3. Social Stratification
A particular form of social
inequality which refers to the
presence of social groups which
are ranked one above the other
usually in terms of the amount of
power, prestige, and wealth the
members possess.
4. An individual’s position
in the stratification
system has important
effects on all areas of life.
It may enhance or reduce
the person’s life chances
5. Life Chances
This term is usually associated with Weber
Life chances include everything
the chance to stay alive during
the first year of life
Keeping healthy
access to education
6. Those who belong to the same strata
will have some awareness of common
interests and a common identity
They will share a similar lifestyle
8. Social mobility
Closed stratification
Little to no social
mobility
Ascribed status:
a social position that
is assigned to a person
by society without
regard for the person’s
unique talents or
characteristics
Open stratification
Social mobility is
allowed
Achieved status
A social position that a
person attains
largely through his
or her own efforts
9. Power (1)
The degree to which
individuals or groups can
impose their will on others
without their consent
10. Power (2)
The chance of a man or
woman or a number of
men and women to realise
their own will even against
the resistance of others.
12. 2 main forms of power
Authority:
which is seen as legitimate,
right and just
Coercion
Power which is not seen as
legitimate
13. Systems of Inequalities
Caste system
Castes are hereditary ranks .
In a caste system there is :
No social mobility between ranks
Caste membership is an ascribed status
Endogamous – members are expected to
marry within the caste
14. Social Class
Social classes are economic
groups but not exclusively
so
The boundaries of social
class are not clear-cut
15. Social Class
a class system is a social ranking
based primarily on economic position
in which achieved characteristics can
influence social mobility.
The boundaries between classes are
not well-defined and people can
sometimes move between classes.
16. Race
One of the most complex concepts in sociology
There is a contradiction between its scientific basis and
its everyday usage
People believe that humans can be separated into
biologically different races.
This was based on scientific theories of race that arose in
the late 18th and 19th centuries
But these theories were used to justify the social order
18. Various views
Race is nothing more than an
ideological construct that people have
attached meaning to (Miles 1993)
Some say it’s a social construct: it is
what we make it
Historically we have attached meaning to
it…to use for various means
19. After World war 2, ‘race science’ has
been discredited
There are no clear-cut races: only a
range of physical variations in human
beings.
20. Anthony Giddens ( 20021)
“ Race can be understood as a set of
social relationships which allow
individuals and groups to be located,
and various attributes or competencies
assigned, on the basis of biologically
grounded features. “
21. Giddens (continued)
“ racial distinctions are more than ways
of describing human differences
They are also important factors in the
reproduction of patterns of power and
inequality within the society”
22.
23. Theories on Stratification
Structural Functionalism
Examines how stratification contributes
to the maintenance and well-being of the
society.
Stratification is a device through which
society ensures that specific positions are
filled by specific people on the basis of
certain characteristics
25. Structural Functionalist Perspective on
Stratification
Davis and Moore- in an attempt to understand
stratification, one must consider the
requirements faced by any society
The most able people are matched with the
functionally most important position. It is
done by attaching high rewards to those
positions
e.g. consider why professionals are evaluated
and perceived as being in a ‘higher’ rank than
blue collar workers
26.
27. Structural Functionalist Perspective on
Stratification
Inequality is necessary to motivate
people to compete for positions
Stratification systems originate
from common values whereby
individuals are evaluated and
placed in a ranked order
28. Criticisms of Functionalist perspective on
stratification
Assumes that the most important
positions are unambiguously
defined independently of the
influence of status, and family
name etc
Inequality can hinder rather than
aid
29. Marxist Perspective on Stratification
Stratification is seen as divisive rather
than integrative
It is a mechanism whereby some
exploit others.
Power plays a major role in
stratification processes
31. Weber – Social Class
Class –
a group of people who have
a similar level of wealth
and income.
32. Max Weber
He saw social class in economic terms
Classes develop in market economies in
which individuals compete for economic
gain
A class: a group of people who share a
similar position in a market
economy
33. Weber- status
Status group
People who have the same prestige or
lifestyle.
An individual gains status through
membership in a desirable group
Status not the same as economic class
34. status
Groups form because their members
share a similar status situation
The unequal distribution of social
honour
35. Privilege
Peggy Mcintosh (2000):
“privilege exists when one group has
something of value that is denied to others
simply because of the groups they belong to,
rather than because of anything they have
done or failed to do”
36. types of privilege- Mcintosh
“unearned entitlements”
Things of value that people SHOULD have,
such as feeling safe in public spaces or
working in a place where they feel they
belong.
When unearned entitlement is restricted to
certain groups, it becomes a form of
privilege that is “unearned advantage.”
37. Unearned advantage gives
dominant groups a competitive
edge they are reluctant to
acknowledge
38. Conferred dominance- another type of
privilege
is when one group is given power over another.
This one is more difficult to see because it is not about
giving something to one group verse another,
conferred dominance deals with feelings of superiority over
other people.
An example of conferred dominance could be seen in a man
telling his wife what to do around the house, but not listening
when she asks him to do something. The notion of telling a
wife what do is felt to be okay by a husband because they see
themselves as superior since they are the man.
https://sydneyruhala.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/privilege/
39. What is the nature of inequality
in the Caribbean?
40. Stratification in the
Caribbean
Was based on a race/class hierarchy
Was a caste system where race determined class
Colour was seen as an indicator of status
41. In contemporary times
Social class as an indicator of
power and prestige seems to be
the dominant type of inequality
42. Stratification in contemporary times
What characterizes stratification in the Caribbean
today?
Have the changes in the stratification systems
been great or small? Or are these changes
cosmetic and superficial?
What is the function of social mobility on
stratification patterns in the Caribbean?
