This website presents a rich corpus of qualitative data derived from a Social Inequality course taught by Associate Professor Sarah Swider at Wayne State University. The course integrates sociological theory with students’ personal experiences to foster a deeper understanding of social inequality.
Throughout the semester, students engage in “write-In” exercises, where they are prompted to free write for 10-15 minutes. These prompts are designed to encourage reflection on personal experiences with social inequality. Students also produced poems and visual projects that captured some aspect of inequality in their lives. For more information about the data and student participants, please visit the Data/Research page.
Classroom and Community Impact: The Write-Ins provide students with a space to explore their own experiences with inequality, share their perspectives with peers, and learn from the diverse experiences of their classmates. Beyond the classroom, their reflections, poems, and visual productions offer a unique lens into social inequality in the Detroit metro region, or as they have named it, “Detroit through Our Eyes.” This valuable data provides insights into the multifaceted nature of social inequality in the region.
Goals: The overarching goal of this project is to enhance understanding of how social inequality impacts individuals, communities, and society at large. By amplifying first-person voices, we aim to shed light on the experiences of inequality, subjugation, oppression, and power from various perspectives. Additionally, we celebrate moments of enlightenment, engagement, empowerment, and inclusion captured in these entries.