most times we remove ourselves from different people not in our class to then live amongst those who share similar backgrounds and who we are most comfortable with. As stated, “if there is class, there is an inequality one cannot explain and it perpetuates itself”. Revealing class can expose hope, fears, prejudice and a myriad of different emotions that we may not all be comfortable speaking about. I feel as if part two and part three were most applicable to myself because they are something that I have experienced both directly and indirectly.

How many times have we heard about the Shakespeare's influence? Because of the particular and flawless works of William Shakespeare, it is not surprising that why he is one of the most influential person in the literary society for more than century. Undoubtedly, there are many people willing to let their heart be broken and cry for his work over and over again. Although his body was consumed by the time, his name and spirit are still breathing in our world through the poetry, literature, book or even movie. It can be found Shakespeare's influence in every entertainment industry, especially his shortest and bloodiest tragedy like 'Macbeth', which is the most famous one. Even 'The Lion King' (1994), the Disney animated movie by Roger Allers,

Race still predominantly plays a role in everyday classism. Discriminatory housing practices traps minorities in the lower class for generations. Moreover, America’s healthcare system unfair to people who have low income. Also, Public transportation does not properly serve the needs of those who use it; as well as, it makes it formidable to secure, and maintain a stable job. Additionally, education for the poor unequal in graduation rates; along with, a social polarization against lower class students. Classism in America is an old, yet consistent problem that, creates an unfair economic divide of

Social class describes the different "layers" that exist in society. These "layers," or classes in society, are a division that civilization has been running on ever since the beginning of mankind. In most modern societies, our system of social class division is one of opportunity. We experience a good deal of social mobility, where people through generations or in their own lifetime can move up or down the social scale. By examining the many different perceptions of social class along with S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, it is illustrated that social class has an impact on people while they are growing up, and will usually deny them from rising above adversity.

Sociologist Robert Granfield studied the effects of class stigma in upwardly mobile, working-class students at an Ivy League law school. He found that although these students had embraced their class status before entering college, they “soon came to define themselves and their