Hirschl, Thomas A
Professor
My major scholarly focus is on social class differentiation in contemporary societal development. I am working on a new method for measuring social class because the measurement of class is inadequate. I am developing a “life course” approach, partially inspired by Weber’s definition of social class (“life chances”), to identify the economic and health correlates of social class.
research
research and scholarship focus
I am focused on measuring how individuals experience economic hardship and economic success over their life course, and how they perceive these experiences. This perception gets into the realm of social ideology, and how individuals interpolate their experience in ideological terms.
primary investigator of
- RSS MASTER'S THESIS, DISSERTATION, AND EARLY CAREERS RESEARCH AWARD | Research Grant
research areas
- development sociology | collaborative research area (CALS)
- youth | collaborative research area (CALS)
domestic geographic focus
- New York State | state
submitted impact statement
- Poverty in the 21st century: challenges and opportunities | 2007 Impact statement
- Poverty in the 21st century: challenges and opportunities | 2006 Impact statement
- New York State Teen Assessment Project | 2005 Impact statement
- Food stamp use across the adult life course | 2004 Impact statement
affiliations
head of
- Population and Development Program | research program
faculty appointment in
- Development Sociology (D SOC) | Cornell department
member of graduate field
- Development Sociology | graduate field
- Public Affairs | graduate field
other Cornell affiliations
- Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center (BLCC) | research center
- Center for the Study of Inequality (CSI) | research center
- Cornell Population Program (CPP) | research program
teaching
teaching focus
My focus is on delivering the best possible introductory course in sociology, and I teach our 101 course every fall.
teaches
- DSOC 1101 - Introduction to Sociology (TR 10:10:AM-11:00:AM) | fall 2009 class
- DSOC 4970 - Independent Study in Development Sociology (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- DSOC 4991 - Independent Honors Research in Social Science (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- DSOC 7900 - Graduate-Level Thesis Research (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- DSOC 7910 - Teaching Experience (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- DSOC 8720 - Development Sociology (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- DSOC 8900 - Master's-Level Thesis Research (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- DSOC 9900 - Doctoral-Level Thesis Research (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- DSOC 4970 - Independent Study in Development Sociology (TBA -) | spring 2009 class
- DSOC 7900 - Graduate-Level Thesis Research (TBA -) | spring 2009 class
- DSOC 8720 - Development Sociology (TBA -) | spring 2009 class
- DSOC 8900 - Master's-Level Thesis Research (TBA -) | spring 2009 class
- DSOC 9900 - Doctoral-Level Thesis Research (TBA -) | spring 2009 class
- DSOC 1101 - Introduction to Sociology (TR 10:10:AM-11:00:AM) | fall 2008 class
service
outreach focus
I direct the Teen Assessment Program which serves youth and youth service providers by scientifically identifying youth social behavior and finding ways to modify behavior in order to achieve postive youth development. A survey of 2,300 youth was conducted in Herkimer County and this survey involved school officials in 12 public school districts, 33 volunteer survey administrators, and the Herkimer-Oneida Joint County Planning Office. The survey results are now being dissminated and varioius public fora are planned to discuss and utilize the results.
background
featured in
- Half of U.S. children -- and most black children -- will use food stamps, Cornell study reports | Cornell Chronicle feature
publications
selected publications (listing in progress)
- "On the Empirical Finding of a Higher Risk of Poverty in Rural Areas: Is Rural Residence Endogenous to Poverty? Comment. " Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 30:200-201. 2005
- Rank, Mark R. and Thomas A. Hirschl. "The Likelihood of Using Food Stamps During the Adulthood Years. " Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 37: 137-146. 2005
- Rank, Mark R., Hong-Sik Yoon, and Thomas A. Hirschl. "American Poverty as a Structural Failing: Evidence and Arguments. " Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare 30: 3-29. 2003
- Hirschl, Thomas A., Joyce Altobelli and Mark R. Rank. "Does Marriage Increase the Odds of Affluence: Exploring the Life Course Probabilities." Journal of Marriage and Family 65:927-938. 2003
- Rank, Mark R. and Thomas A. Hirschl. "Welfare Use as a Life Course Event: Towards a New Understanding of America's Safety Net. " Social Work 47: 237-248. 2002
- Rank, Mark R. and Thomas A. Hirschl. "Rags or Riches: Estimating the Probabilities of Poverty and Affluence Across the Adult American Life Span. " Social Science Quarterly 82: 651-669. 2001
- Rank, Mark R. and Thomas A. Hirschl. "The Measurement of Long Term Risks Across the Life Course. " Social Science Quarterly 82: 680-686. 2001
- Rank, Mark R. and Thomas A. Hirschl. "The Occurrence of Poverty Across the Life Cycle: Evidence from the PSID. " Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 20: 737-756. 2001
speaker at Cornell event
Keywords: applied social science, communication, demography, poverty, social stratificaiton, social stratification, youth, youth development