Midterm 2 Flashcards
stratification
unequal distribution of wealth, power and privilege
ubiguity
present, appearing or found everywhere
invisibility
ubiquity makes us invisible, the ‘norm’, visibility of the unprivileged race
ex) we see ‘black people’
neutral
having no strongly marked or positive characters or features
race
a socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society consider important
racialization
social and political processes whereby racial groups are established
how is race socially constructed?
- race came about during the Enlightenment
- scientists categorized the human species
Carl Linnaeus
- 18th century Swedish naturalist
- extended his classification of plans and animals to humans
- 4 groups (Americanus, Europaeus, Asiaticus, Afer)
Immanual Kant
- 18th century German philosopher
- essay “of the different human races”
- humans share a common root but environmental factors determine traits
- 4 groups (nobble blonde, cooper red, black and olive yellow)
the text book classifies by 3 groups of race:
caucasoid (light skin, fine hair)
negroid (dark skin, coarse hair)
monogoloid (yellow or brown skin, eye folds)
Du Bois (1868-1963)
African American sociologist, activist, historian, essayist
- books: “Philadelphia Negro” & “… Black Folk”
- “the problem of the 20th century” = racism
prejudice
a rigid and unfair generalization about an entire category of people
-often takes the form of stereotype
racism
a form of prejudice premised on belief that one racial category is innately superior
discrimination
unequal treatment of various categories of people
institutional prejudice and discrimination
- bias built into society’s institutions
- Canadian curriculum = white, eurocentric, deprives others of their racial background and history
what is colonialism?
forced intrusion into the territories of Indigenous peoples followed by land takeover and denying the validity of their political, economical, and legal system
settler colonialism
intention of settlers is to establish a new home
- assume ownership over territory
- not immigrants
- requires destruction of Indigenous peoples culture, law, etc
- racist attitudes help justify colonialism
effects of colonialism
- loss of land and resources
- loss of culture, specfically language
- poverty
- high suicide rates
- racism embedded in our institutions
Indian Act
long history of assimilation policies in the Canadian federal law (1876)
-gives federal Gov power to manage Indigenous communities
decolonization
aims to “regenerate indigenous knowledges, epistemologies and ways of life”
- a goal, not an end point
- includes resistance to corporate and gov. control
Aboriginal rights
collective rights that flow from Aboriginal peoples continued use and occupation of certain areas
Aboriginal title
inherent Aboriginal right to land or territory
-tied to the land and their access to it
early assumptions of gender and sex in sociology:
- men & women are fundamentally different (psychologically, emotionally, and sexually)
- men are naturally superior and dominate
- male domination is based on natural biological differences
- sociology took a male bias
feminism(s)
- society and social relations are gendered
- gender relations are unequal
- inequality is socially produced and can be changed
1st wave feminism (19th century)
focuses on equal rights under the law (the right to vote)
2nd wave feminism (around 1960s)
“the person is political”
- emphasis on women’s unique identity
- separation of sex from gender
- includes critique of white feminism
Ann Oakley (2nd wave)
British sociologist showed how gender is historically and culturally variable and thus distinct from sex
Dorothy Smith (2nd wave)
Canadian sociologist argued for women-centered sociology
-highlighted the exclusion of women’s experiences from sociological research (ex. paid labour vs. domestic labour)
Patricia Hill Collins (2nd wave)
African-American sociologist
-argued for black feminist sociology grounded in black women’s experiences
3rd wave feminism (around 1990s)
linked with post-modern feminism
- challenged the idea of fixed gender identity
- gender is unstable and his multiple meanings
Judith Butler (3rd wave)
American feminist theorist, performative theory of gender
-gender is an effect of our practices, not the cause
gender stratification vs. sexism
gender stratification= unequal distribution of wealth, power and privilege between men and women
sexism= the belief that one sex is superior to the other
social stratification
a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy so that some people have more money, power and prestige to others
class (Marx)
refers t the relationship people have to the means of production
means of production (Marx)
the means by which material goods are produced (ex. technology and relations between producers)
capitalists (Marx)
those who own the means of production
working class (Marx)
those who sell their labour to the capitalists (do not own the means of production)
class situation (Weber)
the life conditions, skills, abilities and orientations of a social actor that shape and direct their social actions -people share a class when they share life styles and chances
socio-economic status
a measure of social position that encompasses income, power, occupational prestige and schooling
income
occupational wage of salaries, earnings from investments and government transfer programs
wealth
the total amount of money and other assets, minus outstanding debts
food insecurity
“the inability to obtain sufficient, nutritious, personally acceptable food through normal food channels or the uncertainty that one will be able to do so” (Rock 161)
food secure vs. food insecure perception of KD
secure: palatable, complete meal, comforting
insecure: last resort, incomplete meal
social mobility
a change in social position
-intra & intergenerational
intragenerational
change of social class in one’s lifetime
intergenerational
change of social class in comparison to your parents
reproduction of class identity
process by which social position is transmitted from one generation to the next
transformation of class identity
refers to the process whereby social actor alters their social position in order to achieve a social position that differs from their parents
Kaufman identifies 3 transformational practices:
1) associational embrace (hanging out with people of desired class)
2) associational distance (avoiding being affiliated with certain groups)
3) behavoural (acting like a member of a class in which you desire)
absolute poverty
a deprivation of resources that is life threatening
- based on the cost of “essential basket of goods and services deemed necessary for survival” (Rose, 174)
- sheer survival over quality of life
relative poverty
deprivation of some people in relation to others
- includes a consideration of psychological and social well-being in addition to physical well-being
- acknowledges importance of social inclusion and quality of social community
the working poor
working people whose wage barely gets them by
-living wage
feminization of poverty
the trend by which women represent an increasing proportion of the poor
pluralism
a state in which racial and ethnic minorities are distinct but have social parity
ex) the relationship between Quebec and the rest of Canada, or the relationship between Aboriginal people and the rest of Canada
institutional completeness
the complexity of community organizations that meet the needs of members
-Breton, the presence of these formal organizations maintains “in-group boundaries” and “out-groups”
miscengeration
biological reproduction by partners of different racial categories
