Higher Education and Inequality · Sociology
- weekly reading responses (a couple questions, graded complete/ incomplete, except for a few weeks when you need to write longer memos) - research project about Columbia
This was without a doubt the BEST class I have ever taken at Columbia. Professor Sharpe is a kind goddess full of knowledge, and the readings for this class were incredible. You probably don't have to do all the reading for this class to get by in the discussions, but it's SO worth it to do them because they are so so interesting. This class should honestly be a requirement for all college students. Please do yourself and your Columbia education a favor and take!
Sooo much! The history of the ivies and when/why they chose to include/exclude certain groups of people, why people choose to go to college, the credentialing system, affirmative action (history and policies surrounding it), student loans and what they mean to students/families, the ranking system, for-profit schools (their history/how they're expanding), sexual assault on campus and the issue of hookup culture.
I learned about the history of universities and colleges in the unties states and just how much influence, money, religion, and other countries had on the US education system.
In this class we learned how the institution of higher education in the United States continues to perpetuate system of inequality. This is especially true because of the hierarchal nature of higher education, making the most elite spaces (such as Columbia University) the most inaccessible.
Class is extremely intersting and the students are all respectful and encouraging of one another. You really get to focus and dig deep into the reading together as a class.
I recommend this class for anyone wanting to this more critically on how education can reproduce systems of inequality. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2023 Course: SOCIUN3921_001_2023_3-HIGHEREDUCATIONANDINEQUALITY : SOCIUN3921_001_2023_3 - HIGHER EDUCATION AND INEQUALITY Instructor: Teresa Sharpe
I improved my interview skills in terms of pursuing interviews as a method, from developing an interview protocol to learning how to actually conduct substantive interviews.
I learned about the historical underpinnings of the construction of U.S. admissions processes, how existing class, racial, and gender inequalities are exacerbated by the U.S. higher education system, and the ways in which universities in the U.S. were structurally designed to maintain a ruling class of elites.
Extremely topical and incredibly interesting, will have you coming away with a nuanced understanding of your own experience as a student at Columbia