Macroscopic social analysis necessitates the study of social inequality structures. Therefore, this course explores the problem of social inequality, broadly defined. The course is a blend of lectures and in-class discussion seminars, supplemented with group/individual presentations. In the first few weeks, students will be introduced to the concept and analyses of social inequality from a sociological perspective. In subsequent weeks, the course will move to discussions of specific aspects of social inequality, such as in education, employment relations, gender, and migration. The class reading materials will draw heavily on the Japanese context, but the course instructor will also make efforts to introduce materials from non-Japanese contexts.