Race, Inequality and Community Contexts

Year of most recent data
Saturday, January 1, 2000 - 12:00
Author(s)

Stephen Sweet, Ithaca College

Learning Goals

Skill
After using this module, students will gain skills in:
Quantitative writing
Learning how to read, and interpret tables displaying frequencies and percentages
Using real world data to enhance and support key course concepts
Substance
To understand the income distribution in the United States in 2000
To understand the representation of racial minorities in the United States in 2000
Recognize the degree of geographic variation in income and ethnic composition
Consider how life chances are associated with the social contexts of place

Context for Use

In this exercise designed for an introductory sociology course. Students will examine social inequality at the community level, looking at income distributions in the U.S. and in different places within the U.S., as well as the ways in which ethnic groups are segregated by geographic area.

In this exercise students will examine social inequality at the community level, looking at income distributions in the U.S. and in different places within the U.S., as well as the ways in which ethnic groups are segregated by geographic area. Students will use actual data drawn from the 2000 Census of the United States to compare the place where they currently live, and places where they have lived, with the national distribution. Students will also examine some other places in Mississippi and South Dakota.

Teaching Notes and Tips

This activity uses the charts, rankings and maps on CensusScope.org. CensusScope is an easy-to-use tool to investigate U.S. trends using census data.

References and Resources