Institutionalized Inequality: Readings on the Structural Causes of Poverty and Inequality in America

The reading selections in Institutionalized Inequality: Readings on the Structural Causes of Poverty and Inequality in America go beyond individualistic explanations of poverty and economic inequality to examine the equally important economic, political, and cultural forces contributing to these persistent social problems. This collection reminds students that the dominant individualistic explanations of poverty and inequality so prevalent in American culture do not adequately address the other equally important structural forces that have been well-documented by leading scholars in a variety of fields.

This insightful anthology can be used in a variety of social science courses that explore poverty, economic inequality, social mobility, and a variety of related social problems. Institutionalized Inequality is a powerful resource that will help to significantly expand students’ structural perspectives on these topics.

Lawrence M. Eppard is an assistant professor of sociology at Concord University in Athens, West Virginia. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. His research interests include social stratification and inequalities, focusing on poverty, economic inequality, and social welfare. He has taught a variety of related college courses, including wealth and poverty, social inequality, social problems, sociological theory, demography, and introduction to social welfare. His research has been published in books and academic journals, he regularly presents his research at academic conferences, he frequently organizes academic symposia focusing on these social problems, and he acts as a reviewer for multiple academic journals.