...How does sociology help us to understand 'class' as an important social phenomenon? Sociology emerged in the nineteenth century as an attempt to understand the transition from traditional to modern society. Many argue that class is no longer important as a social phenomenon as an individual’s identity are based more on status and cultural factors such as lifestyle, values, intelligence, education. Others argue that class is still a central influence on people’s lives, that it affects their life chances. They argue that class inequality exists and that such inequalities are widening rather than narrowing. The major perspectives historically have been Marx and Weber who have provided their views and support for the idea that society is class-conscious. Other theorists, such as Clark and Lipset challenge Marx and Weber theory and believe that class is not an important social phenomenon. The common stratum model of class divides society into a simple hierarchy of working class, middle class and upper class. Class is an important social phenomenon that exists in society and through sociology we are presented with a variety of concepts and theories that contribute and support our understanding of the classes. A class system “refers to a social group, defined in terms of its economic position in a hierarchy of inequality and with material interests that differentiate it from other classes.” (Van Kriken; Habibis; Smith; Hutchins; Martin; Maton, 2014, P.205). The most common...
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...favorite subject often changed by who was teaching the class. I didn’t realize that I was actually smart until eight grade. At that time, my favorite subject was Spanish. I also enjoyed my Social Studies class- especially the subjects on the Civil War and women’s rights. In High School, I dabbled in a little physical science. The teacher taught in multiple ways. She knew that everybody learned in a different way, so she tried to accommodate everybody. That’s when my English skill came about. I had a few poems published in different books. I also advanced in math and basically all of my classes. In my junior year, I started taking agricultural classes which extend into my senior year. As a senior, I took advanced courses in English and Math. I hadn’t taken one Sociology class at this point. My favorite non-circular activity was golf. I didn’t play often and I wasn’t good at it, but I loved it. I engulfed myself in Agriculture. I wanted to be a veterinarian, I was the Vice President of my FFA chapter, and I was showing both pigs and a steer at my local fair. I was proud of my position as the FFA vice president, through them I had competed in many different competitions and had won! I found out that I was good at communication and speeches, I was good at memorizing breeds of animals and I was a good leader. When I graduated high school I started taking agricultural classes at the college level and I hated it. My “On Course” class required us to plan out what we wanted to do. I took...
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...Social Inequality essay plans for Part b) 30 mark question Evaluate the usefulness of sociological explanations of ethnic inequalities.(30) Evaluate the view that society is institutionally racist (30) Adapt according to question given Introduction Ethnic inequalities are still significant in the UK – give a few examples. Suggest some explanations e.g Racism, Institutional racism, social class of ethnic minorities (Marxism), welfare dependency (New Right). This essay will identify and assess these explanations. AO1 Define types of Racism e.g Barker and new racism, institutional racism – McPhearson report on murder of stephen lawrence – racism in met police. Jenkins suggests recruitment to jobs is more word of mouth and disadvantages ethnic minorities. Modood 1994 28% of african caribbean people surveyed said they felt they had been refused a job on grounds of race. AO2 There are many government acts such as Race relations acts which should prevent discrimination AO2 However because racism is implicit (hidden) now it can be difficult to prove in court. AO1 Marxists such as Westergaard and Resler argue that race is a distraction from the real issue which is social class. It is capitalism which disadvantages certain groups and ethnic minorities are more likely to be in lower classes. AO2 However this ignores the existence of racism in society e.g in education where black boys have the highest exclusion rates in school. AO1 Another marxist explanation by Castles...
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...closely associated with Marxism. According to a Marxist perspective, the social inequality that exists in society runs parallel with the various inequalities in the health system. With reference to the latter, exploitation of lower level assembly line workers or the proletariat working class can have a significant impact on workers’ health, particularly for the achievement of profit. Furthermore, in our contemporary society, medical professions have subjugated individuals illness’s within a capitalist society, disregarding health interests for the product of business. Additionally, Marxists analyses argue vigorously that class is a significant determinant of inequality with regard to illness and that the illness is implicated in a wider process of social oppression; determine by environmental factors, education and economic institutions into which one is born. All in all, from analysis of these topics there is no doubt that illness is very much a social phenomenon. Marxism and Workplace Illnesses The Marxist approach to health and illness relies heavily on the relationship they have with capitalism and class. Marx believed there were two essential classes in society; the capitalist class, who make up the minority of society, and the proletariat, also known as the working class who make up the majority. Vincent Navarro provides one of the most influential accounts of the centrality of social class and the labour process to health and illness. Navarro claims that in the...
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...Nowak 4/13/12 Sociology The Established & the Outsiders Essay Social structure can be represented in many ways and through many ideas, such as in a community or city. When two of them are compared to one another, there’s bound to be many similarities and differences between them. For instance, the area in and around Norwich University can be easily compared to the setting of the novel, The Established & the Outsiders. The novel is set at a place called Winston-Parva, a suburban area in the outskirts of a large and wealthy industrial town in central England. It had a population of less than 5000, but had its own industries, schools, churches, shops and clubs. The two authors, Elias & Scotson, conducted their study though the book and formed a social structure by categorizing the town into 3 different zones, 1, 2, and 3. Zone 1 was usually called a middle-class residential area, and most of its inhabitants regarded it as such. Zones 2 and 3 were working-class areas one of which, Zone 2, is where most of the industries were established. From this info alone one could assume that since Zone 2 and Zone 3 seem the same, the inhabitants of those zones think that as well. However, the novel states a survey that proves the previous assumption to be false: “A preliminary survey suggested that not only the middle-class inhabitants of Zone 1, but the working-class inhabitants of Zone 2 regarded themselves and their neighbourhood as superior in social status to those of...
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...Jurrell D. Harrison The Impact Of Sociological Theories In Education Introduction to Sociology Professor Whited Monday February 13th 2012 Education is often considered as the most important aspect of an individual’s life. Education essentially shapes a person’s future. Without an education, moreover a good education, in today’s economy people would struggle in everyday life just to make ends meet. In fact, according to statistics published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for people who do not have a high school diploma or equivalent, on a survey taken by 11,437 people in January 2011, is 16.5%. That is a staggering 1,892 people who are unemployed because they do not have adequate education. Thus it is therefore evident that an education, or some education is paramount to a person’s success or accomplishments in life. There are three theories that help understand education. Although most view these theories as opinions, these theories support the need for education by allowing society to better understand education and they demonstrate or help identify what education really is. The three theories that are important for purposes of this paper are: Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism. These three theories play a vital role in helping understand education and why it is so important. Contrary to most beliefs, the theories previously mention are not simply one man’s opinions, rather they give a prime meaning to the necessity of education. Traditionally...
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...Grace Elliott / Sociology homework due Friday 4th March 2016 Item A The criminal law is thus not a reflection of custom, but a set of rules laid down by the state in the interests of the ruling class, and resulting from the conflicts arising in class structured societies; criminal behaviour is , then , the inevitable expression of class conflict resulting from the exploitative nature of economic relations. Criminality is simply not something that people have or don’t have; crime is not something some people do and others don’t. Crime is a matter of who can pin the label on whom and underlying this socio-political process is the structure of social relations determined by capitalism. Using material from item A and elsewhere asses the usefulness of the Marxist approaches to an understanding of crime and deviance (21 marks) Marxists essentially see crime and deviance as defined by the ruling class and used as a means of social control – if you don’t conform then you will be punished. Institutions such as the police, the justice system, prisons and schools, the family and religion are there to encourage you to conform. They argue that white collar crimes (which tend to be committed by the more powerful in society) are ignored, while crimes committed by the less powerful in society such as burglary and street crime are focussed on and seen as more serious. Marxists would also argue that different social classes are policed differently, with the working class heavily policed...
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...2009, Table 202-0802). The decline in poverty could result for many reasons. Education, jobs and the economy of Canada may have improved a lot during the past twenty years. Canada is a developing country and is seeing improvements in social status of people. The class system plays a huge role. Could it be that families across Canada are moving up a class? Persons in economic families had a poverty rate of 8% in 1988 and it dropped to 6% in 2007 (Statistics Canada, 2009, Table 202-0802). It can be seen that there is a 25% decrease in poverty for persons in economic families over time (Statistics Canada, 2009, Table 202-0802). Therefore persons in economic families are doing well compared to how they were in 1989. It is pretty clear that the economy of Canada is developing. This would not be the case if poverty had increased during the past twenty years. Poverty still exists, no doubt about that but it will continue to decline if Canada continues to improve its economic situation. Poverty still exists for many reasons such as people in poor class work as much as other full-time workers, but jobs are much worse and the workers are paid lesser amounts (Fetner, 2009). If the people in poor class were paid more for their work, they could move up a class and it would definitely decline poverty rates across Canada. Poverty for persons of age 65 and over seems to have declined incredibly. In 1988, it was 13% and in 1998, 8.6% which is a decline of 33.8%...
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...relationship? Causality: an invariable, temporal, and asymmetrical relationship between phenomena in which the existence of one phenomenon in a given for inevitably leads to the existence of a second phenomenon. 1. Covariation: both phenomena vary together (i.e education and income) 2. Nonspuriousness: the relationship between 2 phenomena cannot be explained by the third (ie ice cream and drownings, number of doctors and number of deaths in an area) 3. ------------------------------------------------- Time order: cause happens before the effect. Not always as obvious as it appears to be. (i.e. obvious- depression and suicide) (not obvious- achievement and motivation) iv. The two orienting questions in sociology: order and action. ORDER: the patterns of social life is a product of structural arrangements [collective orientation and individual] ACTION: what motivates individuals to act? Non-rational motives and rational motives v. Intellectual forces (Enlightenment)...
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...Higher Sociology Understanding Human Society 1 Acknowledgements SFEU (Scottish Further Education Unit) gratefully acknowledges the contribution made to this publication by Learning and Teaching Scotland who have granted permission to use material previously produced by Higher Still Development Unit. SFEU also thanks SQA for permission to reproduce parts of the Arrangement documents. Copyright statement Documents on NQ Online can be downloaded free. However, where the publications are the copyright of Learning and Teaching Scotland, educational establishments in Scotland may reproduce them in whole or in part provided that the source is acknowledged and that no profit accrues at any stage. Other users of these publications should contact Learning and Teaching Scotland before reproducing any of them. Please note all rights held by the former Higher Still Development Unit continue to be held by Learning and Teaching Scotland. Contents Statement of Standards 3 Guide to Learning and Teaching Pack 7 Introduction to the Unit and Learning and Teaching Approaches 8 Class stratification 9 Recommended reading and recommended websites for class stratification 10 Introduction to social stratification 11 Class stratification 15 Functionalist theory of class stratification 24 Summary of functionalism ...
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...Introduction I have chosen the article Schwadel, P. (2008). Poor Teenagers’ Religion. Sociology of Religion 2008, 69:2, 125-149. This article looks at the effects of poverty on the religious views and practices of teenagers. Based on data collected from the National Study on Youth and Religion, Schwadel shows that income level has some impact on the religious practices of youth. Type of Article This article would be considered a research article due to the fact that while the data was collected from existing sources, Schwadel used the data to determine if the level of income had an effect on teenagers’ religious views. The Survey Method was used to conduct this research. They called 3,290 teenagers nationally and asked a series of questions. Those individuals who did not or would not answer over the phone were followed up with a mail-in survey. Summary Schwadel determined through data collected via the survey that social class had a great deal to do with a teenager’s religious views and practices. He found that upper to middle class individuals were more likely to attend organized religious services, while lower class individuals were more likely to value private worship and scripture reading. It was also noted that lower class individuals were more likely to have no religious affiliation than that of the middle and upper class, regardless of their parent’s religious views and practices, as well as associate with those who hold the same religious beliefs. Teenagers in low...
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...stratification. Discuss. The title of this essay covers a very wide topic of stratification, and in this essay I will look at the many different forms of stratification that exist both at home here in Ireland and also on a worldwide scale, but to begin with I’m going to describe and define what stratification really means. In short stratification is basically how society ranks in hierarchy, which in detail means the vertical or hierarchical division of society according to rank, class or caste. Caste is defined as “a form of social stratification based on inherited status or ascription.” and this definition goes on to say that “ones social destiny is determined at birth with no chance or opportunity to change this class you have been born into.1”. It remains to be argued whether this statement is true or false, ! ! personally I think it is possible to change class or to move up or down a social class. Yes ones social destiny is determined at birth but it is possible to move up and down the social class ladder, all it takes is determination. Although if one is to begin at the bottom of the ladder, born into a family with harsh surroundings, it will be much harder to move up the ranks, as your success largely depends on your cultural background. If there is no one around you to support you with your studies or with any educational things you may be interested in, then doing any of these things becomes an everyday struggle. ! Stratification does exist both domestically and...
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...Bourdieu How do class, gender, sexuality or race work in relation to taste today? Using at least two key theorists discussed on the course, explain how ideas of taste are presented in any two media texts. The concept of good taste and class has always been a sensitive subject for those perceived as lacking enough taste or class to fit in the higher echelons of society. Historically, taste. class and it’s symbols have always been defined by the social elite. It was been incredibly difficult for outsiders to gain access to the knowledge that ensured the ruling class were in a position to define taste for the rest of the population. There has however always been a drive in the lower classes to earn acceptance and even entry to the higher class of society. This drive has been a major factor to the success of capitalism, giving birth to mass production and economic well fare. Renowned french sociologist Pierre Bourdieu theorised on cultural, social and symbolic values in order to analyze what constituted taste and class. (Swartz, David. 1997) Bourdieu believed that if one possessed a great deal of cultural capital (knowledge of the arts, language or artistic flair) one would be perceived as a higher class than someone without the same knowledge. Bourdieu argues that all members of society exist in a multidimensional social space: where one is not only defined by social class membership but any kind of capital one could gain through social relations and experiences...
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...How does sociology help us to understand “Class” as an important social phenomenon? Everyone should recognize that class is only used as an economic term. Many would argue that class no longer exists within society because it is the twentieth century and that all are treated equally and fair. Though others would argue that inequality exists because it is a fact of life, if a person has a degree and another doesn’t, who would get the job the one with the degree of course. Equality, belonging and human rights would be expected to be shown within society, though this is not always the case in the social aspect of society past and present. Some are considered to be of upper class, working class and middle class. Although there are many negative theories about class, there is also positives. However, the thought of thinking that individuals or groups of people are put in a certain “Class” category due to one’s position, race, gender, sexuality, culture and so on does not seem justified. It is understood that class is an important social phenomenon because it is a way of understanding social life. “Middle class and upper class depended on professional qualifications” (Van Krieken et al., 2014, p. 207). Where working class were manual labourers also known as bourgeoisie. There is history of negatives surrounding class for example power, one who is of a higher status for example the upper class society of people could use their power to oppose others decision making, prospects of one’s...
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...PPL1021-Sociology An introduction to sociology our first lesson for this year 13th October 2011. We are going to be having the following lessons for this year: Individual identity and the social world: 1. Culture, Individual Identity and Socialization 2. Social Stratification, Identification and Mobility 3. Gender Issues 4. Deviance and Social Control 5. Poverty and Social Exclusion(15% of the population of Malta are below the poverty line) 6. Globalisation. Social Reality: The Analysis of the Social Reality Sociology is the study of the human behavior under the perspective of the social(relationship). Human behavior tends to satisfy basic human needs. Four basic types of human needs are: 1. Biological 2. Social 3. Psychological 4. Spiritual Human Needs: 1. Food and shelter 2. A sense of belonging to be felt accepted to receive warm and friendly responses 3. Help, support, protection and guidance(dependency) 4. Assert oneself over others and among others, the need to feel needed 5. Warm and intimate relationship: physical proximity, bodily contact 6. Self defence: manifested in aggression 7. Self-esteem and ego-identity: individuality Definition of Sociology: Sociology is the study of relationship and not the study of society is made of relationships. Discussion: A trip to Africa: I had never felt heat like this before. If this was northern Africa, I wondered what it must be closer to the equator...
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