Understanding Social Stratification, Class, and Inequality

These flashcards focus on key terms and concepts related to social stratification, class, inequality, gender, and race from the lecture notes.

Social Stratification

The existence of structured inequalities between groups in society regarding their access to material and symbolic rewards.

Intersectionality

A sociological perspective that holds that our multiple group memberships affect our lives in ways that are distinct from single group memberships.

Thomas Piketty’s analysis

Highlights that modern economic conditions are leading to increasing inequality.

Structured Inequalities

Social inequalities that result from patterns within the social structure.

Slavery

A form of social stratification in which some individuals are owned by others as property.

Caste System

A social system where one's social status is held for life and is ascribed at birth based on familial or social lineage.

Class Systems

A system of social hierarchy that allows individuals to move among classes, characterized by fluidity, achievement, and economic basis.

Life Chances

The opportunities an individual has for achieving economic prosperity.

Income

Money received from paid wages and salaries or earned from investments.

Wealth

Money and material possessions held by an individual or group.

Surplus Value

The value of a worker’s labor power left over after the employer has repaid the cost of hiring the worker.

Bourgeoisie

The class that owns the means of production.

Proletariat

The working class who sell their labor for wages.

Pariah Groups

Groups discriminated against negatively in terms of status.

Davis and Moore Theory

A theory suggesting that social stratification is necessary to attract the most qualified individuals to important roles in society.

Erik Olin Wright's Contradictory Class Locations

Positions that share characteristics with both higher and lower class positions in terms of control over economic resources.

Upper Class

Composed of the more affluent members of society, especially those with inherited wealth, business owners, or significant stockholders.

Middle Class

Divided into upper and lower middle classes, typically characterized by varying educational and financial resources.

Working Class

Comprised of people working in blue-collar, manual occupations.

Lower Class

Includes those working part-time or not at all, often living below the poverty line.

Underclass

A segment of society mostly composed of ethnic minorities living in disadvantaged areas with limited access to resources.

Cultural Capital

The accumulated cultural knowledge within a society that confers power and status.

Intergenerational Mobility

Movement up or down the social hierarchy from one generation to another.

Structural Mobility

Mobility resulting from changes in the economy.

Absolute Poverty

Not meeting the minimal requirements necessary to sustain a healthy existence.

Relative Poverty

Poverty defined according to the living standards of the majority in society.

Feminization of Poverty

Increasing proportion of the poor who are women.

Kuznets Curve

Suggests that inequality increases during the early stages of capitalist development, declines, and then stabilizes at a low level.

Culture of Poverty

The perpetuation of poverty through a social and cultural atmosphere passed down through generations.

Gender Inequality

An overarching issue in society, permeating various aspects of life including the workplace and politics.

Sex and Gender

Sex refers to biological differences, while gender refers to social expectations about behavior associated with those differences.

Gender Nonconforming

Identifying as a gender other than male or female, or not identifying with a particular gender at all.

Transgender

Identifying as or expressing a gender identity that differs from a person’s sex at birth.

Cisgender

Individuals whose gender identity matches their biological sex.

Hegemonic Masculinity

Social norms that dictate men should be strong, self-reliant, and unemotional.

Glass Ceiling

An invisible barrier preventing upward mobility for women in the workplace.

Gender Pay Gap

Disparities in earnings between genders, with women generally earning less than men.

Color-Blind Racism

Using color blindness as a means of maintaining racial inequality without appearing racist.

Microaggressions

Small, often unintentional slights or indignities that harm people of color.

Institutional Racism

Racism that occurs through respected and established institutions of society, often without conscious intent.

Assimilation

Minority groups adopt the values and norms of the dominant culture.

Pluralism

Ethnic groups retain their identities while sharing equal rights and powers of citizenship.

George Murdock

Emphasized the sexual division of labor as functional for society

Talcott Parsons

Differentiated roles into expressive (caregiver) and instrumental (breadwinner)

John Bowlby

The maternal deprivation thesis posits that the mother presence is crucial for a child’s primary socialization

Liberal feminism

Gender inequality is produced by unequal access to civil rights, education, and employment

Radical feminism

Gender inequality results from male domination in all social and economic aspects

Socialist feminism

Focuses on the interplay between gender and social class

Transnational feminism

Links global processes such as colonialism and imperialism to gender hierarchies

Black feminism

Highlights the compounded disadvantages of gender class and race

Postmodern feminism

Challenges the notion of a singular female experience shared by all women

Biological essentialism

Difference between men and women are seen as natural and biological

Human capital theory

Individuals make investments in their own human capital in order to increase their productivity and earnings

Apartheid

A state odd racial segregation established in South Africa to maintain white supremacy.

Diaspora

The dispersal of an ethnic population from an original homeland into foreign areas, often in a forced manner or under traumatic circumstances

Classic model

Encourages immigration and promises citizenship with certain restrictions

Colonial model

Prefers immigrants from former colonies