Mod 6/7 Flashcards
Define the class system.
Class system: considered an open system with room for an achieved status; social ranking based primarily on economic position and often begins at birth
Define the caste system.
a system of rigid social stratification characterized by hereditary status, endogamy, and social barriers sanctioned by custom, law, or religion.Ja
Define the Clan system:
every individual is connected to a large network of relatives; duty to the clan is a lifelong obligation, marriage can cross clan lines, provides shared senses of identity
Define the Davis-Moore Hypothesis/ Functionalist Stratification
every society requires people to fulfill all different kinds of roles; people must be compelled to fill all of these roles for society to function properly
Stability, group cohesion
Stratification and Conflict Theory
Classes creates oppression; social stratification promotes capitalism and oppresses the poor
Gradually people in the same class begin to share class consciousness with one another: they all begin to act to protect their interests (workers’ unions, etc.)
Define Marx False Consciousness.
belief that if they work hard enough they too can become a member of the bourgeoisie
Define Symbolic Interactionism, Stratification
-Interested in how people maintain class distinctions and inequalities through social interaction
Interested in the use of status symbols
-Interested in social positions, not the individuals occupying them
Individuals are placeholders that fill positions temporarily
Egalitarian societies offer little incentive for people to try their best
People in current positions of power are the most qualified to be there
Define Classism:
bias, prejudice, and the discrimination on the basis of social class (results in blaming the victim rather than blaming the system)
Define Absolute Poverty:
definitions refer to lack of basic necessities (calculated based on the the cost of goods and services essential for survival, then use this number to decide whether someone is in absolute poverty)
Define Relative Poverty:
emphasize inadequacy compared to average living standards (grounded that any definition of poverty should be used to assess social, physical, and mental factors; the feelings of being disadvantaged)
Define Pink Ghetto.
women dominate the non-manual sector
Define Social Differentiation:
division of people into categories based on social characteristics (but NOT in a hierarchical way, no implicit ranking)
Define Social Stratification:
division of people based on rank (status hierarchies); the lower the position, the fewer resources, awards, and opportunities (these are social facts/arrangements done by people THEY ARE NOT NATURAL)
Define Social Inequality:
long term, significant differences in access to rewards, opportunities, goods, and services for individuals within a group within society (patterns of advantage/disadvantage) feature of society, not a feature of the individuals within them
Define Systemic Oppression:
systemic, differential treatment of subordinate groups by dominant groups organized around class/race etc…(institutional power, rooted in notions of superiority or inferiority)
What are the 3 driving factors of hate crimes?
Sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and religion are the three determining factors in hate crimes
Define microaggression.
everyday slights, indignities, and insults that marginalized minorities receive on a daily basis (done unconsciously but occurs due to implicit bias)
Define the Myth of Scarcity.
resources are limited and must be allocated under a system of competition (meritocracy
Define Pecuniary emulation:
describes a person’s economic efforts to surpass a rich person’s socio-economic status
Define structural mobility, individual mobility, and intergenerational mobility.
Structural Mobility: the structure of society changes and therefore the social mobility changes (pandemics, etc.)
Individual mobility: mobility due to one’s efforts
Intergenerational mobility: children gain or decrease in social status over the span of their lives
Define the numerical outlier.
unusual observations; very high or very low
Define LICO.
low income cutoff (assessment of low income) (greater share of income is spent on basic necessities for survival)
Define the individualist vs. structuralist focus of poverty.
Individualistic Approaches: emphasize agency in poverty; people themselves are responsible for their welfare (meritocracy, ignores systematic inequality in education and other resources)
Structural Focus: recognizes the inequality of the structure, not the individual;
Define conspicuous consumption.
the purchasing of expensive goods and services primarily for the purpose of putting wealth on display.
Define the the embourgeoisement thesis
interaction between class and consumption; working class adopts consumption patterns of middle class
