Presentation Transcript

1. Sociology Terms – Unit 3

2. Chapter 8 – Social Stratification

3. social stratificationsocial class Social stratification is the separation and ranking of society into groups according to their economic status. Social class is a part of society that is economically equal and hold similar values and lifestyle. Karl Marx highlighted and emphasized the economic component of the societal division while Max Weber went further, emphasizing the addition of a prestige and power component of the division.
4. origins of social stratification Social stratification can stem from a couple of characteristics: Income – refers to what a person makes as a part of one’s job but does not necessarily highlight one’s overall wealth (the total access to resources that a person holds) Power – usually as a result of wealth, this is the ability to control or influence others Prestige – the amount of recognition, respect and admiration associated with social positions
5. false consciousness False consciousness is the taking on of the ideas of the upper or dominant class by the lower or less powerful class. Max Weber highlighted this attitude by showing how middle-class or working-class people who accept the capitalist system are taking on an idea personified by the rich or upper-class.
6. class consciousness Class consciousness, as Karl Marx first put forth, is a subjective awareness held by members of a class regarding their common interests and the need for collective political action to bring about social change. In general, however, it is simply an awareness of one’s own class and its relationship with other classes.
7. working poor The working poor refers to a class of people composed of those whose work does not provide the means of staying comfortably above the poverty line. Jobs such as part time work, minimum wage work or “off the book” work” can create a situation where poverty is a looming possibility.
8. underclass A society’s underclass are long-term poor people who lack both training and skills to move beyond their status. The underclass has been a major component of social political debate on how it is best to address societal ills.
9. absolute povertyrelative poverty Absolute poverty refers to the standard of poverty on a minimum level of subsistence below which families can and should not be expected to exist. In American political terminology, this is often referred to as the poverty line. Relative poverty is a variable standard of deprivation by which people at the bottom of society are considered to be disadvantaged when compared to the society as a whole. In the U.S., we might consider one without a car or phone as a symbol of poverty. Other societies value other things that might make relative poverty, in accordance with its name, different.
10. feminization of poverty The feminization of poverty describes the increasing number of female-headed households living at or below the poverty line. This term became prevalent in communities with high divorce rates and a breakdown of families.
11. social mobility Social mobility is the ability of one to move up or down the class structure ladder or social hierarchy. Such an ability is considered a clue to the health of an economy and the ability to reach the economic goals within a society.
12. horizontal, vertical and intergenerational mobility Horizontal mobility refers to the movement of an individual from one social position to another within the same caste or rank. A person who moves from one business to another without a change in status would be an example. Vertical mobility refers to the movement of a person from one social position to another of a different caste or rank. A person of a lower class who wins the lottery might be an example of vertical mobility. Intergenerational mobility refers to the changes in social position of children relative to their parents. Children of immigrants often inhabit higher class status than their parents because of a knowledge of the language and social structure of the new society.
13. caste and open-class system A caste is a hereditary system of rank, usually religiously dictated, that tend to be fixed and immobile. The most famous caste system was the one seen in India begun when the foreign Aryans separated themselves from the native Dravidians in ancient Indian history. An open-class system is one in which the position of each person is based on their achieved status. The theory behind market economy-based countries is that all people have an equal chance of success based upon their talents and skills.

14. Chapter 9 – Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity

15. minorityethnic minority Minority refers to a group who has less control or power over their own lives than members of the dominant or majority group have over theirs. Ethnic minority is a similar group whose status is based on their ethnicity.
16. race A race refers to a group of people united or classified together on the basis of a shared history, nationality or geographic distribution. The first attempts of identifying race are largely controversial today as most attempts were based on physical characteristics. Today, the attempts of defining race are biological in nature, looking at genes. Cultural anthropologists today consider race to be a social construct rather than an objective biological one and therefore challenge any definition along such lines.
17. assimilation Assimilation is the process by which a person foregoes their own cultural tradition to become a part of a different culture. People who convert to a religion like Judaism or Islam go through this process as the change tends to be not just religious but also cultural. The most common example are people who decide to immigrate to another country. Some immigrants may decide to abandon their own values for those of their new home.
18. cultural pluralism Cultural pluralism, better known as multiculturalism, refers to various cultural groups living within the same area without any one dominant culture. The movements that have characterized the social conflict within the United States during the 20th-century are an example of a merging multicultural society, as seen with the civil rights efforts of African-Americans, Latinos and Amerindians.
19. genocide Genocide is the deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation. Modern examples of genocide include Nazi Germany’s attempt against European Jews, the Hutu attacks on the Tutsis in Rwanda, the Cambodia Khmer Rouge slaughter of the “bourgeoisie” and the Serbian massacre of Kosovo Albanians.
20. subjugation Subjugation is the act of bringing someone or some group under control or to make them subservient. Subjugation can also refer to the enslavement of a people.
21. de jure segregationde facto segregation De jure segregation is that which is established by law and enforced by the government. South Africa’s apartheid policy for most of the 20th-century was an example. De facto segregation is that which is not enforced by any government but happens because of natural forces. Ethnic neighborhoods found in major cities would be an example.
22. prejudice and discrimination Prejudice is a negative attitude toward an entire group of people, such as a racial or ethnic minority. Researchers have connected prejudice to the “fear of the stranger,” religious/nationalist chauvinism and fear of economic competition and can be reduced through greater interaction. Discrimination is acting upon prejudice. When a person treats another person on the basis of the former’s prejudicial attitudes, that is discrimination. Discrimination can be done on racial, ethnic, gender, age, religious and political grounds.
23. racism Racism is the belief that one race is supreme and all other races are inherently inferior. Throughout the history of the United States, in conjunction with prevailing attitudes in the western world, Africans, Amerindians, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Mexicans and other minority groups have faced racism from the dominant culture.
24. hate crime Hate crime is that crime which is directed at others because of their race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. While the efforts to pass hate crime legislation by various states have met with success in the United States, there have been those who oppose hate-crime legislation because, in essence, it attempts to outlaw certain ideas and beliefs. In other words, it is an attempt to eliminate free thought.
25. stereotype A stereotype refers to unreliable generalizations about all members of a certain group, failing to recognize the individual differences within a group. Stereotypes are often used to judge or characterize a group of people, essential as a part of labeling theory.
26. self-fulfilling prophecy The notion of self-fulfilling prophecy refers to people who act on the basis of stereotypes which tends to verify their pre-conceived notions and further validates their judgments. This is also seen as part of the labeling theory. If a society continues to characterize or portray a person or group of people as criminals, they begin to behave in that way and the stereotype is reaffirmed.
27. institutionalized discrimination Institutionalized discrimination refers to the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that results from the normal operations of society. In the southern part of the United States, prior to the Civil Rights movement, black Americans were often denied, as a matter of course, all matter of things from home loans, to voting, to equal access to education. Such discrimination tends to go hand-to-hand with de jure segregation.
28. hidden unemployment Hidden unemployment refers to unemployed workers that are not taken into account in official labor statistics. In the United States, citizens who have given up looking for work are not considered a part of the data, as well as those who are underemployed (working less than they want) and those who are in jobs that underutilize their talents and skill sets. From an economic point of view, these people are not considered unemployed.

29. Chapter 10 – Inequalities of Gender and Age

30. sex Sex refers to many things but from a sociological point of view, sex refers to the biological differences between males and females, especially differences in genitals and reproductive capabilities.
31. biological determinism Biological determinism is the principle that behavioral differences are the result of inherited physical characteristics. This is a theory that does not enjoy wide acceptance as many people think that biology has little influence long term compared to social and cultural influences.
32. gender identity Gender identity refers to a person’s sense of identification with either the male or female sex, as characterized in one’s appearance, behavior, sexual orientation and other aspects of a person’s life. It is typically an identity that develops in three parts: sexual orientation, style of behavior (girl – tomboy or homemaker; boy – macho or sensitive) and core gender identity.
33. gender socialization Gender socialization is the social process of learning how to act as a boy or girl. It is a part of the sociological perspective of symbolic interactionism.
34. sexism Sexism is the ideology that one sex is superior to the other. Any behavior that operates under the assumption that the two genders are not equal can be classified as sexism.
35. occupational sex segregation Occupational sex segregation refers to the concentration of women in lower-status positions. As late as the 1980s, many American newspapers separated their classified ads between male and female jobs. Female jobs, derisively referred to as “pink collar,” included secretaries, stenographers and clerks. These positions were support positions to those in a higher status, usually one held by men.
36. age stratification Age stratification is the unequal distribution of scare resources based on age.
37. ageism First coined by Robert Butler, a gerontologist and psychiatrist, ageism refers to prejudice and discrimination against the elderly. Media in the United States often portrays the elderly as doddering, helpless and difficult. These portrayals can be construed as ageism.