Week of January 26

Michael R. H. Swanson, Ph. D.

Office GHH 215

Hours: M: 9:30 11:00 T-Th 11:00-12:00

Phone: (254) 3230

E-MAIL MSWANSON@RWU.EDU

Reminder regarding the novel, Samaritan Target Date for Completion Monday, February 2, I promised I'd have some specific thoughts/ideas for you "soon" You'll find them under the link "Samaritan Thoughts" in the table of contents to the left.

Read, in Class Matters

From Enounters with Class,

Shadowy Lines That Still Divide. pp. 1 - 26

"From The Bronx to Cornell" by Richard Price. pp. 237-240

Before you read anything in Class Matters, take a look at the four pictures on the scroll bar, top left. They represent four "classes": Poor, Middle, Working, and Rich. Figure out which one is which, and write yourself a note about your choices.

NEXT. assign yourself to one of the categories--don't peek at the book until after you've done this.

AFTER you've read the material for today's discussion, do two things:

First, check your assignment of the persons in the pictures to the classes they represent. How many did you get right? What were the visual tip-offs?

Second, To which social class do you assign yourself? Note that there are two tables--the table conscerning the class to which people think they belong, and the class to which they actually belong. Here again, how accurate were your assessments. Note that this book is 10 years old. Have things changed in the last 10 years? You can see how much, if any, by clicking here.

Read, in Class Matters

Introduction, by Bill Keller. pp. ix-wviii

Shadowy Lines That Still Divide. pp. 1 - 26

By now you should be familiar with the name Richard Price. This short piece should give you a chance to see why writing about social class is very important to him. To get a sense of how his world changed, prowl around the neighborhoods in which he lived in The Bronx and in Cornell, using the maps below.