class identities

Question 1

macintosh and mooney on the upper class

Answer 1

-The upper class perform ‘social closure’ and are so invisible to other classes.
-Their education, leisure time and daily lives are kept separate.

Question 2

fox on the classifications within the middle class

Answer 2

-upper middles
-middle middles
-lower middles
-Everyone who sees themselves as middle class are unlikely to share a common experience or identity

Question 3

skeggs on the working class men

Answer 3

Traditionally was made up off manual workers and those with trades.
often romanticised as hard-working, straight-talking, many still claim this as their identity

Question 4

hutton on working class labours

Answer 4

the decline in trade union memberships and the manufacturing sector has eroded working-class identity

Question 5

skeggs on working class women

Answer 5

working class women were often subordinated and judged in education and the workplace. therefore they focus more on physically appearing neater and respectable

Question 6

underclass definition

Answer 6

the bottom of society, often characterised by unemployment, government benefits, lack of education and intersectional marginalisation

Question 7

murray on dependency culture

Answer 7

over-generous benefits encourage some people to develop a culture, or set of norms and values, in which they do not take responsibility for their own actions

Question 8

bordieu on the ruling class

Answer 8

the ruling class have the power to shape values that are valued in society and to ensure that they pass these values on to their children.
-cultural capital- knowledge
-social capital- ‘knowing the right people’
-economic capital- money
-parents pass on the attitudes, knowledge, norms and values needed to succeed

Question 9

rojek on the upper class

Answer 9

For the seriously wealthy individuals he studied in the upper class, work is seen as a source of pleasure and their lives are entirely based around work

Question 10

douglas on middle class parents

Answer 10

Middle-class parents take more interest in their children’s education

Question 11

young and willmott identified 5 features of working class

Answer 11

Studied the ‘traditional’ working class and identified its key features:
1. Male breadwinners
2. Home
3. Family
4. Community
5. Class consciousness

Question 12

murray on the underclass and work

Answer 12

Claims the underclass prefer to live of crime and benefits rather than work

Question 13

Dean and Taylor-Gooby

Answer 13

Most members of the underclass share the same mainstream social values as everyone else

Question 14

saunders on postmodern class identities

Answer 14

Identities are now much less likely to be based on class and much more likely to be based on consumption and lifestyle

Question 15

palsuki and waters on postmodern class identities

Answer 15

Lifestyles are increasingly becoming central to people’s lives and a major source of social and personal identity

Question 16

clarke and saunders on class identity

Answer 16

Identities are no longer based on how people earn their money but on how they spend it

Question 17

savage et al on class identity

Answer 17

it remains important but its importance has declined

Question 18

goldthorpe and lockwood on new working class identity

Answer 18

the working class is no longer characterised by manual labour, more so individualism

Question 19

define economic capital

Answer 19

can be ascribed or achieved. wealth, income and financial inheritance

Question 20

define cultural capital

Answer 20

who has been socialised into dominant and high culture and can decode the messages behind them

Question 21

define social capital

Answer 21

the access to connections and social networks (can occur in any class)

Question 22

bordieus 3 types of individual capital

Answer 22

economic, cultural, social

Question 23

john scott on the upper class

Answer 23

maintain social closure via private education, inter marriages, leisure activies