SOC 103 - Midterm

naturali

Waves of immigration

• early 1800s: from Northern and Western Europe to America

• late 1800s: shifted to eastern and southern Europe

Immigration in 1900s

• slowed down alot

• accelerated greatly in the last few decades of the 20th century

• broader array of countries spanning around the globe

Debates around immigration

• the extent to which immigrants are assimilating

• the overall social and economic impact of immigration on the nation

Immigration policy and patterns

• until 1875, the United States had an open- door immigration policy

• naturalization Act of 1790

Naturalization Act of 1790

allowed immigrants to get citizenship after years of residence in the U.S

Immigration Act of 1921

first law to put a ceiling on the overall number of immigrants allowed entry into the U.S.

Policy and patterns

• Immigration Act of 1921 and 1924

• policies became less restrictive during and after WWII

• “immigration dropped during this time because of the great depression and WWll”

• 1965 – amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act

• starting in 1950, number of people immigrating has increased

• in 1965, 290k visas per year, EXCLUDED united states citizens and their family members

Immigration act of 1952

made changes to the policy

Immigrant assimilation

• reduction of ethnic group distinctions over time

• spans generations

• groups concentrated in neighborhoods or cities

Ethnic disadvantage

if new immigrants learn the language and customs, get their education, works hard, will have a hard time achieving upward socioeconomic mobility, because of prejudice, racism, discrimination

Segmented assimilation

• society offers different possibilities to different immigrant groups

• interactionist perspective

What are the 3 outcomes of segmented assimilation?

• some will achieve upward mobility and assimilate.

• others will achieve downward mobility, ethnic disadvantage.

• few will have upward mobility while holding onto their ethnic ties and culture.

3 dimensions of assimilation

• education

• income

• residential segregation

Assimilation: education

• second gen immigrants or children of immigrant have large increases in education levels compared with their parents (first gen)

• second gen have higher educational attainment than 3rd, 4th, 5th generations

Assimilation: income

second gen have higher income, than first and later gens

Assimilation: residential segregation

immigrants moving to areas or moving out to connect more with their community and culture

Impact of immigration

• complements: taking jobs american wouldn’t want.

• substitutes: taking jobs from the population and lowering their wages for people born here.

• immigrants tend to be complements

• “only 40% of americans pass the citizenship test”

• “vermont is the only state where majority of residents can pass this test”

Rust belt

• were once vibrant industrial centers that have been hurt by the gradual and long term decline of manufacturing in the US

• mostly in the northeast and midwest

Sun belt

• cities that have seen a growth in population and jobs

• mostly in the south and west

Patterns of growth and decline (segregation)

• since 1950 population in the US has shifted from the rust belt to the sun belt

• increase in population in the west and south

• decrease in population in the northeast and midwest

• deindustrialization = loss of jobs = decline in pop growth

• growth in sun belt because of immigration

States with largest population growth

• texas

• nevada

• utah

• arizona

US has become more suburban

• in 1910 7% of population lived in suburban areas

• today 51% of population live in suburban areas

Racial and ethnic segregation

• fallen from high levels to moderate today

• racial division common in some places

• isolation index white american was 94%

• ex: current isolation index for white people in america is 79, so a white person in america lives in an area that has a 79% white population

Economic residential segregation

• less dividing because of race and ethnicity

• more dividing because of wealth and money

Classic economic theories or migration

highlight the factors that “push” people out of certain places and “pull” them into new ones

Push factors

• low living standards

• lack of jobs

• political repression

Pull factors

• economic opportunities

• land or cheap housing

• political freedom

• good climate

Great migration (push & pull)

throughout 1900s african american leaving the south to the north because of racial push was Jim Crow’s law and pull was economic opportunities

Gender

physical behavioral and personality traits that a group considers to be normal, natural and right for its male and female members

Essentialist

• sees gender as a biological two category system

• classifies gender as two distinct, opposite and separate categories

Constructionist

• sees gender as a social construction

• changes over time by people

Gender identity

• self definition or sense of gender

• cisgender: when sex and gender identity match up

• transgender: a person whose gender identity doesn’t align with their sex assigned at birth

• socially constructed based on the society we live in

Everything is generated by gender

• school

  • dress code

• media

  • men are leaders and women are caregivers

• parenting

  • certain roles

• housework

  • women do inside housework and men do physical labor and outside work

• jobs

Gender socialization

the process by which men and women learn the expectations and identities associated with gender in society

Traditional division of labor in the household

• in the past, differences between men and women were seen as strictly biological

• biological predispositions are also affected by social influences and culture

• men advocated for family wage: would support a husband and his wife and children

  • henry ford paid his workers a family wage

Women’s labor force participation increased through 20th century

• decreased family size

• technological changes/new consumer products

  • less reason to be home all the time

• changes in economy

  • rise in women’s earnings

• increase divorce rate

• changing ideas about gender

• civil rights at of 1964

  • banned discrimination based on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age

Educational attainment

• men were more likely to graduate from 1940 to 1990

• after 1990 women achieved higher levels of educational attainment

Occupational segregation

• due to difference in educational majors

• many jobs women occupy require high level of education but not known for paying well

Earning inequality

• women earn 80% of what men earn

• women earn less than men in the same occupation

Movements

• feminism: the social, political and economic equality of the sexes and the social movements organized around that belief

• men’s liberation

• lgbtq movements

Future trends (gender)

• narrowing gender gap in the labor market

• women’s economic position will rise

The graying society

• increase in older population

• anyone above 65 considered elderly

Graying result of two trends

• having less children

• people are living longer

  • medical advancements

  • health knowledge, access to nutrition

• 1900 life expectancy was 47 and now is 78

• decline in morality and increase in median age of population

Median age of population is rising

1850 half population older than 19, today over 35

Social gerontology

• the study of aging and the elderly

• ^requires “sociological imagination” (need to look at a person’s history)

• aging has three diff dev clocks that are interrelated

  • biological

  • physiological

  • social

Biological aging

• declining vision

• hearing loss

• wrinkles

• decline in muscle mass and accumulation of fat

• drop in cardiovascular efficiency bc less o2 can be inhaled and used during workout

• “how has technology affected the biological aging process?

• through assistive technologies”

Psychological aging

• memory, intelligence, reasoning skills, the capacity and motivation to learn also decline with age

• new tech give early detection of alzheimer’s

• as people get older, better research on treating dementia, alzheimer’s etc

Social aging

• norms, values and roles associated with an age

• social roles in the US have been tied to one’s age

  • students and workers, etc

• biological, psychological, social aging transformed by technology

• people working later on in life to provide for their children

• traditional college age: 18-22

• now more enrollment of people above 22

• in older decades, older women were considered “undesirable”, now there’s cosmetic surgery

Employment

• workforce is graying

• 93% of growth in the US labor force from 2006 to 2016, ages 55 and older

• opposite of in the 1970s

• when asked old people why they were working

  • to feel useful

  • be with other people

  • to give myself something to do

• when asked young people why they were working

  • to support myself and my family

  • to live independently

  • to qualify for benefits

• now older adults are working longer, not because of economic necessity

The first generation of theories on aging: functionalism

• functionalist theories emphasized ppl adjusted to changing social roles as they ages and how the roles fulfilled by older adults were useful to society

• as people get older they’re psychologically declining

• people need to retire because it’s good for them and society

• talcott parsons

  • most influential functionalist theories

  • set the stage for disengagement theory

Disengagement theory (functionalist)

• it’s functional for society to remove people from social roles at the age of 65 and freeing up those roles for younger society

• as older people have illness, and other issues, they won’t be fulfilling the role as well

• this is functional for older people for them to relax, but also good for society for young people to fill these roles

• it’s reinforcing stereotypes that old people aren’t good workers, face discrimination, feel like their life is over when they’re older

• recent studies show that certain blank can be good

Activity theory (functionalist)

• those working look mentally and physically well

• people should remain in social roles as long as they can do it

• when it becomes too difficult, another social role should be put in place

• should retire but do something else to replace it

Continuity theory (functionalist)

• people should stay in their social roles as long as they’re comfortable

• if they feel like they have to leave, they should pick up an activity they love and meets their interests

• volunteer someplace similar to their previous job

Second generation of theories: social conflict

• conflict Theories of Aging: larger social structure helps to shape the opportunities available to the elderly

• unequal opportunities can create conflict

Second generation of theories: life course perspectives

• think older people play an active role in determining their own physical and mental well-being, but know there’s constraints imposed by social factors

• aging process is shaped by historical time and place

  • war, technologies shape how people change

Today’s Research on Aging in the United States

• young old: 65 - 74

  • economically independent, healthy, active and engaged

• old old: 75 - 84

• oldest old: 85 and older

  • encounter difficulties such as poor health, financial insecurity, isolation, and loneliness

  • “fastest growing segment in the elderly population”

  • great depression memories, went through alot

Generation Gaps in Perception

• experiencing less of the problems and less of the benefits that younger people assume come with old age

• negative benchmarks with aging

• positive benchmarks

• what age is considered old?

  • youngest group 18-29 say age 60

  • middle aged people say age 70

  • elderly people say age 74

Poverty among elderly

• 1959 - 35% of ppl 65 and older

  • “elderly people were most likely to be in poverty than any other age group”

• 1970 - 15%

• today - 9%

  • “elderly people are least likely to be in poverty than any other age group”

  • “linden b johnson's started a war on poverty to get people out of poverty”

Social security and medicare

• SS: economic assistance to people faced with unemployment, disability, or old age

• medicare: reimburses hospitals and physicians for medical care provided to qualifying people over 65 years old

• more than half of the federal budget will go to Social Security and Medicare

• young paying taxes for benefits for the old that they have no prospect of receiving when they become old

  • people living longer, less young people

Proposals

• gradually raise the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare

  • half of old people support this but young people don’t

• reducing the amount of benefits that high- income seniors receive

  • most people aren’t supporting this

• reducing benefits of all seniors

• raising taxes for everyone

Changes

• one day entitlement programs for seniors will have to cut back.

• families will have to reclaim some of the caregiving to their elder family members.

• difficult due to the changes in the American family.

Negative benchmarks of aging

• illness, memory loss, inability to drive, end to sexual activity, struggle with isolation and loneliness

• in every instance, elderly people experience these benchmarks at a much lower level than young people assume they do

Positive benchmarks of aging

• spending more time with family, traveling more for pleasure, having more time for hobbies, doing more volunteer work, starting a second career

• young people thought once people are older that they have all these great things and old people say the opposite

Why did suburban population increase in recent years?

growth in infrastructure rise and automobile use