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Hirschl, Tom
Cornell Faculty Member
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My scholarly focus is on social class differentiation in contemporary society. I am working on a new method for measuring social class by developing a life course approach to identify the economic, social, and health correlates of social class.
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Affiliations
administrative responsibilities
- Director of Undergraduate Studies
member of graduate field
other Cornell affiliations
Extension
has primary specialization area
Research
research overview
- My research is motivated by the insight that social class differentiation is at the center of development in contemporary society. My current work focuses on a new methods for measuring social class using a "life course " approach operationalized with longitudinal data. I also examine how individuals subjectively experience economic hardship and economic success over their life course, how they perceive and conceptualize these experiences in social ideological terms, including religious interpretations of the social world.
research activities
area(s) of concentration/expertise
keywords
- Demography, Social Stratification, Ideology
geographic focus
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new york state geographical region
submitted impact statement
Publications
individual publications
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academic article
- Ideology and the Experience of Poverty Risk: Views about Poverty within a Focus Group Design. Journal of Poverty. 15:350-370. 2011
- Home Ownership Across the American Life Course: Estimating the Racial Divide. Race and Social Problems. 2:125-136. 2010
- Estimating the Risk of Food Stamp Use and Impoverishment During Childhood. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 163:994-999. 2009
- The Link Between Voter Choice and Religious Identity in Contemporary Society: Bringing Classical Theory Back In. Social Science Quarterly. 90:927-944. 2009
- Ideology and the Crisis of Capitalism. Workplace. 15:75-92. 2008
- On the Empirical Finding of a Higher Risk of Poverty in Rural Areas: Is Rural Residence Endogenous to Poverty?. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. 30:60-61. 2005
- The Likelihood of Using Food Stamps During the Adulthood Years. Journal of Nutrition Education. 37:137-146. 2005
- American Poverty as a Structural Failing: Evidence and Arguments. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare. 30:3-29. 2003
- Does Marriage Increase the Odds of Affluence: Exploring the Life Course Probabilities. Journal of Marriage and Family. 65:927-938. 2003
- Welfare Use as a Life Course Event: Toward a New Understanding of America's Safety Net. Social Work. 47:237-248. 2002
- Rags or Riches: Estimating the Probabilities of Poverty and Affluence Across the Adult American Life Span. Social Science Quarterly. 82:651-669. 2001
- The Measurement of Long Term Risks Across the Life Course. Social Science Quarterly. 82:680-686. 2001
- The Occurrence of Poverty Across the Life Cycle: Evidence from the PSID. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. 20:737-756. 2001
- Community Effects on Welfare Participation. Sociological Forum. 14:155-174. 1999
- Estimating the Risk of Poverty Across the Elderly Years. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences. 54B. 1999
- The Economic Risk of Childhood in America: Estimating the Probability of Poverty Across the Formative Years. Journal of Marriage and Family. 61:1058-1067. 1999
- The Likelihood of Poverty across the American Adult Life Span. Social Work. 44:201-216. 1999
- The Trajectory of Family Change in Nigeria. Journal of Comparative Family Studies. 30:35-56. 1999
- Teenage Sexual Attitudes in China. Social Biology. 43:141-154. 1997
- Teenage Sexual Attitudes in China. Renkou Yanjiu (Population Research). 21:24-29. 1997
- Household Poverty in Rural and Metropolitan Core Areas of the United States. Rural Sociology. 60:44-66. 1995
- Household Poverty in Rural and Nonmetropolitan Core Areas of the United States. Rural Sociology. 60:44-66. 1995
- Urban Influences on Farmland Use in New York State. Population Research and Policy Review. 13:179-194. 1994
- Dairy Farm Survival in a Metropolitan Area: Dutchess County, New York, 1984-1990. Rural Sociology. 58:461-474. 1993
- The Link Between Welfare Participation and Population Density. Demography. 30:607-622. 1993
- The Effect of Population Density on Welfare Participation. Social Forces. 70:225-235. 1991
- Homelessness: A Sociological Research Agenda. Sociological Spectrum. 10:443-467. 1990
- The Changing Structure of Our Rural Economy: Implications for State and Local Policy. New York's Food and Life Sciences Quarterly. 20:12-16. 1990
- Cash Transfer Payments and Community Economic Development. Journal of the Community Development Society. 16:121-132. 1989
- Service Employment and Rural Community Economic Development. Journal of the Community Development Society. 20:15-30. 1989
- A Rural/Urban Comparison of Welfare Exits: the Importance of Population Density. Rural Sociology. 53:190-206. 1988
- Cash Transfers and the Export Base of Small Communities. Rural Sociology. 47:295-316. 1982
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book
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chapter
- Welfare. Encyclopedia of Rural America: The Land and People.. 1082-1085. 2008
- Welfare Reform in Rural Areas: A Voyage Through Uncharted Waters. Challenges for Rural American in the Twenty-First Century. 363-374. 2003
- The Significance of Labor Market Participation in an Era of Economic Hardship. New York in the 21st Century. 12-35. 1999
- The Effects of Private and Public Sustenance Organization on Population Redistribution in New York State. Continuities in Sociological Human Ecology: Essays in Honor of Amos H. Hawley. 251-268. 1998
- The Determinants of Rural and Urban Poverty. The American Countryside: Rural People and Places. 1995
- The Determinants of Rural and Urban Poverty. The American Countryside: Rural People and Places. 229-246. 1995
- The Food Stamp Program and Hunger: Constructing Three Different Claims. Food, Eating and Nutrition as Social Problems: Constructionist Perspectives. 241-260. 1995
- Nonfarm Rural Population Growth and Farmland Use in New York. Policy Issues in Rural Land Use. 1993
- Population Deconcentration and Farmland Use in New York. Policy Issues in Rural Land Use. 1993
- Sustenance Organization and Population Redistribution in New York State: A Human Ecological Analysis. Community, Society, and Migration: Noneconomic Migration in America. 193-220. 1992
- Homelessness in New York State: A Socioeconomic and Demographic Analysis. Homelessness in the United States. 131-144. 1989
- Right-to-Work Legislation and Local Labor Market Growth. Research in Rural Sociology and Development. 223-240. 1989
- Retirement Transfers and Local Wage Rates. Community Economic Vitality: Major Trends and Selected Issues. 55-60. 1988
- Shifts in Rural Income: the Implications of Unearned Income for Rural Community Development. Research in Rural Sociology and Development. 127-141. 1985
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conference paper
- Cash Transfers and Community Economic Development. Proceedings of the Community Economic Development Strategies Conference. 136-156. 1983
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conference poster
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report
- Herkimer County Teen Assessment Project Summary: Tapping Into Teen Concerns, Perceptions and Behaviors in Oneida County, New York. . 44. 2010
- Understanding the Difference 4-H Clubs Make in the Lives of New York Youth: How 4-H Contributes to Positive Youth Development 1999
- Establishing Pathways from Poverty in a Block Grant Environment 1996
- Supporting Children in an Era of Welfare Reform 1996
- Community Economic Vitality: Major Trends and Selected Issues 1988
- Rural New York in a Post-Urban Industrial Society 1988
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review
- Review of Rural Poverty in America. 1513-1515. 1992
- Review of Export Agriculture and the Crisis in Central America by Robert Williams. 306-7. 1987
- Fighting Poverty in the United States: A Survey of Nongovernmental Funding Sources and Programs, 2011 – 2012. 2012
- Housing Stress in Hamilton County, New York. 2012
- Poverty In Tompkins County: Correcting Inflated Rates due to Misclassification of College Students. 2012
- Poverty and Housing Stress in Schuyler County, New York. 2012
- Poverty in New York State: Patterns and Prospects 2007
- Oneida County Teen Assessment Project Summary: Tapping Into Teen Concerns, Perceptions and Behaviors in Oneida County, New York 2004
- Teen Assessment Project: Tapping into Teen Concerns, Perceptions, and Behaviors in Broome County, New York 2003
- What do we know: welfare reform in rural areas 2002
- Why don't we know more: research and welfare reform in rural areas 2002
- Affluence and Marriage: How Likely, How Often? 2001
- Welfare Reform in Rural America: A Review of Current Research 2001
- Rural America and Welfare Reform: An Overview Assessment 1999
- Teen Assessment Project Report: Tapping into Teen Concerns, Perceptions and Behaviors in Broome County, New York 1999
- Financial Support for Children, Welfare Reform, and Parental Employment 1996
- Teen Assessment Project Report: Tapping into Teen Concerns, Perceptions and Behaviors in Broome County, New York 1996
- Structural Determinants of Poverty in Rural Areas and Central Cities of the United States 1993
- Urban Influences on Farmland Use in New York State 1993
- Urban Influences on Farmland Use in New York State 1993
- The Link Between Population Density and Food Stamp Program Participation 1992
- Dairy Farming in an Urbanizing Environment: A Study of Farm Survival 1991
- Finding Shelter in Cortland County: A Local Housing Market Study 1987
- Young People of Steuben County: A Survey of Youth Culture 1987
featured in archived article
speaker at Cornell event
Teaching
teaching overview
- One of the great paradoxes of the modern world is technological progress alongside social crisis. How is it that modern human societies simultaneously embody technological progress and social crisis? Under what conditions might technological progress translate into social progress? These questions, and related questions, speak to the heart of the discipline of sociology, and are directly addressed in my instruction. I focus upon core concepts social scientists use to explain and understand society, and provide interpretation and data on key social questions that face the nation and the world.
teaching activities
- DSOC-1101: Introduction to Sociology - Spring 2013
- DSOC-7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2013
- DSOC-7910: Teaching Experience - Spring 2013
- DSOC-8720: Development Sociology - Spring 2013
- DSOC-8900: Master's Level Thesis Research - Spring 2013
- DSOC-9900: Doctoral-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2013
- DSOC-1101: Introduction to Sociology - Fall 2012
- DSOC-7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2012
- DSOC-7910: Teaching Experience - Fall 2012
- DSOC-8720: Development Sociology - Fall 2012
- DSOC-8900: Master's Level Thesis Research - Fall 2012
- DSOC-9900: Doctoral-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2012
- DSOC-3700: Comparative Social Inequalities - Spring 2012
- DSOC-7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2012
- DSOC-7910: Teaching Experience - Spring 2012
- DSOC-8720: Development Sociology - Spring 2012
- DSOC-8900: Master's Level Thesis Research - Spring 2012
- DSOC-9900: Doctoral-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2012
- SOC-3710: Comparative Social Inequalities - Spring 2012
- DSOC-1101: Introduction to Sociology - Fall 2011
- DSOC-7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2011
- DSOC-7910: Teaching Experience - Fall 2011
- DSOC-8720: Development Sociology - Fall 2011
- DSOC-8900: Master's-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2011
- DSOC-9900: Doctoral-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2011
Service
outreach overview
- As coordinator of the Program Work Team on Poverty and Economic Hardship I work work with educators, community leaders, and service providers to find new ways to fight poverty. We seek to identify new knowledge and policies to meet the challenge of higher poverty rates in the 21st Century.
- 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 positive youth development. A survey of approximately 2,622 youth was conducted in Madison County and this survey involved school officials in 10 public school districts, and many volunteer survey administrators, and the Madison County Youth Bureau. The survey results are now being disseminated and various public fora are planned to discuss and utilize the results.
service to the profession
- Gamma Sigma Delta, the Honor Society of Agriculture Member 1996 -
- Alpha Kappa Delta, International Sociology Honor Society Officer, President/Elect/Past 1991 - 2012
- American Sociological Association Member 1986 - 2012
- Population Association of America Member 1986 - 2012
Background
education and training
- Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison 1986
- M.S. in Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison 1980
- B.S. in Economics, Purdue University 1976
awards and honors
Other
college
- CALS
research keyword
- Demography, Social Stratification, Ideology
name prefix
- Professor