Shadowy Lines Questions

Worksheet for "Shadowy Line That Still Divide"

1. In what ways has the country "gone a long way toward an appearance of classlessness"?
   

 

1. In what areas has class come to play a greater role in American life over the past 30 years?
   

 

1. What is mobility?
   

 

1. What does new research on mobility show?
   

 

1. How does the concept of mobility relate to the concept of the American dream?
   

 

1. What has "replaced the old system of inherited privilege"? Why is this a paradox?
   

 

1. According to a recent New York Times poll on class, how do Americans feel about "their prospects for getting ahead"?
   

 

1. According to the poll, what do Americans believe will help them attain a higher status?
   

 

1. How do most Americans, according to the poll, feel their standard of living relates to that of their parents?
   

 

1. How does the article use an analogy of a hand of cards to explain how to think of a person's position in society?
   

 

1. According to the poll, how do Americans view their mobility and class status?
   

 

1. What did initial mobility studies say, and what do economists say about those studies now?
   

 

1. What do the new studies of mobility say?
   

 

1. What is the "broad consensus about what an optimal range of mobility is"?
   

 

1. How does mobility in the United States rate to that in other countries, and why?
   

 

1. How have globalization and technology impacted class?
   

 

1. How does educational level come into play when discussing class?
   

 

1. How are class differences in health widening?
   

 

1. How does family structure differ along class lines?
   

 

1. The article asks, "Will the trends that have reinforced class lines while papering over the distinctions persist?" How does it answer that question?
   

 

1. Why does "the idea of fixed class positions, on the other hand, rubs many the wrong way"?
   

 

1. The article ends with a paragraph about optimism. In your own words, what does that paragraph mean? How does optimism relate to the concept of class and social mobility?