Final Flashcards
What is meant by social stratification being universal but variable?
Variable means how equal or unequal a society is depending on what society
Whats the difference between open and closed systems
closed systems = caste systems (allow little change in social position
open systems = class systems (allow much more social mobility)
Who is Talcott Parsons?
he observed that gender helps integrate society (in it’s traditional form)
What type of society is caste systems common in?
traditional/agrarian societies
What type os society is class systems common in?
modern industrial and post modern industrial societies
What is status consistency?
the degree of uniformity in a persons social standing across various dimensions of social inequality
(a caste system has little social mobility, therefore high status consistency)
What is status consistency?
the degree of uniformity in a persons social standing across various dimensions of social inequality
(a caste system has little social mobility, therefore high status consistency)
Which group claimed to be classless? (even though they def weren’t)
The former soviet union
What is STRUCTURAL social mobility?
a shift in the social position of large #’s of people due to changes in society itself rather than individual changes (such as the economy)
China experienced structural upward mobility as the economy expanded
Whats the davis-moore thesis?
argues that social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operations of society
It also suggests that the reason for stratification: that positions in a society that are considered crucial must offer incentives to draw talented people away from less important work.
Whats the “class conflict” Karl Marx talks about?
He claimed that capitalism places economic production under ownership of capitalists (owners) who exploit proletarians (workers).
^^ he claimed that because of this conflict the working majority would overthrow the capitalists eventually
why was there no maxist revolution?
- fragmentation of the capitalist class
- higher standard of living
- more worker organizations
- greater legal protection
What 3 dimensions of social stratification did Weber identify?
- economic class
- social status/prestige
- power
What is soci-economic status?
a ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality (family income, parents’ education level, etc).
Who is in control of horicultural/pastoral/agarian socities?
a small elite control these societies (the masses place these people in an elite and godlike position)
Does industrialization push inequality upward or downward?
DOWNWARD
meritocracy is introduced in industrial societies, weakening the power of the elite.
What is the Kuznets curve?
a graph that demonstrates how greater technological sophistication is generally accompanied by greater social stratification.
aka. more tech = more inequality/heirarchies
Whats a criticism of the Kunets curve?
developed by comparing different societies that were at different levels of economic development
(uses cross sectional data!!)
What types of political values are most likely to be held by someone with low social standing?
More likely to have CONSERVATIVE views
this is because they likely grew up with less supervision/discipline and less education
What are some common trends with social mobility in Canada?
- earnings have stalled for many workers
- more jobs offer little income
- young people are remaining at home way longer
What percentage of people in Canada is poor?
between 8.8% - 13%
(exact percentage depends on what is being measured)
Explain neoliberalism
it is a political idea basically proposing to change the governments control/regulation into the hands of private groups
*the purpose of this is to force people to be self-supporting and move away from government dependency
What is Oscar Lewis’s view of poverty?
he created the “culture of poverty thesis” that states how poverty is caused by shortcomings in the poor themselves (marxist)
aka. he thought that LIVING IN POVERTY CREATES ITS OWN CULTURE
What is William Julius Johnson’s view on poverty?
he believed that poverty is caused by society’s unequal distribution of wealth and lack of good jobs
Is gender bias more prevalent in poor or wealthy societies?
POOR
How many types of slavery are there according to Anti-Slavery International? Explain and name them.
6 types:
- Descent-slavery (someone born into slavery)
- Forced labour imposed by the state
- Child Slavery (families force children to steal/beg)
- Debt bondage (employer pays less than required wage in exchange for housing/food)
- Servile forms of marriage (women forced to marry against their will)
- Human Trafficking
What’s the difference between colonialism and neocolonialism?
colonialism involves direct control over a territory and its people while neocolonialism involves indirect methods to control a territory and its indigenous people.
What is the importance of the Israel Kibbutz for gender research?
it is an important setting for gender research because gender equality is a shared and stated goal there
What did Margaret Mead’s research conclude?
that CULTURE is the KEY to GENDER DISCRIMINATION
*critics say that she exaggerated her findings, they’re too perfect to what she was trying to prove.
What does George Murdock’s research conclude?
found that in over 200 preindustrial societies that there is a GLOBAL AGREEMENT on which tasks are feminine and masculine
What society exists today that is a matriarchy?
the Musou, a Chinese society
In Canada women make ____% of what men make?
79%
What types of jobs are dominated by women (56%)?
THE 5 C’s!
1. caring
2. clerical
3. catering
4. cashiering
5. cleaning
What is the one social institution that women tend to dominate?
Education! (specifically post-secondary undergrads)
What was Frienrich Engels’ view of gender stratification?
To him, the reason for gender stratification was because of the rise of private property & and a class hierarchy
*thought that marriage and property were strategies for men to control the sexuality of women
What are the 3 types of feminists?
- liberal (seeks equal opportunity for both sexes within the existing society)
- radical (seeks to eliminate the concept of gender all together and create a gender free society)
- socialist (believes full gender equality will occur with the replacement of capitalism with socialism)
What is multicultural feminism?
feminism that takes into account the intersection of gender with race and ethnicity
What is the traditional term for intersex?
hermaphrodite
How often does someone believe they are trapped in the body of the wrong sex?
1 or 2 in every 1,000
Sexual practices are ______ issues
cultural!
every sexual practice shows considerable variation from society to society
(kissing, standards of modesty, standards of beauty, etc.)
What is the taboo that exists in every and all society? Why?
the incest taboo
exists in all societies because:
- Biological (reproduction between close relatives can result in disabled children)
- Human Social Organization (limits sexual competition & disruption in families by restricting sex to spouses)
Who’s research greatly influenced the sexual revolution?
Alfred Kinley’s
sexual revolution peaked in the 60s and 70s (new technology played an important role)
baby boomers became the first generation to grow up with the ideas that sex as a normal part of social life
When and why did the sexual COUNTERrevolution occur?
In the 1980s as a response to the “permissiveness” of sex and urged to return to more traditional “family values”
What is extramarital sex?
Cheating, 76% of Canadians agree that married people having an affair is morally unacceptable
What evidence leads researchers to believe that there is a “gay gene”?
studies with the brains of two brothers
researchers believe there is a different gene on the X chromosome of the female
What are some factors that contribute to the likelihood of a teenage pregnancy?
- if the teen’s parents have little education & have a low income
- if teen has separated parents or a living situation that is not the traditional family
How do conservative and liberals views of porn differ?
Liberal = view porn as a power issue and demeaning to women
conservative = criticize porn on moral groups, overall harmful for society
What is Bill C-36 in Canada?
the criminalization of buyers of sex, but not the sex workers themselves
*this bill does not “protect women” like it claims to, it stigmatizes the work they do and makes the sex trade more hidden and dangerous
How does the structural-functional approach view sexuality?
it highlights the need to regulate sexuality
How does the symbolic-interaction approach view sexuality?
it highlights the various MEANINGS people attach to sexuality
What is the reproductive movement?
the movement that brings attention to the fact that many women are disadvantaged to the point that they don’t actually have control make choices about their own lives
What is Queer Theory?
a body of research findings that challenge the HETEROSEXUAL BIAS in Canadian society
It claims that Canadian society is characterized by heterosexism (prejudice/discrimination against non-heterosexuals)
What were the 3 original large categories for race?
- Caucasoid
- Negroid
- Mongoloid
(no biologically pure race)
What are the 2 important characteristics of minorities?
- they share a distinct identity (based on physical or cultural traits)
- they experience subordination
What study did Bogardus conduct concerning race and ethnicity?
he went to unis and colleges to get students to use the “social distance scale”, how closely they would be willing to interact with members of 30 different racial/ethnic categories)
What is the Authoritarian Personality Theory?
ADORNO proposed this theory that claims prejudice is a personality trait of certain individuals, especially those with little education and those raised by cold/demeaning parents
What is Culture Theory
BOGARDUS proposed this theory that claims prejudice is rooted in culture, and as a result we learn to feel greater social distance from some categories of people.
*we are raised in a “culture of prejudice”
What is Conflict Theory
it claims that prejudice is a tool used by powerful people to divide and control the population
Who claimed that institutional prejudice and discrimination causes the most harm?
Carmichael and Hamilton
What’s an example of
What’s an example of institutional prejudice and discrimination?
The Indian Act
specifically discriminated Indigenous women by them loosing their status if they married a non status man.
resulted in many women and children being culturally alienated from their traditional communities
What is the Thomas Theorom?
“situations that are defined as real become real in their consequences”
applying this to race: can see how stereotypes can become real to people who believe them or even those who are victimized by them.
What is pluralism?
a state where people of all races and ethnicities are distinct but have equal social standing
In some ways Canada is pluralistic (under the law) but is also not through the discrimination present
What is assimilation?
process where minorities gradually adopt patterns of the dominent culture
involves CHANGES IN ETHNICITY NOT RACE
What are the 2 types of segregation (the physical and social seperation of people)?
De Jure segregation = segregation by law
De Facto segregation = describes settings that only contain people of one category naturally
What is hypersegregation?
having little social contact with people beyond the local community
What historical legacy of the French and English continues today?
the “two solitudes”
a perceived lack of communication and lack of will to communicate between Anglophone and Francophone people in Canada.
When was the third wave of immigration?
before ww1
By 1970, 50% of immigrants were _____.
Asian
Material vs non material culture?
material = physical things created by members of a society
non material = the ideas created by members of a society
What is meant by the fact that culture is a product of evolution
as the human brain evolved, culture literally replaced biological instincts as our species primary strategy for survival
What is meant by cultural trasmission?
culture is passed on generation after generation
What is the Sapir-Whorf Thesis
that people see and understand the world through the cultural lens of language
however, there is evidence that language does not determine reality (babies know the concept of family before knowing the word)
ex. Inuit have 20 different words for snow.
What is the difference between mores and folkways?
mores (coined by William SUMNER) = norms that are widely observed and have great MORAL significance
folkways = norms for routine or casual interactions (how to greet someone or proper table ettiquite)
*think of the tie example!
What is the soci-cultural evolution? Who pointed out the importance?
Gerhard Lenski
it is the historical changes in culture brought about by new technology, and it had 4 levels of development:
- Hunter & Gatherer
- Pastoralism & Horticulture
- Agriculture
- Industy
What is the difference between high culture and popular culture?
high culture = cultural patterns that distinguish societies elite
popular culture = cultural patterns that are widespread among a societies population
What is a subculture?
cultural patterns that set apart some segmented of a societies population
(ex. skateboarders)
What do multiculturalists ciritze?
Eurocentrism
(the dominance of European, specifically British dominance in cultural patterns)
What is counter culture?
cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within society
The Occupy Movement (which questions the desirability of corporations) is an example of this
Who observed cultural lag?
William Ogbum
its the fact that some cultural elements change more quickly than others
What are the 3 ways cultural change happens?
- invention (eg, telephone)
- discovery (eg. recognition that women are capable of leadership in politics)
- diffusion (spreading cultural traits from one society to another)
What is cultural relativism?
The practice of judging a culture by it’s own standards
What is the difference between a mob and a riot?
mob = a highly emotional crowd that pursues a violent or destructive goal
vs.
riot = a social eruption that is highly emotional, violent and UNDIRECTED
*mob is usually planned, riot is not
(think of the stanley cup riots)
What is a fad?
an unconventional social pattern that people embrace briefly but enthusiastically (ex. Pokemon cards)
What are the 4 different types of social movements and explain them
- Alternative Social Movement: limited social change and only part of population (Ex. MADD)
- Redemptive Social Movement:
radical change for only part of the population (Ex. Alcoholics Anonymous) - Reformative Social Movement: limited social change for whole population (Ex. Environmental Movement)
- Revolutionary Social Movement:
radical change for the whole population (Ex. the communist party)
What is meant by claims making?
its the process of trying to convince the public and public officials the importance of joining a social movement to address a specific issue
What are is the deprivation theory for social movement?
that social movements arise among people who feel DEPRIVED of something
What is the Mass-Society theory for social movement?
that social movements attract SOCIALLY ISOLATED people to join the movement for a sense of BELONGING and PURPOSE
What is the Culture Theory for social movement?
that social movements depend on cultural symbols that motivate people (aka. people need to feel and understand INJUSTICE)
What is the Resource Mobilization Theory?
that a social movement’s success it linked to available RESOURCES
($, labour + mass media)
What is the political-economy theory for social movement?
Marxist Approach
that social movements arise in opposition to the CAPITALIST system, which fails to meet the needs of the majority of people
What is the New-Social Movement Theory?
that social movements in pot-industrial societies are typically LEADERLESS and expressive, addressing a wide range of political, economic and social issues
What are the 4 stages of Social Movements:
- Emergence (people realize theres a problem)
- Coalescence (the movement is defined and tries to get others to join)
- Bureaucratization (a movement gains members and resources)
- Decline
Who investigated disasters?
KAI Erikson
there are 3 types of disasters:
- natural
- technological
- international (ex. war)
What is mass society theory?
it claims that modernity enlarges the role of the government in carrying out the tasks that have been traditionally done by families in local communities.
*some critics think that this theory romanticizes the past (people back then wanted a revolution for a reason)
What is class society theory?
(Marxist ideas)
it claims that modernity involves the rise of capitalism into global economic system resulting in persistent inequality (the concentration of wealth for only a few people)
*critics say it overlooks the increasing prosperity of modern societies racism, sexism, etc.,
David Riesman believes modernization brings changes in _______
SOCIAL CHARACTER
(personality patterns common to members of a certain society)
What’s the difference between traditional-directedness and other-directedness?
Ideas of David Riesman:
traditional-directedness = rigid conformity to traditional ways of living
other-directedness = openness to the latest fashion trends (often expressed by imitating others)
^modern society today
What did Herbert Marouse claim?
that modern society is NOT rational because it fails to meet the needs of so many people
(this directly challenges Weber’s claim that modern society is rational)
What are the 3 different types of authorities?
- traditional authority (power legitimized by respect for traditional patterns)
- rational-legal authority (power legitimized by legally enacted rules)
- charismatic authority (power legitimized by extraordinary personal abilities that inspire devotion and obedience)
What’s the difference between Authoritarian and Totalitarian political systems?
Authoritarian = denies people’s needs and political voice
Totalitarian = extensively regulates peoples lives (North Korea)
What is a welfare state? Is Canada one?
Canada has grown to be a welfare state
it is a system of government agencies and programs that provide benefits to the population
What are special interest groups?
people organized to address some economic or social issue
(these groups thrive in Canada because political party loyalty is very low)
What is the power-elite model?
an analysis of politics that sees power as concentrated among the rich (linked to social conflict theory)
The term “power-elite” was coined by C Wright Mills
What is the Marxist political-economoy model?
an analysis that explains politics in terms of the operation of society’s economic system
(Marx believed that society’s economic system shapes it’s political system)
What are some causes for a political revolutions?
- rising expectations of society
- unresponsive government
- radical leadership by intellectuals
- establishing new legitimacy
What 5 factors does Quincy Wright cite that promote war?
- perceived threats
- social problems
- political objectives
- moral objectives
- the absence of alternatives
What is the military-industrial complex?
the close association of the federal government, the military & defence industries
What is nuclear proliferation?
the acquisition of nuclear weapons technology by more and more nations (has increased the threat of global catastrophe)
What are the most recent approaches to peace?
- deterrence
- high-technology defense
- diplomacy + disarmament
- resolving underlying conflict
(basically resolving the tensions and conflicts that fuel militarism)
What is John Porter known for?
his research on race and ethnicity
he points out that we can be considered middle class on one level, but questionable for others (ex. if we owe a lot of $)
Why is having a stratified society a good thing for society and the people living in it? (linked to davis moore thesis)
it leads to success and rewards and keeps ranking people to uphold meaning
Who is Eric Olin Wright?
like Karl Marx, believed in the importance of imagining alternatives to capitalism
What is status anxiety?
the idea of wanting to do better than your family or stay consistent
Will I do better than my parents?
Who is Pierre Bourdieu?
he was very interested in the MIDDLE CLASS and TASTE
What is Pierre Bourdieu’s idea of taste?
a practice that gives people a sense of his/her place in the social world/order
(ex. food, music, restaurants, social media platforms
What are the different types of capital people try to acquire throughout their lives?
- Economic Capital (financial resources)
- Cultural Capital (strategies of thinking, ways of speaking)
- Social Capital (“knowing the right people”)
- Symbolic Capital (credentialism, material objects)
What’s the difference between attributional symbols and aspirational symbols?
attributional symbols = symbols that represent the capital we actually have (UBC BA)
aspirational symbols = symbols that represent what we hope to achieve/become
What is subjective poverty?
deprivation of resources in relation to others
*relative poverty is actually poverty that is LIFE HARMING, there is a difference
What is essentialism?
gender differences are a product of naturally evolved dispositions (ex. men don’t cry –> send them to war)
What’s the leaking pipleline?
where are the leaks that prevent women from going into STEM?
What is the “pink ghetto”?
the predominance of women in poorly paid occupations (fast food, long-term care homes, etc.)
What was Engel’s main idea about the patriarchy?
He is not saying that capitalism made the patriarchy worse
that CAPITALISM intensifies male domintiation
*remember he was a student of Marx
What are the basic feminist ideas?
- the importance of change
- expanding human choice
- eliminating gender stratification
- ending violence against women
- promoting sexual atonomy
What is the pansy project?
Paul Harfleet planted 250 pansies all over London where paul had experienced homophobic slurs.
Indigenous women make up ____% of all women incarcerated in Canada
50%
Who talked about their experiences in their book “Black Man in a White Coat”
Damon Tweedy
the book highlights that even black patients dont want a black doctor
What is the Healthy Immigrant Effect
immigrants are SOCIALIZED into bad health
What is the Old Dependency Ratio
there is going to be more old people than kids as life goes on because our life expectancy is longer
*the triangle turns into an upsidedown triangle
What is the sandwich generation?
the adults! They are responsible for 2 sets of generations (kids and their parents)
What is gerontology?
the study of aging
What is hegemony?
the domination and acceptance of key ideologies that benefit a particular group in society
What is the risk society? Who came up with it?
Ulrich Beck
an inescapable structural condition of advanced industrialization
What was Theodore Adorno’s view on music?
felt popular music was ruining the way we consumed art.
He believed that this standardization of music was a result of the distribution of music in capitalist society.
