Stratification System
Hierarchies in which people are grouped on the basis of how much of society’s rewards they receive
Ranking order depends how much of society’s reward they receive: Govt, economy, education and religion operate to ensure relative position
Stratification occurs along what dimensions?
Ethnicity
Class
Gender
Age
Social Stratification
A system of structured inequality in which people receive different amounts of society’s valued resources
Power differentials
those at the top get more of what’s valued bc have more power, resources such as power wealth property political office or control of communication
Coercion
used in societies where prevailing system not endorsed by significant part of population
yet coercion not enough over time & generally dominant group must engender loyalty trust and complicity- must see unequal systems as benefical
Ethnic stratification
a rank order of groups, each made up of people with presumed common culture and physical characteristics interacting in patterns of dominance and subordination
Minority Groups
Groups in a multiethnic society that, on the basis of their physical or cultural traits, receive fewer of society’s rewards
socially defined
lack of power to negate or counteract treatment
categorical
no numerical meaning
Types of minority groups
Ethnicity- Hispanics, asians, american indians and blacks
gender-women
Ability- People with disabilities/limitations
sexual orientation
mental health
criminal background
minority group
Dominant Groups
groups at the top of the ethnic hierarchy, which receive a disproportionate share of wealth, exercises predominant political authority, dominates society’s cultural system and has inordinate influence on society’s future makeup
political and economic dominance
dominant group obtains disproportionate share of wealth to maximize control over means of production
cultural power
applies to influence and control over major norms and values
Control of immigration
regulates and attempts to control composition of society
relative domiance
dominance not complete or absolute; groups continually make efforts to shift power balance
Middleman minorities
occupy a middleman status between dominant and subordinate groups; act as mediator
- can be scapegoat
- strong in group solidarity
Relativity of dominant and minority status
- changing social political and economic context matters; not all groups experience prejudice and discrimination all the time; some may face reject in some areas of life and others may not
- social context of membership in any particular group matter. Ex. Jews minority to anglo europeans
- certain elements of identity may be in variable contexts stressed or minimized. Ex. lesbian polish american catholic
Social mobility
possibilities that exist for individuals to move upward or downward between classes
**mobility is limited but theoretically able to advance
social mobility & Ethnic stratification
boundaries are less porous and membership generally ascribed
Ethnicity Class and Power
- largely parallel & interwoven
- All aspects of social class are linked to ethnicity: Occupation, income, and wealth
- There are degrees of minority status along a continuum and there is individual variation
- Multiethnic societies there is an apparent relationship between ethnicity and access to important power positions
individual achivement
- some do achieve upward mobility despite low ethnic rank
- Salient factor
- We cannot overgeneralize or predetermine
underreresenration as a group
While individuals obtain power positions in key sectors, as a group still underrepresented proportionately
Burden’s
viewed a representative of a given group when interacting with member of dominant group- implies that minority person is outsiders, not part of mainstream
Major patterns of contract- multisocieties formed by
- Conquest
- Annexation
- Voluntary immigration
Lieberwson’s Model
Migrant super- ordination- Subordination of indigenous population by a migrant group
Indigenous super ordination- subordination of a migrant population by an indigenous population
Noel’s Model
Enthocentrism-more different, harsher judgment
Competition for resources-strive for same resources, conflict rises
Unequal distribution of power- most critical, greater gap in power, the more stable dominance
