Identity: social class

Question 1

What is social class ?

Answer 1

• groups who share the same economic and social situation
• includes people norms, values, cultures and lifestyles

Question 2

What does Bourdieu say about the distinction amongst classes

Answer 2

• ‘class fractions’ are determined by social, economic and cultural capital
• He also says that upper class helps individuals increase their life chances
• He also thinks that individuals can accumulate more cultural capital by changing the way they dress and act

Question 3

What are some statistics about people that went to fee paying schools ?

Answer 3

• 71% senior judges went to a fee paying school
• 50% house of lords went to a fee paying school
  only 7% of the population go to a fee paying school

Question 4

What did Mackintosh and Mooney say ?

Answer 4

• say that a feature of the upper class is that they are invisible
• the upper class have social closure which means their daily lives are separate from the rest of society

Question 5

What did Becker say ?

Answer 5

• powerful groups give negative labels to less powerful groups in society

Question 6

What are the middle class ?

Answer 6

• associated with those who have a professional or managerial career
• university educated
• homeowner
• majority of the population

Question 7

What did Fox say about the middle class ?

Answer 7

• looked at upper middle, middle middle and lower middle class
• low and mid = public sector =teacher, nurses
• upper middle = private sector = lawyers bankers

Question 8

What are the working class ?

Answer 8

• used to be the majority of the population
• manual working

Question 9

What did Hutton study ?

Answer 9

Disappearance of working class identity due to decline in trade union memberships

Question 10

What did Skeggs say ?

Answer 10

• looked at working class women
• felt humiliated by the way that middle class people looked at the working class

Question 11

Who are the underclass ?

Answer 11

• rely on welfare benefits and lack opportunities which prevent them from getting out of the situation

Question 12

What did Murray say about the underclass ?

Answer 12

• Overgenerous benefits have encouraged people to not take responsibility because they are relying on the state
• They have developed their own norms and values

Question 13

What is the death of class theory ?

Answer 13

• Pakulski
• Argue that large industries have left the Uk and we aren’t defined by our jobs
• They say we choose to consume things like fashion therefore we are able to construct our own identities regardless of class
• opportunities like uni are now more open to everyone
• You back up this point social mobility and child poverty