code: public static boolean isOfSuperClassOf(Object object, Class<?> clazz) {
          if(object == null || clazz == null) {
          	return false;
          }
          return object.getClass().isAssignableFrom(clazz);
      }
docs: Returns whether the given object is an instance of a superclass of the
  given class, that is if it can be cast to the given class.
  
  @param object
  the object being tested.
  @param clazz
  the class to check.
  @return
  whether the object under inspection can be cast to the given class.