Example research essay topic: Race And Gender University Of California - 2,222 words

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Introduction A. All known societies have some system of ranking individuals and groups along a continuum of superiority / inferiority . It is important to understand that rewards in society are not distributed equally or randomly. How rewards are distributed is determined by the three major social hierarchies -class, race, and gender. B. The chapter discusses three critical aspects of the study and understanding of social stratification: 1) important concepts; 2) major hierarchies: class, race, and gender; and 3) theories.

Major Concepts A. The authors identify two ways of categorizing people: 1. Social differentiation is the process of categorizing persons based on personal attributes (e. g. , age height, or occupation) 2. Social stratification refers to ranking people in a vertical hierarchy that differentiates them as superior or inferior a. The process or ranking or elevation occurs in social stratification but not in social differentiation.

b. Social stratification, therefore, refers to structured social inequality, a term used to refer to stratification being socially patterned. 1) Inequality is socially structured. a) Inequalities are not caused by biological difference. b) Biological traits do not become relevant in patterns of social superiority or inferiority until they are socially recognized and given importance. Biological traits take on social meaning, then become incorporated into the beliefs, values, and attitudes of the people of society. 2) Patterning of inequality refers to uneven distribution of society's rewards. a) Patterns of inequality are based on societal norms.

b) Patterns of inequality are achieved through the socialization process. c) Patterning of stratification is connected with other aspects of society: politics, marriage, economics, education, and religion. 3) Patterning of inequality means there is a system of social relationships that determines who gets what and why. c. Sociologist Harold Kerry contends that when patterns of inequality become institutionalized a system of layered hierarchy is established throughout society. 1) The institutionalized hierarchy creates unequal distribution of rewards and resources: wealth, power, and privilege. The unequal distribution of rewards directly affect people's life chances. d.

Class, race, and gender 1) Class, race, and gender are structures of inequality within the stratification system. a) These structures organize society as a whole. b) They create varied environments for people through their unequal distribution of social opportunities. 2) A social class is a number of persons who occupy the same relative economic rank in the stratification system. a) Persons are socially located in a class position on the basis of income, occupation, and education, either alone or in combination. Class position generates different combinations of social privilege, which refers to the distribution of goods and services, situations, and experiences that are highly valued and beneficial. 3) Racial and ethnic stratification refers to systems of inequality in which some fix group membership or social category, such as race, religion, or national origin, is a major criterion for ranking members's oil positions and their differential access to rewards. a) Race is socially defined on the basis of a presumed common genetic heritage resulting in distinguishing physical characteristics.

b) Ethnicity refers to the condition of being culturally rather than physically distinctive. c) Racial stratification is the exclusion of people of color from equal access to society's valued resources. 4) A sex-gender system is a form of stratification system that assigns women's and men's roles unequally. a) Gender is the social patterning of difference and domination through distinctions between women and men. b) The sex-gender system consists of two complementary yet mutually exclusive categories into which all human beings are placed. Sex roles refer to behavior determined by an individual's biological sex. Gender roles are social constructions; they contain self-concepts, psychological traits, as well as family, occupational, and political roles assigned differentially to each sex.

c) Patriarchy is the form of social organization, infused throughout American society, which places men in a dominant position over women. d) Systems of sex stratification cut across class and racial divisions to distribute resources differently to men and women 5) Class, race, and gender are interrelated systems of stratification. a) The intersection of class, race, and gender create what Patricia Hill Collins calls a matrix of domination in which every member of society exists. People experience race, class, gender, and sexuality differently depending upon their social location in these structures of inequality. Class, race, and gender are components of both social structure and social interaction. The inequality matrix has to do with the relational nature of dominance and subordination.

III. Theories of Stratification A. Order theory 1. Two points are key to order theory: a. That social inequality is apparently unavoidable.

b. Inequality serves a useful function for society. 2. Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore contend that: a. A division of labor is necessary for the smooth functioning of society. b.

The most talented must do the most important jobs. c. Differential rewards (money, prestige, power) must be used to motivate individuals to do jobs according to their functional importance to society. d.

The socialization process teaches individuals to accept a hierarchy of rewards. B. Conflict theory 1. Conflict theorists view stratification in a totally different manner from order theorists a. Conflict theorists do not accept stratification as a source of societal integration b.

They contend that stratification reflects the unequal distribution of power in society and not the basic survival needs of society, as the order theorists contend. 2. According to conflict theory, the "ruling class" uses ideology to keep their value system paramount. a. The media, schools, religion, and other institutions are manipulated to legitimate systems of inequality and the status quo. b. A powerful socialization process causes the oppressed to develop a false consciousness so that they accept their oppression. 3.

Marx argued that the oppressed would become aware of their common oppression and develop class consciousness and would unify to advance their class interests. IV. Deficiency theories suggest that the poor are in their condition because of some deficiency. Two competing views suggest different deficiencies: Biological inferiority and cultural inferiority.

A. Biological inferiority focuses on genetic differences that lead naturally to social differences (228 - 235). 1. Social Darwinism a. Proposed by Herbert Spencer.

b. Used to argue that poverty was nature's way of "excreting" the unfit members of society to make room for the "fit. " c. Although this theory has generally lacked support in the scientific community, it has continued to provide a rational for the thinking of many individuals. 2. Arthur Jensen argued that Blacks are less well endowed mentally than whites. a.

From his review of IQ research, he concluded that 80 % of I. Q. is inherited and 20 % is due to environment. b. Because blacks differ significantly from whites on IQ tests and school, Jensen claimed that its reasonable to assume that these differences are genetic as well as environmental. 3. Richard Hermstein argued that social stratification by inborn differences occurs.

He contended that: a. Mental ability is inherited. b. Success depends on mental ability; thus, a meritocracy develops through the sorting process.

c. A meritocracy (social stratification based on ability) develops through an automatic sorting process. 4. Implications of biological determinism for dealing with the problem of poverty: It blames the victim. It suggests that poverty is unavoidable, therefore acceptable.

It appeals to bigots. It legitimizes segregation and inequality. Too much trust is placed in standardized I. Q.

tests, overlooking the contribution of social class to achievement on such tests, which may discriminate. It justifies unequal schooling and justifies the notion that spending money on disadvantaged children is a waste. It encourages policymakers to ignore poverty or to attack its effects rather than its causes. B. Cultural inferiority places the blame for poverty on the failure of some groups' culture. 1. The 'culture of poverty' hypothesis: a.

Contends that the poor are qualitatively different in values and lifestyles from the rest of society and that this explains poverty. b. The deviant cultural pattern is transmitted from generation to generation. c. Political scientist Edward Banfield argued that: 1) The poor have a subculture with values that differ radically from the other social classes. 2) The poor have a 'present-time' orientation while the non poor have a 'future-time' orientation. If the structure of the "hedonistic!' culture-of-poverty were changed so that the poor could see that hard work and deferred gratification really paid off, they could adopt a future time orientation.

Criticisms of the culture-of-poverty hypothesis: The poor do not abandon the dominant values of the society. They simultaneously hold the dominant values while adopting an alternative set of values so that they may adapt to the conditions of poverty. 2. Most Americans believe the poor have a deviant system of values that encourages behaviors leading to poverty. a. The facts are contrary to these beliefs (See p. 235 for a demographic breakdown of who is poor. ) Only 2. 6 % fit the stereotype of permanent poverty. Most poor people are only poor temporarily; their financial fortunes rise and fall with widowhood, divorce, remarriage, acquiring a job with decent pay or losing one, or other changes affecting economic status.

V. Structural Theories present the view that how society is organized creates poverty and makes certain groups of people vulnerable to being poor. Institutional discrimination is the form inequality takes when the customary ways of doing things, prevailing attitudes and expectations, and accepted structural arrangements work to the disadvantage of the poor. 1. Education a. Good jobs require a college degree. b.

The poor cannot afford to send their children to college. c. Scholarships go to the best-performing students. d.

Because of low expectations from teachers, poor children do not perform well. e. Lower amounts of money to schools in poor neighborhoods sustain these inequities. f. Self-fulfilling prophecy - the poor are not expected to do well in school and they do not. 2. Health a.

Poor get sick more often because they cannot afford preventative health care. b. High rate of sickness means they miss more work than would be the case otherwise. c. May lose their jobs and no income means they cannot afford healthcare. 3. The cycle of poverty means that the poor will tend to remain poor, and their children tend to perpetuate the cycle.

B. The political economy of society In capitalism who gets what is determined by private profit rather than collective need The profit motive promotes poverty Low wages for workers. A supply of undereducated and desperate people and high unemployment keeps wages low. Investment decisions disregard employees.

Political decisions to fight inflation with high interest rates hurt key industries, thus causing high unemployment. The affluent (i. e. , the powerful) resist efforts to redistribute their wealth to the disadvantaged. Bibliography: Averill, Stephen C. 1990. Local Elites and the Communist Revolution in the Jiangxi Hill Country. Pp. 282 - 304 in Chinese Local Elites and Patterns of Dominance, edited by Joseph W.

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Research essay sample on Race And Gender University Of California