Course Hero Logo
Upload to Study
Expert Help

Lesson 7 - Social Stratification - Social Stratification...

Doc Preview
Pages 48
Identified Q&As 7
Solutions available
Total views 100+
1Social Stratification Social Class And Social Mobility
2Social stratification describes thestructured ranking of individualsandgroupsand their grading into horizontal layers or strata. • Social stratification depends uponsocial differentiation– the process by which a society becomes increasingly specialized over time. • Wherepeople can change their statuswith relative ease, sociologists refer to the arrangement as anopen system. • Wherepeople can not change their statuswith relative ease, sociologists refer to the arrangement as aclosed system. Characteristics of Stratification Systems
3• Social stratificationis a system bywhich a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy. • There arefourbasic principles of stratification: • Social stratification is a feature of society,not simply a function of individual differences. • Social stratification persists over generations. – However, most societies allow somesocial mobility or changes in people’s position in a system of social stratification. • Social mobility may be upward, downward, or horizontal. • Social stratification is universal but variable. • Social stratification involves not just inequality but beliefs. Characteristics of Stratification Systems
4Stratification and Inequality • Social inequality: condition in which members of society have different amounts ofwealth,prestige, orpower • Stratification: structured ranking of entire groups of people that effectsunequal economic rewardsandpowerin a society • Four major stratification systems:slavery, caste, estate,andclass
5Caste Systems A caste systemis social stratification based on ascription (social status by birth) or birth. Caste systems are typical of agrarian (rural) societies because the lifelong routines of agriculture depend on a rigid sense of duty and discipline
6Characteristics of A Caste System •C aste systems shape people’s lives infour crucial ways: – Caste largelydetermines occupation. – Illustrations: India and South Africa. – Systems generallymandate endogamy. – Caste systems limit outgroup social contacts. – Powerful cultural beliefs underlie caste systems..
7Caste in Japan Feudal Japan was divided into several castes: Nobility. Samurai or warriors. Commoners. The burakumin or outcasts. Japan today consists of “upper,” “upper-middle,” “lower-middle,” and “lower” classes, and people move between classes over time. But they may still size up one’s social standing through the lens of caste.
8Characteristics of Class Systems • In aclass system,social stratification is based on bothbirthandindividual achievement. – Industrial societiesmove towards meritocracy, social stratification based on personal merit.
Course Hero Badge

Want to read all 48 pages?

Previewing 9 of 48 pages Upload your study docs or become a member.
Course Hero Badge

Want to read all 48 pages?

Previewing 9 of 48 pages Upload your study docs or become a member.
Course Hero Badge

End of preview

Want to read all 48 pages? Upload your study docs or become a member.