Rodelyne Alexandra – Social Class

  1. Do you notice any similarities in the way social class is discussed in readings 4.1 and 4.2? Do you notice any differences in the way these two readings DIFFERENTIATE between social classes?

The first reading discussed Social class in term of hierarchy from low to high based on income, wealth, power and education. Per the author, this approach is the objective definition of the social class in a society. Additionally, the second reading defines social class by using the subway system and categorize them from lowest to highest. Other similarities that exist between these two texts on social class is, they both elaborate social class in term of income. The highest income or the upper class is above $200K and the lowest income is in the range of $20K. They both have 5 categories of social class based on household income. Yet, both readings differ from each other in different aspects, such as the first consider the US population in general while the other one is very specific to social class based on New York subway system. One of them talk about the perception of Americans on social class, what people think about their class, where they belong to. The other one is based on data from a credible institution, the U.S Census Bureau. These data shows that income changes between boroughs and neighborhoods. The richest people live in Lower Manhattan and the poorest in the other boroughs mostly black neighborhoods, except in minor stations in those boroughs.

2- Pick the station closest to where you live. Using the concepts from Reading 4.1, what social class tends to live in your neighborhood? Are you surprised (or not) by the answer? Do you feel it is an accurate representation of the people living in your neighborhood?

Considering the neighborhood and station where I live, on 185 Hillside Ave, I would say per the author my neighborhood is a middle class one. Because I noticed that most of people are working people. Some seems educated and some may not. I think maybe the median household income can vary between 40K to 250K. According to me, mostly all types of social classes lives in my neighborhood such lower, working, middle, Upper-Middle and Upper if we base on the author’s classification. I do not think it is an accurate representation because there are working people that makes more than 250k, should we consider them in the upper class or the working people class. A CPA, for example that owns a small accounting firm can make 500k or 1M as income or revenue. Does that mean they are not part of the working class. In what class should we categorize that person, Upper or working class? In what category or class should we put a rich person? A person that owns only businesses.

3- Based on Reading 4.2, do you notice a general pattern about social classes in NYC?

Yes there is a pattern about social classes in NYC based on the New York subway. I noticed that for all trains numbers, the stations situated in Manhattan specifically Chambers Street, Park Place, and World Trade Center, in Lower Manhattan), are where you find the highest median household income people. And as much as a stations are moving away from Manhattan you will find the poorest household income. Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens are the low income boroughs, except for some stations that are really closed to Manhattan. In most lines the poorest people live in Brooklyn and The Bronx. Except in line G, where the incomes shift a little higher for Brooklyn comparing to Queens.

Jason Medero 4.1

  1. I did notice similarities on how social class is discussed. In both articles majority of individuals indicate themselves as Middle Class. The differences is that in “What Determines How Americans Perceive Their Social Class?” the writer differentiates social class in many ways opposed to in the New Yorker it just speaks about the inequality related to train station stops.
  2. Since I live in Staten Island the closes subway stations on the infographic to me is the South Ferry. The social class that tends to live in my area is upper middle class, with college degrees. This does not surprise me. A lot of the people who live near me are skilled professionals.
  3. The general pattern I noticed about social classes from the 4.2 reading is that the farther you get away from Manhattan the lower the social classes get on average.

1. In reading 4.1, the way that it is discussed is by defining the term “social class” as commonly used in American culture but not understood. The reading digs deeper into defining the term “social class” as a hierarchy in society from low to high, based on income, wealth, power, culture, behavior, heritage, and prestige. The reading also explains how there is a social class in education and household income that determines the individual’s social class status. After I read the 4.2 reading, I noticed that there were some similarities that were compared to reading 4.1. One similarity I noticed was the way income was used to separate the low, middle, and upper classes. A difference that I encountered in both of the readings was the way each graph was created. For example, reading 4.1 shows the amount of income each class represented. However, in reading 4.2, it was displayed as a line in which we had to press on the point where we went to view the income of that specific location. Where ever the individual lives, their income, and social class status will differ because of their neighborhood placement and because each neighborhood has a different social class. 

2. The station that is near where I live is the J train station. The social class that tends to live in my neighborhood is the middle class which is $75-$99k. I’m surprised because I always thought that I lived in a rich neighborhood because there are not as much homeless in my neighborhood as there are in parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn. I believe that my neighborhood is the most diverse neighborhood because the people living there and who work are mostly Arabs, Hispanics, Asians and so much more. I definitely would consider my neighbors decent in the middle class. My neighborhood is not considered to be in a rich or poor location. To conclude, my neighborhood is in the middle class. 

3. Based on reading 4.2, I noticed that there is a general pattern of social classes in NYC which is in Manhattan it seems as if the location Chambers st is wealthier than the other locations.

  1. I noticed that in both 4.1 and 4.2 readings social class is being focused on income and location, and how New York has a problem with income inequality. Where ever an individual might live or decide to go classifies social class. Especially depending where the individual lives for instance Manhattan, the income there is the highest out of all boroughs. In reading 4.2 it shows how the 4 line the highest income is Brooklyn bridge city hall and grand central 42st. the difference between both readings is that 4.1 goes into detail about social class and talks about social class with education. In 4.2 it’s more of a graph that shows you the income of each location in each train line.
  2. Using concepts from reading 4.1 the social class in my neighborhood is “working class” im not sure wether I should be surprised or if I should’ve been known. Fordham is known for houses the borough’s largest and most diverse shopping district.
  3. in 4.2 reading I noticed Manhattan has the highest income rate no matter what line you live by it’s still the highest in the charts.

Tristan Flinn 4.1

In the first reading 4.1 which has far more to say about actual social class and the roots and causes of it. Heritage, life style, living situation, attitude in life and toward your figure, who people see you as. While the other one if I am correct and clicked on the right link, brings us to a place where we can access income in subway neighborhoods, and basically it said if you’re from Manhattan you are well off and if you are from any other burrough you are poor and your income is not as high, so a somewhat simplified version. Lots of households do not make over 50 K a year, which is not even that much for yourself, yet alone if you have a family. 4.1 does dive deeper into how many people make a certain amount of money and how many people have billions of dollars

2.With the closet stop being 110th on the c train for me the average making is 57 thousand per year. I am surprised and sort of not surprised by this, my area is a mix of all the neighborhoods, and its a nice area at times. It has become a little more expensive because of some of these super fancy buildings that have been put in since my family moved in during 2002. I feel it is an accurate representation because The area is not super rich and high class but does have some nice beautiful things about it. 

3. I’ve noticed that everyone who doesn’t live directly in Manhattan has less income yearly. And it is probably because Manhattan is overpriced when it comes to everything. The graph also almost perfectly levels up as you get closer to Chambers street.

Destiny Balbi

Identification to social classes

  1.  Do you notice any similarities in the way social class is discussed in readings 4.1 and 4.2? Do you notice any differences in the way these two readings DIFFERENTIATE between social classes?

Something that was similar with both readings is that both discussed numbers and information about social classes. It mentioned how we perceive ourselves when it comes to identifying with a social class.They discuss it based on income , age ,race, etc..But the difference between the two is both writers seem to differ on many ways when it came to ranking these classes. Such as the charts used, article one uses a date chart while using different categories, whereas the second graph uses a line graph.

  1. Pick the station closest to where you live. Using the concepts from Reading 4.1, what social class tends to live in your neighborhood? Are you surprised (or not) by the answer? Do you feel it is an accurate representation of the people living in your neighborhood?

I live on Kingsbridge Road so I live on the D line. And the median income was 18k. That would mean others in my neighborhood and I are in the lower class. To be honest, I am not surprised. The building I live in is a mess and hasn’t had a maintenance check in years. The block is always a mess. We also have a lot of cheap brand stores around us such as dollar trees and 99cent stores.I always knew we were lower class hence that money was always an issue. It’s just sad to see the reality. I do believe it’s an accurate representation of my neighborhood because everyone in my neighborhood kind of knows everybody, so income is something we all kind of talk about and we all made around the same money so this is pretty accurate. 

  1. Based on Reading 4.2, do you notice a general pattern about social classes in NYC?

Something I noticed about social classes is that the stigma that “ living in Manhattan means you’re rich” is true. While the people who live in Manhattan are neither wealthy nor rich, they are still stable enough to live comfortably in Manhattan. People in Manhattan tend to land in the upper class.

Discussion Board 4.1


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Instructions for completing this discussion board assignment:

a) Identify which discussion question you are answering in your comment by placing the relevant number at the start of your answer. For example:

2. Crime has often been used as a form of social control by…

4. Michelle Alexander’s argument about segregation…

b) Respond to one other student’s comments.

NOTE: As usual, follow the guidelines from previous discussion board assignments, in answering by creating a new post…

  1. Do you notice any similarities in the way social class is discussed in readings 4.1 and 4.2? Do you notice any differences in the way these two readings DIFFERENTIATE between social classes?
  2. Pick the station closest to where you live. Using the concepts from Reading 4.1, what social class tends to live in your neighborhood? Are you surprised (or not) by the answer? Do you feel it is an accurate representation of the people living in your neighborhood?
  3. Based on Reading 4.2, do you notice a general pattern about social classes in NYC?