UCSP MODULE 9

mandarins, merchants, Farmer and soldiers.

the ancient Chinese society

freemen and slaves

the ancient Greek society

Middle Class

their incomes provide a comfortable life style

conflict perspective

views society as composed of different groups and interest competing for power and resources.

bourgeoisie

According to Marx, the ----use their power to control the institutions of society to their advantage

society is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole

According to functionalism, what is society?

superiority, inferiority and equality.

All societies arrange their members in terms of

Open (Class) System

Allows a person's freer mobility. He or she can move through classes based upon his/her skills, abilities, and/or achievements. The Philippine society is committed to promote equal access to quality education so that everyone will be able to acquire the needed skills and knowledge to improve his or her lot. Most societies in the world, on the other hand, implement policies that reduce barriers for social mobility.

Social Class, Social Role, Social Status

Components of Social Stratification

universal

Difference between rich and poor, the `haves' or `have notes' is evident everywhere. Even in the non-literate societies' stratification is very much present.

functional

Elements of society are ------ if they contribute to social stability

Social Stratification

For sociologist, it is the pattered inequality in society that is due to the unequal access to wealth, privileges, and power

Closed (Caste) System

In this system a person has little or no possibility of moving up social ladder. One of the examples of this system is India's caste system, wherein the people from the lowest stratum are dreadfully treated and are considered untouchables. Their image on the rest of the social strata has become so severely negative that these untouchables have ladder. People in this system are socially determined based on ascribed status such as family background, ethnicity or race.

The Functionalist Perspective

Is based largely on the works of Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton

macro sociology

It looks at the big picture of society and suggests how social problems are affected at the institutional level.

educational attainment, childhood poverty with associated psychological and behavioral development, the family and all the financial, social, and cultural aspects that are formed within it attitudes, expectations and aspirations, economic barriers

Social Mobility may be hindered by the following factors:

in diverse forms

Social stratification has never been uniformed in all societies. Class and estate seem to be the general forms of stratification found in the modern world.

family, occupation, income, wealth and (social political) power

Social stratification is structed and hierarchical ranking of individuals based on their

the functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionist perspective (sometimes called the interactionist perspective or simply the micro view)

Sociology includes three major theoretical perspectives:

social

Stratification is ---- in the sense that it does not represent inequalities which are biologically based. It is true that factors such as strength, intelligence, age, sex can often serve as the basis on which status are distinguished. But such differences by themselves are not sufficient to explain why some statuses receive more power, property and prestige than others.

the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Sudras

The Aryan society was divided into four Varnas:

The Patricians and the Plebians

The ancient Roman society was stratified into two strata:

consequential

The most important, most desired and often the scarcest things in human life are distributed unequally because of stratification.

Karl Marx

The origins of the conflict perspective can be traced to the classic works of him.

ancient

The stratification system is very old. Stratification was present even in the small wandering bands. Age and sex wear the main criteria of stratification. Difference between the rich and poor, powerful and humble, freemen and slaves was there in almost all the ----civilization.

Life chances and Life style

The system leads to two kind of consequences:

Horizontal Social Mobility

This is the change of position of a person to another position of the same rank. For example, when a chemistry teacher decides to shift to another job that requires his/her skills in chemistry, he/she is practicing it because he/she will experience a similar level of difficulty and status in the new position.

vertical social mobility

This type of mobility may be upward or downward. It may also be further analyzed in relation to time.

Power or Authority

ability to secure one's ends in life, even against opposition. The degree to which one directs, manages, or dominates others.

Manifest Functions

are consequences that are intended and commonly recognized.

Latent Functions

are consequences that are unintended and often hidden.

Characteristics of Social Stratification

by Melvin M. Tumin

Social Stratification

defined as the arrangement of any social group or society into hierarchy positions that are unequal with regard to power property social evaluation, and/or psychic gratification.

W.I. Thomas (1966)

emphasized the importance of definitions and meanings in social behavior and its consequences. He suggested that humans respond to their definition of a situation rather than to the objective situation itself. Hence Thomas noted that situations that we define as real become real in their consequences.

Symbolic interactionism

emphasizes that human behavior is influenced by definitions and meanings that are created and maintained through symbolic interaction with others, also suggests that our identity or sense of self is shaped by social interaction.

conflict perspective

explains various aspects of our social world by looking at which groups have power and benefit from a particular social arrangement

Slavery

had economic basis, every slave had his master to whom he was subjected. The master's power over the slave was unlimited.

Vertical Social Mobility

happens when a person moves from one social class to another. A successful engineer who once was a poor working student in a state university is an example of a person who experiences it.

Lower Class

having the lowest status in the society

Sociological theories

help us to explain and predict the social world in which we live.

dysfunctional

if they disrupt social stability

Prestige or Social Evaluation

implies social judgment that a status or position is more prestigious and honorable than others. The degree of honor one's position evokes. It also includes the fame one attains upon reaching a certain degree of prestige.

Life styles

include the mode of housing, residential area, education, means of recreation, relation between parent and children, modes of conveyance and so on.

Caste

is a hereditary endogamous social group in which a person's rank and its accompanying rights and obligations are ascribed on the basis of his birth into a particular group.

theory

is a set of interrelated propositions or principles designed to answer a question or explain a particular phenomenon; it provides us with a perspective

Micro sociology

is concerned with the social psychological dynamics of individuals interacting in small groups.

perspective

is simply a way of looking at the world

Intragenerational mobility

is the movement in the social position that happens within a person's adult life.

Social Mobility

is the movement of persons from one position to another in the stratification system. This pertains to the idea that people have an equal opportunity to end up at the top of stratification system; that anyone can reach the apex or peak of the hierarchy

Intergenerational mobility

is the movement of social position that started with the parents and was felt by even children.

Class stratification

on the basis of class is dominant in modern society. In this, a person's position depends to a very great extent upon achievement and his ability to use to advantage the inborn characteristics and wealth that he may possess.

Stratification

process of interaction or differentiation whereby some people come to rank higher than others

Estate system of medieval Europe

provides another system of stratification which gave much emphasis to birth as well as to wealth and possessions. Each estate had a state.

Life chances

refer to such things as infant mortality, longevity, physical and mental illness, marital conflict, separation and divorce.

Social Role

refers to the behavior expected of a person who occupies a particular status.

Upper Class

refers to the elite families, who are the most productive and successful

Social Class

refers to the level or category where persons have more or less the same socio-economic privileges in society.

Social Status

refers to the position of an individual or group within a social structure

Property or Wealth

refers to the rights over goods and services. How much of the resources of society are owned by certain individuals and how much do they gain or earn every time.

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

reflects the micro-sociological perspective, and was largely influenced by the work of early sociologists and philosophers, such as George Simmel, Charles Cooley, George Herbert Mead, and Erving Goffman.