Social Problems Exam 1
Loewen quote
"Textbook authors seem to believe that Americans can be loyal to their government only so long as they believe it has never done anything bad. Textbooks therefore present a US government that deserves students' allegiance, not their criticism"
What is the American mindset and discourse concerning poverty? How does it misconstrue the true nature of poverty?
"The traditional manner of thinking about poverty in the US has viewed impoverishment as largely the result of individual inadequacies and failings. These shortcomings include not working hard enough, failure to acquire sufficient skills, or just making bad decisions. Consequently, the problem of poverty is often seen through a lens of individual pathology." our collective and societal obligations are seen as limited *the fact that poverty affects all of us, American poverty is largely the result of failings at the economic and political levels, and that poverty is not about blame but injustice
What was left out of the poverty budget for a family of 4?
$1,818 left in annual budget! -Toiletries, school supplies, shoes, clothing, holiday gifts, education expenses, life insurance, furnishings, recreation, cleaning supplies, entertainment, savings, retirement, etc.
Feminist theory of poverty
* macro-level *examines the link between social standing and gender *high poverty of women consequence of the patriarchy
Constructionist Perspective
**best** Social problems are socially constructed through the claims making activities of individuals or groups that locate the problem's cause and recommends solutions
Example of history as a satire:
*A Modest Proposal: For Preventing The Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being A burden to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to The Public By Jonathan Swift (1729) -Swift suggests that impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies -mocks heartless attitudes towards the poor, as well as Irish policy in general
Systems of Power and Inequality
*Each is a socially constructed category -Their significance does not stem from some "natural" state, but are the result of social and historical processes *Each tends to construct groups in binary or polar opposite terms -Man/woman, Black/White, rich/poor, gay/straight, citizen/immigrant -These create an "otherness" that produces stigma and inequality -Life does not operate in binary terms, but is dynamic/fluid *Each is a category of individual and group identity, but are also social structures -Shape patterns in labor market, families, state institutions, mass media
Watching Big Brother: What Textbooks Teach about the Federal Government by James Loewen
*Idealizing the federal government distorts the real dynamic between the government and the people Civil Rights Movement and federal government opposition -FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr. (mounting a case to try him as a terrorist) -Refused to pass along death threats, tapped his phones -Used COINTELPROs or counterintelligence programs to produce propaganda against Civil Rights leaders and members, especially Martin Luther King, Jr. -Did not seek justice for arrested or slain activists, especially not crimes involving the KKK
social-conflict theory of poverty
*Macro-level *poverty is a matter of not only a lack of material resources but a low level of social capitol as well *Marx blames the operation of the capitalist economic system *multicultural theory points to the high poverty rates of disadvantaged categories of people (ie:African Americans, Latinos)
Three general approaches to social problems
*Problems involving changes in social systems -Occurs when changes in the system upset its equilibrium and consequently its functioning *Problems involving power struggles -Occurs when disadvantaged groups are denied resources and resist or rebel *Problems involving the individual and society -Occurs when a members of society label or construct a condition as a problem
Three types of welfare capitalist states
*Voluntary, private/public, tied to previous earnings (France, Germany, Austria, Japan) safety nets, moderate inequality Targeted, means-tested (Canada, United Kingdom, United States) platforms, extreme inequality Encompassing, universal security (Finland, Norway, Sweden) floors, most equality
Matrix of Domination/Oppression (Johnson)
*can be both privileged and oppressed in different categories *Each form of privilege exists only as part of a larger system of privilege and in relation to the other forms -It isn't a matter of either/or, but rather both/and because we can belong to both privileged and oppressed categories at the same time -To make ourselves part of the solution, we must understand how we're connected to the problem
Structural-Functional View of Poverty
*macro-level *see personal flaws and the culture of the poor communities as causes of poverty
Symbolic-Interaction theory of poverty
*micro-level *highlights the meanings people assign to the poor
American exceptionalism
- US is an exception when compared to other wealthy industrialized nations in terms of social welfare programs -Protestantism with religiosity -Capitalism with no feudal past -Early democratization, late bureaucratization and a revolutionary ethos -Being an immigrant and frontier nation -Racial, ethnic, and religious diversity
Homelessness
- a condition of detachment from society, characterized by absence or attenuation of the affiliative bonds that link settled persons to a network of interconnected social structures The nation's homeless population in 2011 was 636,017 Of the homeless population, 67,495 were veterans
Social class
- a series of relations that pervade the entire society and shape our social institutions and relationships with one another
The melting pot
- analogy typically associated with celebrating racial-ethnic differences BUT when you mix several ingredients into a pot, do the ingredients stay separate or "melt" together? Melting pot ideology results in loss of ethnic identity, segregation, and no change in racial stereotyping or profiling
Minority group
- any category of people, identified by physical or cultural traits, that a society subjects to disadvantages Not necessarily numerical minority
Eugenics
- attempts to improve the human "race" through selective breeding Original intent to improve human genetic qualities and is still at the core of genetic research on disease and illness But it was quickly tainted with abuses by Nazi Germany and became associated with scientific racism, racial purification, human experimentation, and genocide
Social classes
- categories of people who have similar access to resources and opportunities -The way economic differences among groups or individuals in a society are measured
Racial-sexual politics
- central to maintaining institutional racism
Feminization of poverty
- concentration of poverty among women and children 56% of all US adults who are poor are women Single mothers earn 35% of what two-parent working families earn -Government programs have historically universally benefitted males -Women most likely to do care, unpaid work without benefit plans for social security or health care -Targeted programs for women are vilified and quickest to be retrenched Especially policies concerning women's health care -Barely any assistance for single-mother households Especially for child care, since women are most likely to be single-parents
racialization Effects on self-worth
- individuals and groups internalize their deprivation and some to think that there must be a good reason for it (belittle their abilities, less capable, less worthy, less human)
Multiracial
- individuals who identify with more than one racial category (2008: 7 million people)
Gender
- rooted in social institutions, shapes patterns that structure relationships between men and women that give them differing positions of advantage and disadvantage within institutions - learned through socialization
Income
- salary or wages from a job plus earnings from investments and other sources
Homophobia
- the fear and hatred of homosexuality, supports the institutionalized power and privilege accorded to heterosexual behavior and identification
Racial formation
- the process by which social, economic and political forces determine the content and importance of racial categories, and by which they are in turn shaped by racial meanings -Treatment of race as a central axis of social relations that cannot be reduced to a broader category -Signifies the extension of racial meaning to previously racially unclassified relationships, social practices or groups
Discrimination (action)
- unequal treatment of someone or some group, often based on appearance or income, education, lifestyle, or religious or political beliefs
Rhetorical strategies of historical narratives:
-From perspective of conquerors, diplomats, clergy, governments, monarchs -From perspective of conquered, enslaved, oppressed, heretics -For the purpose of government/monarchy, law/police, cultivating ideology/beliefs -For the purpose of information/education, persuasion, counternarratives, justice, international enlightenment -Uses primary, secondary historical accounts and documents -Uses objectivity, subjectivity, dramatized non-fiction, satire, polemic, muckraking
Policies to reduce, assist, solve poverty
-Market regulation and progressive taxation -Improving public assistance programs -Reducing economic risks of capitalism and unemployment -Reducing risks of health care costs -Promoting policies for improving education and awareness of poverty (causes, lived experiences) -Aiming to reduce risks for high risk populations -Acknowledging global poverty and its relation to the practices of industrialized nations
Diversity of methods allow for a diversity of questions
-Qualitative and quantitative (interviews vs. statistical analyses) -Surveys (telephone, email, mail) -Secondary data analysis (collected datasets, General Social Survey) -Documents (letters, newspapers, diaries, police/bank records) -Experiments (Zimbardo prison experiment, Milgram's obedience experiment) -Unobtrusive measures (graffiti, garbage, use of space) -Participant observation (support groups, rallies, classrooms, homes)
Race: A Social Construction
-Race is an arbitrary social category that is socially constructed and historically conditioned -Racial categories and the meaning of race are given concrete expression by the specific social relations and historical context in which they are embedded -Race is an unstable and decentered complex of social meanings constantly being transformed by political struggle
Matrix of Domination/Oppression
-Useful to see how the different dimensions of privilege and domination are connected to one another -By assessing the interaction between privilege and oppression, we can focus on the reproduction of inequality through social institutions and interactions
Feminization of Poverty worldwide
-Women comprise about 50% of world's population and 70% of the world's poor -In many developing countries where women work in export-led factories, or in countries where migrant women workers are the backbone of service industries, women's jobs have taken the greatest hit -Prior to reliable global statistics, migrants were assumed to be male workers -However, about half of all migrant workers are women and girls Domestic workers, nannies, maids, sex workers
American Poverty maintained by
-extreme capitalism and elites -individualism and contempt for the poor -partisan political economy -inadequate social safety nets
Conflict theorists
-stress that to understand social life we must understand who controls scarce resources, especially power -view the power elite as connected networks capable of accumulating and manipulating power
Systems of power
-systems that differentially advantage and disadvantage groups depending on their social location -Allows for more complex, changing, multidimensional social order
Revolving door
-the movement of personnel between roles as legislators and regulators and the industries affected by the legislation and regulation Example: Enron and the possibility of CEO Ken Lay becoming Secretary of Energy under President Bush's administration
Power elite
-those who interchange commanding roles at the top of one dominant institutional order with those in another -networks are not hidden, we can map out connections However, the impact of elite ties and their intentions and operations are not publicized
How to be an Ally if you are a Person with Privilege
-work to understand the social conditions that enforce privilege and produce inequality -align themselves with individuals or groups for a common cause or purpose Each type of alliance has its own parameters, responsibilities, and degree of risk
Race, gender, and class divisions deeply embedded in structure of social institutions:
-work, family, education, the state They shape human relationships, identities, social institutions, and social issues
Minorities are more likely to be poor
1) Native Americans 2) African Americans 3)Latinos 4)Asian Americans 5) Whites
Sociology's Assertions about Social Problems:
1) Social problems result from the ways in which society operates 2) Social problems are not caused by bad people 3) Problems are socially constructed as people define a condition as harmful and in need of change 4) People see problems differently 5) Definitions of problems change over time 6) Problems involve subjective values and objective facts 7) Many—but not all—social problems can be solved 8) Various social problems are related
Stages of Social Problems:
1) define the problem -emergence of leaders -mobilize and organize 2)Craft official response -legislation -activist lobbying -protests 3) React to official response -appeals/repeals -amendments -counterclaims 4) Develop alternative strategies -new structures -new behaviors -new laws
The power elite is comprised of:
1) the political directorate, 2) the corporate rich, and 3) the ascendant military
3 consistent questions of social imagination?
1) what is the structure of this particular structure as a whole? 2)where does this society stand in human history? by what mechanisms is it changing? 3) what variation of men & women now prevail in this society and in this period?
How is claimsmaking reinforced?
1)Typification 2) Horror Stories
Inequality of Income
1/5 of US population receives 1/2 of nation's income 1/3 of nation's wealth ($51 trillion) belongs to 1% of the population Despite numerous antipoverty programs, income inequality today is greater than it was in the 1940s. The United States is ranked 42nd globally in income inequality (CIA World Factbook)
Changes in concerns and conditions of poverty:
1700s People assumed that poverty was a natural part of life 1800s Industrialization made poverty visible 1930s Great Depression pushed a lot of people into poverty 1960s Johnson's War on Poverty promised better schools, health, homes, training, jobs 1970s - 1990s initially more assistance programs, then fewer assistance programs during "boom" 2000s - global financial crisis, mortgage bubble, highest unemployment since the Great Depression, poverty visible again
Do you trust the government to "do the right thing"?
1964: 64% trusted the government to do the right thing 1994: 19% trusted the government to do the right thing
Polemic
A strong verbal or written attack on someone or something.
A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies - Bartolomé de las Casas (1552)
About Hispaniola: "There were 60,000 people living on this island, including the Indians; so that from 1494 to 1508, over three million people had perished from war, slavery, and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this? I myself writing it as a knowledgeable eyewitness can hardly believe it..." - Las Casas Originally a Spanish settler in the New World, he was horrified by the treatment of the native population and instead of writing historical accounts for the monarchy (his original charge), he become a friar and wrote against the actions of Spain His eyewitness accounts of the destruction of the Indies were meant to inform and persuade those who read it
Norm violations
Act/condition that violates norms in our society (e.g., alcoholism, drug abuse, crime, physical/mental health)
examples of power elite:
Admiral who is also a banker Lawyer who heads up an important federal commission Corporate executive who has leading contracts with the Secretary of Defense Wartime general who is on a political directorate or board of directors
Life and death effects of racialization
African American babies are more than twice as likely to die as white babies Dying during childbirth is over three times higher for African American women than white women On average, African American women die about 4 years younger than white women On average, African American men die about 6 years younger than white men
How are historical narratives around WWII typically constructed?
America helping to liberate the Jews from the Nazis
The Nature of Poverty
Biological poverty - starvation and malnutrition Relative poverty - people living below the standard of living for their society Official poverty - income level at which people are eligible for welfare
Economic Problems Facing the United States
Booms and Busts Stagnant incomes Decline in savings Debtor nation Partisan Political Economy
Social change and Global problems
Changes in social institutions (e.g., family, marriage, religion) or large-scale social problems (e.g., population growth, globalization, environment, war, terrorism)
1) Typification
Condition: Large number of young, poor, unmarried women having and raising babies Claimsmaking: individuals/groups choose to focus on particular aspects of a social condition Morality problem - chastity, marital sanctity "teen promiscuity" Educational problem - lack of sex education, reluctance to teach sex education "teen pregnancy" Women as victims - lost opportunities, dropping out, women purposefully put at disadvantage Babies as victims - born in poverty, raised by immature/ill-prepared mothers Cost to society - loss of productive workers, burden on welfare rolls, emergence of cycle of poverty as these children grow up to repeat the process
Welfare Capitalism: American Exceptionalism
Conditions created a context where only universal programs (social security, unemployment, disability) were considered deserving, and targeted programs (assistance for families with dependent children, day care or pre-k programs, health care for the poor/children/elderly) were considered undeserving
Power elite and its unity depends on...
Corresponding developments and coincidence of interests among economic, political, and military organizations Similarity of origin and outlook and social/personal intermingling of the top circles from each of these dominant hierarchies
Handicapped by History: The Process of Hero-Making By James Loewen
Critically examines 18 American history textbooks (12 in first edition, added 6 in second edition) against primary and secondary historical documents and accounts Concludes textbook authors perpetuate factually incorrect, Eurocentric, and mythologized views of history
What is crippling about heroification in textbooks?
Denies the humanness of prominent individuals Neglects the position of "heroes" within mass movements, revolutions, strikes, national/international conflict Keeps students in intellectual immaturity Perpetuates the "Disney" version of history Most students do not view textbook heroes as their heroes We want students to be skeptical about history Makes history unrelatable - less likely to be critical
What are some types of ally behavior?
Don't ask "why?", listen, don't judge, look critically at how things intersect with each other, acknowledge, challenge yourself, don't assume, don't use exclusive language Try to understand a range of experiences Stop and listen Commit to personal growth and support Challenge yourself Acknowledge patterns of oppression and privilege Seeing the system is the first step to changing it Promote inclusiveness and justice Avoid exclusive or privileged language and uphold tenets of equality Don't make assumptions about group identifications Don't assume racial/ethnic identity, sexual orientation, class status, or gender identity
Why are the silences and denials surrounding privilege a key political tool?
Don't want people to realize they're actively oppressing other groups (makes people feel uncomfortable), ignored/pushed aside by the people experiencing the privilege
2) Horror Stories
Dramatic accounts, either real or fabricated, that are offered as "typical" cases Horror stories take on a reality through repetition and elaboration ex:Commissioner of Narcotics of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, built a case against marijuana through the use of "marijuana-crime-insanity" horror stories
Social problems are:
Dynamic - change over time, across the world Relative - a problem for some is a solution for others, generational and in-group/out-group differences Visible - publicized, on the "radar" for most of society
Why do some nations remain poor?
Economic/Political Colonialism/Imperialism Exploitative national power elite A culture of poverty These three issues work together to form the plight of the Least Industrialized Nations
Economy:
Entire social institution that produces and distributes goods and services
Ideas of Racial Superiority
Eugenics Cranial capacity studies Genetics studies
Theory:
Explains how two or more concepts (or facts) are related, such as age and suicide. -provides a framework for organizing facts, and in so doing, provides a way of interpreting reality.
Objective Facts
Factual, concrete data for support
Race, class, and gender are systemic forms of inequality
Form a structure of social relations supported by ideological beliefs that make things appear "normal" and "acceptable"
By making Helen Keller and Woodrow Wilson into heroes, what do these textbook leave out?
Helen Keller was a socialist, Woodrow Wilson was a racist and promoted policy got segregation
The Style of Color Blindness - Bonilla-Silva
His main argument in this chapter is that once a person adopts an ideology, they also adopt a style or language for articulating that ideology Here, the ideology is color blindness: operates under the assumption that we are living in a world that is "post-racial" where race no longer matters In contrast to the overt, clearly racist practices of the Jim Crow Era, practices of color blindness are covert, institutional, and apparently non-racial. It views racism at the individual level (such as "I don't own slaves" or "I have very close black friends" to defend oneself) without focusing on the larger social mechanisms and institutions in which racism operates
When considering history and historical narratives: Who crafted the work?
Historians, journalists, politicians/government officials, royalty/monarchs, clergy/religious figures, magistrates/lawyers
People's economic circumstances envelop them, affecting profoundly every aspect of their lives:
Housing and mortgages Education Jobs Criminal justice Quality of life Political alienation Homelessness Poor health
No matter how we compute poverty, millions of Americans are poor
In 2013, 45.3 million people (14.5 percent) were in poverty. In 2013, 26.4 million (13.6 percent) of people ages 18-64 were in poverty. In 2013, 14.7 million (19.9 percent) children under the age of 18 were in poverty.
Partisan Political Economy
Income inequality is different under Republican and Democratic presidents
Debtor nation
Individual debt and collective debt National debt - the total amount the U.S. government owes
The Achievement Predictor (TAP) and other standardized tests
Institutional discrimination is built into our social system Cultural and class biases - questions inevitably turn out to measure middle or upper middle classes and mostly white culture Assumption in testing is that all children are exposed to: vacations, diverse weather conditions, history of art or music, owning a car, owning a house, having a pet, understanding savings and checking accounts, having both parents, having monoracial parents, having heterosexual parents, having relatives, believing in God, eating a variety of foods, having toys, playing sports Testing is just one example of how institutional discrimination operates unintentionally throughout society
Effects of racialization on mental health
Internalization of inferiority or inadequacy Persistent stress Low self esteem
Sexuality
Is commodified in capitalist societies such as the US through advertising
What social group is typically represented as the primary victims of WWII?
Jewish individuals
What narrative does Kenji provide? How does it compare or contrast to other historical narratives about WWII?
Kenji provides the narrative of a Japanese family that is moved to an internment camp. Talking about WWII we hardly mention the oppression that Japanese Americans faced, we focus on the evil acts of the Germans. -POW in their own country
Structural-functionalism
Level of analysis = Macro-level -Society is a system of interrelated parts, all of which contribute to its operation (or dysfunction) -Society is basically good; problems are the result of deficient people, too rapid change, or dysfunctional consequences
Symbolic-interaction
Level of analysis = Micro-level -Through social interaction, we construct the variable and changing reality we experience -People learn attitudes and behavior for all patterns of behavior; this approach explores how people may or may not define situations as problems How do people become involved in problematic behavior? How do people come to define issues as social problems in the first place
Intersectionality
Matrix of domination and oppression
Common sense is not enough
May be faulty
Flaws of objectivist definitions of social problems
Minimize or even ignore the subjective nature of social problems Not all harmful conditions are regarded as social problems The objective conditions that people define as social problems have relatively little in common
Is the relationship between wealth and power new? Are wealthy employers or the businesses they run responsible because there is poverty?
NO
Biological distinctions are only in the form of these physical traits _________ based on genetic variation
NOT
Welfare Capitalism
No purely capitalist or socialist systems United states is most capitalist North Korea is most socialist All industrialized capitalist economies are paired with a welfare state to protect against the economic insecurities inherent to capitalism
When considering history and historical narratives: What is the purpose of the work?
Offend, expose, educate, make fun of, inform policy
How do textbooks treat government opposition to Civil Rights Movement?
Omits opposition and credits the government for achieving hard-fought gains of activists
Booms and Busts
Oscillating cycle between periods of prosperity/jobs and crisis/unemployment
Why do textbooks promote flawless hero archetypes?
Present nation's patriots in a way that honors and respects them Protect pupils from blunders and frailties of prominent heroes Culture-serving distortion: avoiding issues of racism, socialism, colonialism, imperialism, inequality in general
Sociological Theory:
Provides a framework for thinking about a social issue from a perspective that we might otherwise neglect.
What did the Great Society policies actually do?
Rather than react to the core messages of the Civil Rights Movement about equality and ending discrimination, the policies of the Great Society entangled poverty and race in ways that had and continue to have severe social consequences Now, policies and institutions that should be aimed at improving broad social conditions resort to individual blame, racial stereotyping, stigmatizing targeted programs, and maintaining segregation and prejudice
Stagnant incomes
Real income (income adjusted for inflation) becomes stagnant
What are the three great taboos of textbook publishing?
Religion, race, sex inequality
What is the metaphor of the birdcage? What is an example of the totality of the birdcage?
Represents the group being oppressed, from the outside only see one wire but from the inside see the barricade - a network of systematically related barriers
What is the process of hero-making?
Romanticizing the hero, ignoring any of the wrongs they have committed in the situation. Flawless hero archetype Reduces our ability to see humans as multidimensional
When considering history and historical narratives: Who is the work aimed at?
Royal/government leadership, lay readers, the public, business, dominant/oppressed groups, nations
Social-conflict
Sees society as divided by inequality and conflict Haves and Have-nots Level of analysis = Macro-level -Society is a system of social inequality in which some categories of people benefit at the expense of others -Problems result from inequality in terms of class (Marxism), race (multiculturalism), or gender (feminism)
Economic factors of homelessness
Severe housing cost burden Unemployment - 14.8 million unemployed in 2010 Average real income of working poor people was $9,400 in 2010 (cannot afford rent for one-bedroom unit) Foreclosures - 2.88 million homes in 2010 (1 out of every 45 homes was in foreclosure in 2010)
Claimsmaking examples:
Small groups (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) Mass Media (information and mobilization on certain issues) Success often marked by passing legislation, a clear statement that some behavior is defined as wrong Produces counterclaims about what should and should not be defined as social problems
Deconstruction of Race
Social construction pushes a social condition, inequality, stereotype, or explanation so far into the fabric of society that not only is it viewed as an inevitable, stable characteristic of the human condition, but it becomes difficult to recognize let alone challenge These conditions have significant structural consequences: Education Health Well being, physical safety, community well being Income Prejudice and Discrimination Racism Life chances of entire populations
Subjective Values
Socially and culturally defined, based on values and norms Agreed to be harmful WITH or WITHOUT objective data
Social inequality
Socially induced conditions that cause suffering to various segments of the population (e.g., class, race, gender, aging)
Five ways sociology penetrates emotional convictions to yield objective understanding of social problems:
Sociologists can measure objective facts. Sociologists can measure subjective values. Sociologists can apply the sociological imagination. Sociologists can identify different ways to intervene in a social problem. Sociologists can evaluate likely consequences of social policies.
Strengths and weaknesses of symbolic-interaction:
Strengths: can navigate and explain the subjective values of social problems, examines how people construct reality and provides a "real world" view of social problems Weaknesses: micro-level analysis overlooks influence of social structure on people's lives
Strengths and weaknesses of social-conflict:
Strengths: highlights the importance of social divisions and inequality in society, integrates perspectives on class, race, and gender Weaknesses: may overstate significance of social divisions moving into 21st century, favors political activism over scientific objectivity, ignores lived experiences
Strengths and weaknesses of structural- functionalism:
Strengths: views society as a cohesive structure, emphasizes the connectivity of systems Weaknesses: explains effects but not causes, unable to account for change or breakdowns, ignores agency and lived experiences
Main Sociological Theories
Structural-functionalism Social-conflict Symbolic-interaction
Problems with the poverty line
Stuck in time warp, still based on food prices from the 1960s Not adjusted for different standards of living (Miami vs. Little Rock) Does not distinguish between rural and urban families
Differences in skin color and other physical characteristics provide visible clues to underlying differences
Temperament, sexuality, intelligence, athletic ability, aesthetic preferences, confidence, trust, tastes in music/film/dance/sports, ways of talking/walking/eating/dreaming Shaped by and shape notions of race These become too essential, too integral to the maintenance of the US social order to deconstruct, challenge, or ignore
Budgeting for Poverty
The federal government says a family of four earning $24,250 or less a year is living in poverty How far does $24,250 go in America today? -An annual budget of $6,000 for food leaves a family of four $16 a day for food (or $1.30 per meal). -If you luck out and find a home below the national rent level ($750m) and find a place to house your family of four for $600 a month, you still only have 43% of your budget left! --the average expenses for utilities and public services runs $2,400 a year - Some families spend $2,400 annually ($200m) to buy gas, oil and insurance for their used cars. -a family of four at the poverty line would still pay on average $2,132 a year for health and medical expenses -low income families with two small children will spend an average of $2,300 a year
Intersections present in three realms of society
The representational realm The realm of social interaction The social structural realm
How do they support each other underground? How about the transition to aboveground?
The transition above ground is more difficult and often people face even greater discrimination
Neither race, class, nor gender is a fixed category
Their form and interrelationship change over time
Intersectionality
To be at the intersection point of specific social forces: race, gender, age, marital status, parental status, educational attainment, economic status, living conditions, health, disabilities, mental health
What is the root of the word "oppression"?
To be pressed upon, to reduce/restrain, feel confined, removes ability of the agency to have an action
How much agency do you imagine each group had/has in developing their own historical narrative?
Very little unless they are the majority group
Have women fully achieved equality?
Wage gap (.78 to $1), occupational segregation, educational tracking, motherhood penalty, punitive welfare policies
Describe the double-bind of oppression. What is an example of this double-bind?
You can't win. Privileged groups tend not to experience this (intersectionality) Women still face oppressive dialogues as women even though they may be privileged in the class/race category
Stereotypes
an exaggerated description applied to every person in some category
Poverty line
an income level set by the US government for the purpose of counting the poor
Prejudice (attitude)
any rigid and unfounded generalization about an entire category of people Develops before interacting with the specific people in question, not based on direct experience, difficult to change
Condition =
any situation that at least some people define as troublesome
Cranial capacity studies
attempt to find inferior brain capacities of people of color, influenced policies and promoted racism
Life chances
being born into a particular social class affects how much schooling they receive, the kind of work they will do (or chances of not finding a job), and how long they will live
Undermines well-being =
causes immediate harm, limits choices
Ideology of the classless society
class privilege is something one earns, not something that is deeply embedded in the institutions of society -"Pick yourself up by your bootstraps". "If you weren't so lazy." "If only you worked a little harder."
Critics of color-blindness argue
color-blindness operates under the assumption that we are living in a world that is "post-race",[12] where race no longer matters, when in fact it is still a prevalent issue. While it is true that overt racismis rare today ,critics insist that more covert forms have taken its place. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva suggests that racial practices during the Jim Crow Era were typically overt and clearly racial, whereas today they tend to be covert, institutional, and apparently nonracial.[13] Another criticism is that color-blindness views racism at the individual level (e.g. Lines of reasoning such as "I don't own slaves" or "I have very close black friends" to defend oneself) without looking at the larger social mechanisms in which racism operates
What are the key terms for conflict theory:
competition conflict special interests power exploitation
Social Problems
conditions that undermine the well-being of some of all members of a society and is usually a matter of public controversy
Modern day Muckraker
describes either a journalist who writes in the adversarial or alternative tradition or a non-journalist whose purpose in publication is to advocate reform and change
Institutional discrimination
discrimination built into the operation of social institutions, including the economy, schools, and the legal system, that oppresses whole groups For generations whites denied African Americans the right to vote, join labor unions, work at high-paying prestigious jobs, attend good schools, or receive care at decent hospitals
Assimilation
dominant group absorbs the minority group
Multiculturalism (pluralism)
dominant group encourages racial ethnic variation; when successful there is no longer a dominant group
Population transfer
dominant group expels the minority group (ie: Native Americans being forced off their land)
Internal Colonialism
dominant group exploits the minority group (ie:menial work, low wages)
Segregation
dominant group structures the social institutions to maintain minimum contact with the minority group
Genocide
dominant group tries to destroy the minority group (ie: Rwanda, Nazis)
Historical narratives
examination and analysis of sequences of past events using technical and ideological lenses
Davis & Moore Theory
explains a system of unequal rewards draws talent to important work and encourages effort, in the process creating social stratification
Social policy
formal strategies that affect how society operates
Ethnicity:
groups who share a common culture
What other social groups were impacted by WWII?
gypsies, Japanese, homosexuals, handicapped
Economic effects of racialization
income and wealth inequality
Macro-level
institutions, class structures
What metaphor does McIntosh use for white privilege?
invisible knapsack
Ethnicity
is a shared cultural heritage which typically involves common ancestors, language, and/or religion Similar cultural customs, food, family structures, etc. Examples: Italian, French, Cambodian, Somalian, Cherokee, Mexican
Race
is a socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society define as important Society determines similar traits among people and groups them into broad racial groups Skin color, eye shape, hair texture, facial features
Culture
is a way of life including widespread values, beliefs, and behavior
Social structure
is the patterned social arrangements in society
Sociology
is the systematic study of human societies
Shifting views of cause and policy
lie within people (flawed character) - teaching self-discipline, sterilization, emphasizing personal responsibility Lie outside individuals (flawed system) - education, social reform, job training, stimulating economy
Social disorganization theory
links poverty and other social problems to rapid social change
Sociological Imagination
looks at people's behavior and attitudes in the context of the social forces that shape them
Most of the Least Industrialized Nations (MLIN) -
mass poverty
Capitalist Economies:
means of producing and distributing goods and services are privately owned
Socialist Economies:
means of producing and distributing goods and services are publically owned
Research shows that countries using universal programs provide _____________ and produce more _____________
more economic security; more equality in general
Anglo-conformity
native and immigrant populations expected to speak English and adopt Anglo-Saxon way of life (culture, language, Christianity, ideas about living, working, currency)
Genetic studies
no traits, no characteristics, not even one gene that is present in all members of one so-called race and absent in another
Micro-level
norms that shape behavior, social interaction
Individual discrimination
one person treating another badly on the basis of race-ethnicity
Many of the troubles people face have their roots in the _____________—not in ___________________
operation of society; individual inadequacy
National Association of Real Estate Boards (NAR)
organization that used to support racial discrimination as a moral act to protect white people- 1924 code of ethics "A Realtor should never be instrumental in introducing into a neighborhood...members of any race or nationality, or individuals whose presence will clearly be detrimental to property values in that neighborhood."
Social welfare programs
organized efforts by government, private organizations, or individuals to assist needy people
History
past events and the discovery, collection, and presentation of information about these events
US class system evolved from:
patterns of capitalist development
How we define poverty has serious consequences for __________________
people's lives
Rules of racial classification
race becomes "common sense" way of explaining and acting in the world
Society
refers to people who live within some territory and share many patterns of behavior
Interlocking directorates
refers to the practice of members of a corporate board of directors serving on the boards of multiple corporations Mechanism for the concentration of corporate-political power
Social Location
refers to where individuals and groups are located in society Physical places: neighborhood, city, state, country Personal characteristics: education, sex, race-ethnicity, age, marital status
Muckrakers
reform-minded journalists who wrote largely for popular magazines, continued a tradition of investigative journalism reporting, and emerged in the US after 1900 and continued to be influential until WWI
Most Industrialized Nations (MIN) -
residual poverty
Constraining factors for researchers:
resources available to the researcher, researcher's background and training
One of the major muckraking projects involved exposing "How the Other Half Lives
revealed the conditions of the newly relocated poor to the cities, urbanization during the Industrial Revolution meant that a lot of rural farming families were forced to move into the cities to participate in the economy, but what they found there was geographical restraint, job competition, and terrible work conditions.
_____________ approach to the government does not teach students to be effective citizens
servile
Culture of wealth
set of institutions, customs, values, worldviews, family ties, and connections—allow the rich and powerful to accumulate/maintain their privileges
Globalization
shapes global labor markets, economies, and transnational families and social institutions
Meso-level
social networks, relationships between people and organizations
structure+ culture=
society
Social stratification
society's system of ranking categories of people in a hierarchy
What are the key terms for functionalism theory:
structure function system equilibrium goals
What are the key terms for symbolic interactionism theory
symbols interaction communication meanings definitions
The representational realm
symbols, language, and images that convey meanings in society
Constructionism
takes into account that whether or not the conditions exist objectively, social problems only matter when people make claims about them
To begin with, of the sixty-three most industrialized nations in the world, only one nation does not have some form of guaranteed income program for all families in need. That one exception is ____________
the United States
Racism
the assertion that people of one race are less worthy or even biologically inferior to others Interpersonal, institutionalized and internalized
What is the essential distinction made by using the sociological imagination?
the capacity to shift from one perspective to another
Muckraking exposed:
the conditions of the poor, the hazards of urbanization, the meat-packing industry, and child labor, joined the other progressive political forces of the time to assist in ushering in a progressive era of policy-making by the government
Structural inequality
the inequality built into our economic and social institutions
The social structural realm
the institutional sites where power and resources are distributed in society
Consequences of Racialization
the melting pot anglo-conformity Destruction of racial and ethic identities, cultures, languages, ways of life -Prejudice, stereotypes, discrimination become social problems when they corrode or deprive minority groups of the rights to citizenship Equality, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
The realm of social interaction
the norms and behaviors observable in human relationships
Redlining
the practice of denying, or charging more for, services such as banking, insurance,[2] access to health care,[3] or even supermarkets,[4] or denying access to jobs to residents in particular, often racially determined,[5] areas. The term was coined in the late 1960s by John McKnight, a sociologist and community activist.[6] It refers to the practice of marking a red line on a map to delineate the area where banks would not invest; later the term was applied to discrimination against a particular group of people (usually by race or sex) irrespective of geography.
Claimsmaking
the process of convincing the public and important public officials that a particular issue or situation should be defined as a social problem
Main factor in choosing research method:
the questions you wish to answer
Wealth
the value of all the economic assets owned by a person or family, minus any debts
Dominant group
those who discriminate Group with more power, privileges, and higher social status
Before WWI Muckraker
used to refer in a general sense to a writer who investigates and publishes truthful reports to perform an auditing or watchdog function
Pluralists
view politics as a neutral playing field with many interest groups competing for social, economic, and political power
"Amateur biology"
way of explaining variations in "human nature"
