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INEQUALITY

INEQUALITY. How do you make sense of our differences?. How unequal are we?. Median Family Income-2007. U.S. Census. Individuals Living in Poverty - 2007. Whites – 8.2% Blacks – 24.5% Hispanics – 21.5% Asians – 10.2% Native Americans – 25.7% U.S. Population – 12.1%

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INEQUALITY

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  1. INEQUALITY How do you make sense of our differences?

  2. How unequal are we?

  3. Median Family Income-2007 U.S. Census

  4. Individuals Living in Poverty - 2007 Whites – 8.2% Blacks – 24.5% Hispanics – 21.5% Asians – 10.2% Native Americans – 25.7% U.S. Population – 12.1% Poverty Rate: $21,203 per year for 4 people

  5. The suburbs are wealthy…right? 2004 • 38.5 percent of poor Americans lived in the suburbs (13.8 million people) • 40.6 percent of poor Americans lived in central cities (14.6 million people) 1970 • 20.5 percent of nation’s poor lived in the suburbs

  6. Wealth in the U.S. - 2002(per capita) • Whites: with home = $79,400 without home = $22,566 • Blacks: with home = $7,500 without home = $1,166 • Latino/as: with home = $9,750 without home = $1,850 • All Households: with home = $55,000 without home = $13,473

  7. The early 1980s rocked the house!

  8. Home Ownership and Race • White – 75.8% • Black – 48.2 • Asian/PI – 60.1 • Hispanic – 49.5 • American Indian – 58.2 • Other – 59.2 SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau (2005)

  9. Education (% graduating from High School) - 2004 Whites – 85.5% Blacks – 72.3% Latino/as – 52.4% Asians – 80.4% Native Americans – 70.9%

  10. 2005 Gap in Graduation Rates Between Urban-Suburban Districts Average High School Graduation Rate of fifty largest cities: 53 percent Average High School Graduation Rate of the suburban districts of those fifty cities: 71 percent

  11. Education (% graduating from College) - 2004 Whites – 27.0% Blacks – 14.3% Latino/as – 10.4% Asians – 44.1% Native Americans – 11.5% U.S. Population – 24.4%

  12. Explain the root cause(s) of these differences

  13. Can biology explain the inequalityof ancestral groups?

  14. BIOLOGICAL: cause of inequality is related to people’s genetic differences SOCIO-PSYCHO COGNITIVE: cause of inequality is related to people’s choices SOCIO-STRUCTURAL: cause of inequality is related to people’s socioeconomic differences

  15. BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONSome (ancestry) groups “dominate” other groups because they are biologicallymatched for particular social conditions.

  16. 1. PHYSICAL FEATURES: size, strength, etc.2. GENETIC PSYCHO-COGNITIVE FEATURES: emotional temperament, tenacity, I.Q., etc.

  17. GENETICS AND RACE • 99.99% of human genome is the same in everyone • .01% of our genes are reflected in our external appearance • 88-90% of genetic differences between people occur within the local populations • 10-12% of genetic variations are a result of different populations living in different parts of the world

  18. What genetic-based inequality would look like:All members of particular ancestry groups are disposed to some advantage that leads them to have more sociological power (e.g., income, wealth).

  19. Problems: 1. What constitutes a “racial group”? 2. What is the direct link between social or economic “advantage” and genetics? - size? - intellect? 3. Perhaps this can occur to small degrees…

  20. AFRICAN SPEED: 16 of the 16 runners the men's and women's 100 meter sprint finals traced their ancestry to West Africa.

  21. Example of a more tangible measure: We can measure this: we can easily time a sprint and measure legs and torsos. HOWEVER, there are still sociological variables to account for.

  22. Baseball and Race Black Hispanic Mestizo Hispanic

  23. Example of a less tangible measure • Major League Baseball is increasingly dominated by players from Latin America and the Caribbean • Hockey is dominated by people of European Ancestry • Basketball in the U.S. is dominated by African Americans? • Rugby is dominated by mentally ill people.

  24. WHAT ABOUT OTHER INTANGIBLE CHARACTERISTICS OF PEOPLE?Genetic Psycho-Cognitive Factors • I.Q. • Moral Character • Ambition or Personal Drive • Contentment • Education • Income and Wealth

  25. How can evolutionary theory explain the inequalityof ancestral groups?

  26. Two ways to conceptualize evolutionary theory:1. Linear2. Branching Bush

  27. What do you notice about these images?

  28. Where do these guys fit into the evolutionary map?

  29. We’re all just monkeys

  30. How does sociology explain the inequality of ancestral groups?

  31. BIOLOGICAL: cause of inequality is related to people’s genetic differences SOCIO-PSYCHO COGNITIVE: cause of inequality is related to people’s choices SOCIO-STRUCTURAL: cause of inequality is related to people’s socioeconomic differences

  32. Psycho-Cognitive Explanation Based on the Free Will-Libertarian Position • People are always free to think/act other than the way they do • Our economic and political circumstances are PRIMARILY shaped by our individual choices

  33. ACHIEVEMENT IDEOLOGY • Every American has an equal chance of “making it” • Every American can succeed if they work hard enough

  34. Psycho-Cognitive Explanation Based on the Free Will-Libertarian Position • People are always free to think/act other than the way they do • Our economic and political circumstances are PRIMARILY shaped by our individual choices

  35. BIOLOGICAL: cause of inequality is related to people’s genetic differences SOCIO-PSYCHO COGNITIVE: cause of inequality is related to people’s choices SOCIO-STRUCTURAL: cause of inequality is related to people’s socioeconomic differences

  36. Determinist-Communitarian Position • Material conditions (education, wealth, urban/rural, etc.) shape all aspects of our lives • Personal choices only partially shape our socioeconomic circumstances

  37. What about economic and political differences between ancestry groups? 2007 Median Family Income – U.S. Census

  38. What is the “sociological perspective”?

  39. Would YOU join the KKK? Might this child?

  40. How do sociologistsexplain cutting behavior? determined? free?

  41. How would sociology explain why some people attend college and others don’t?

  42. Which explanation do you draw on to answer the question: “Why do some people go to college?” FREE-WILL: people choose the majority of their actions & thoughtsvs.DETERMINISM: people’s actions & thoughts are shaped by factors and forces largely outside of their control

  43. FAMILY INCOME Above $85,000 = 51.3% $61K – 85K = 26.8% 35K – 61K = 12.7% Below $35K = 6% 21-24 yr. olds Graduating From College -- 2002

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