Inequality lies at the heart of current debates about opportunity and equity, implicating numerous contemporary policy issues. Public and scholarly interest in inequality has intensified, not merely because of historic increases in income and wealth disparity in the United States and other advanced industrial countries, but also because inequalities of race, ethnicity, gender, and social class are evolving in dramatic and complicated ways. Cornell University is a leading center of scholarship on inequality, drawing strength from its many departments and colleges.
The Minor in Inequality Studies’ Health Equity Track, launched in Spring 2019, affords interested students the opportunity to explore the social causes and consequences of inequalities in life expectancy, health outcomes, health-promoting behaviors, and access to health care. As with the general Minor in Inequality Studies, the Health Equity Track is open to any student in any major, and offers excellent preparation for students who are interested in careers in medicine, public health, social science research, or public policy.
More about the minor
The Minor in Inequality Studies, offered by Cornell University’s Center for the Study of Inequality, exposes students to scholarship on inequality through a breadth of approaches, methods, and topics while allowing them to tailor the program to their particular interests. The minor is open to students in all Cornell undergraduate colleges and can be completed in conjunction with almost any major by completing six required courses.
The loss of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits November 1 if the government shutdown holds benefits will have profound repercussions for democracy, says government scholar Jamila Michener.
Cornell researchers found that by prioritizing the perspectives of white Americans instead of those from underrepresented groups, studies of pandemic disparities likely missed important insights from those most affected by COVID-19.
Haowen Zheng, a doctoral candidate in sociology from Zibo, China, now studies why people move long distances within a country and how those moves shape their lives.
Annelise Orleck, Dartmouth College, will deliver the 2025 Alice Cook-Lois Gray Distinguished Lecture on April 15: “Poverty Wages, 'We're Not Lovin' It': Gender, Race and Inequality Rising in the 21st Century.”
Wednesday's executive order prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing in female sports discriminates not only against transgender people, but also against women, says philosophy professor Kate Manne.