- Subject:
- Sociology
- Material Type:
- Module
- Level:
- Community College / Lower Division
- Provider:
- Ohio Open Ed Collaborative
- Tags:
- License:
- Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial
- Language:
- English
- Media Formats:
- Downloadable docs, eBook, Video
Education Standards
Economic Inequality and Poverty in the United States
Food Stamps, Public Policy, and the Working Poor
How is Poverty Measured in the United States?
Lumen Learning - Poverty
Mapping Poverty in America
Supplemental Poverty Rate: A Different Way of Measuring Poverty
Compare and contrast explanations of poverty from a sociological perspective
Overview
OER Text Material
Economic Inequality and Poverty in the United States
Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World: Chapter 8 Section 4. This source explains how poverty is measured. Individual and structural level explanations of poverty are provided. Also included is a discussion of the effects of poverty.
Instructors could supplement with this resource:
Lumen Learning - Poverty
This OER textbook provides an overview of poverty and a brief discussion of government assistance programs. The section on feminization of poverty is great.
Supplementary Material (Videos and Reading)
Absolute and Relative Poverty - Khan Academy (Video)
This 7.5 minute video from the Khan Academy explains the difference between absolute and relative poverty. This video provides a basic definition of relative and absolute poverty. It is a bit detailed for an Introduction to Sociology course.
Food Stamps, Public Policy, and the Working Poor
Great information from The Society Pages on who using welfare programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (i.e. food stamps). It clearly illustrates that many people using public assistance are working.
How is Poverty Measured in the United States?
From the Center of Poverty Research University of California, Davis. A great explanation of how poverty is measured.
Data
Supplemental Poverty Rate: A Different Way of Measuring Poverty
Great source from Data in the News comparing different ways of measuring poverty using U.S. data.
Mapping Poverty in America
Great interactive tool from The New York Times on mapping poverty using data from the U.S. census.