Sociology Woods TAMU Exam #3

social stratification

inequalities among individuals and groups that are determined not so much by individual personality or small scale social situations but more broadly by attributes such as gender, age, religious affiliation, and military rank.

structured inequalities

social inequalities that result from patterns in the social structure

slavery

form of social stratification in which some people are literally owned by others as their property

caste

a social system in which one's social status is held for life

class systems

system of social hierarchy that allows individuals movement between classes.the four four chief bases of class are ownership of wealth, occupation, income, and education.

class

large scale grouping of people who share common economic resources that strongly influence the type of lifestyle they are able to lead.

income

money received from paid wages and salaries or earned from investments

wealth

money and material possessions held by an individual or group

means of production

the means whereby the production of material goods is carried on in a society, including not just technology but the social relations between producers.

capitalists

people who own companies, land, or stocks and use these to generate economic returns

surplus value

the value of a worker's labor power, in Marxist theory, left over when an employer has repaid the cost of hiring the worker

status

differences between groups in the social honor, or prestige, that others accord them.

pariah groups

negatively privileged status groups subject to discrimination that prevents them from taking advantage of opportunities open to others.

contradictory class locations

positions in the class structure, particularly routine whir collar and lower managerial jobs, that share characteristics with the class positions both above and below them

upper class

a social class broadly composed of the more affluent members of society, especially those who have inherited wealth, own businesses, or hold large numbers of stocks

middle class

a social class composed broadly of those working in white-collar and lower managerial occupations

working class

a social class broadly composed of people working in blue-collar, or manual, occupations

lower class

a social class comprised of those who work part time or not at all and whose household income is typically lower than $17,000 a year.

underclass

a class of individuals situated at the bottom of the class system, normally composed of people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

social mobility

movement of individuals or groups between different social positions

intergenerational mobility

movement up or down a social stratification hierarchy from one generation to another

intragenerational mobility

movement up or down a social stratification hierarchy within the course of a personal career

exchange mobility

the exchange of positions on the socioeconomic scale such that talented people move up the economic hierarchy while the less talented move down

structural mobility

mobility resulting from changes in the number and kinds of jobs available in a society

absolute poverty

the minimal requirements necessary to sustain a healthy existence

relative poverty

poverty defined according to the living standards of the majority in any given society

poverty line

an official government measure to define those living in poverty in the United States

working poor

people who work but whose earnings are not enough to lift them above the poverty line

feminization of poverty

an increase in the proportion of the poor who are female

homeless

people who have no place to sleep and either stay in free shelters or sleep in public places not meant for habitation

Kuznets cuve

a formula showing that inequality increases during the early stages of capitalist development, then declines, and eventually stabilizes at a relatively low level; advanced by the economist Simon Kuznets

culture of poverty

transmitted across generations because young people see little point in aspiring to something more.

dependency culture

poor people who rely on welfare rather than entering the labor market

globalization

increased economic, political, and social interconnectedness of the world--has produced opportunities for unthinkable wealth but also widespread poverty and suffering

global inequality

the systematic differences in wealth and power between countries

market-oriented theories

theories about economic development that assume that the best possible economic consequences will result if individuals are free to make their own economic decisions, uninhibited by governmental constraint

modernization theory

a version of market-oriented development theory that argues that low-income societies develop economically only if they give up their traditional ways and adopt modern economic institutions, technologies, and cultural values that emphasize savings and productive investments

neoliberalism

the economic belief that free-market forces, achieved by minimizing government restrictions on business, provide the only route to economic growth

dependency theories

marxist theories of economic development arguing that the poverty of low-income countries stems directly from their exploitation by wealthy countries and by the multinational corporations that are based in wealthy countries

colonialism

the process whereby Western nations established their rule in parts of the world away from their home territories

dependent development

theory that poor countries can still develop economically but only in ways gaped by their reliance on the wealthier countries

world-systems theory

pioneered by Immanuel Wallerstein, this theory emphasizes the interconnections among countries based on the expansion of a capitalist world economy. this economy is made up of core zemiperiphery, and periphery countries.

core

according to world-systems theories, describes the most advanced industrial countries, which take the lion's share of profits in the world economic system.

periphery

describes countries that have a marginal role in the world economy and are thus dependent on the core producing societies for their trading relationships

semiperiphery

countries that supply sources of labor and raw materials to the core industrial countries and the world economy but are not themselves fully industrialized societies.

global commodity chains

worldwide networks of labor and production processes yielding a finished product

newly industrializing economies (NIEs)

developing countries that over the past two or three decades have begun to develop a strong industrial base such as Singapore and Hong Kong

secularization

movement of a society away from religious beliefs and institutions

liberation theology

an activist Catholic religious movement that combines Catholic beliefs with passion for social justice for the poor

religion

set of beliefs adhered to by the members of a community, incorporating symbols regarded wit ha sense of aw or wonder together with ritual practices

theism

a belief in one or more supernatural deities

churches

large bodies of people belonging to an established religious organization

sects

religious movements that break away from orthodoxy

denomination

a religious sect that has lost its revivalist dynamism and become an institutionalized body, commanding the adherence of significant numbers of people

cults

fragmentary religious groupings to which individuals are loosely affiliated but that lack any permanent structure

alienation

the sense that our own abilities as human beings are taken over by other entities

profane

describing that which belongs to the mundane everyday world.

sacred

that which inspires attitudes of awe or reverence among believers in a given set of religious ideas.

secular thinking

worldly thinking particularly as seen in the rise of science, technology, and rational thought in general

religious economy

a theoretical framework within the sociology of religion that argues that religions can be fruitfully understood as organizations in competition with one another

monotheism

belief in a single god

polytheism

belief in two or more gods

civil religion

a set of religious beliefs through which a society interprets its own history in light of some conception of ultimate reality

new religious movements

the broad range of religious and spiritual groups, cults, and sects that have emerged alongside mainstream religions.

religious movements

associations of people who join together to seek to spread a new religion or to promote a new interpretation of an existing religion

charismatic

describing the inspirational quality capable of capturing the imagination and devotion of a mass of followers

world-affirming movements

religious movements that seek to enhance followers' ability to succeed in the outside world by helping them unlock their human potential

new age movements

a general term to describe the diverse spectrum of beliefs and practices oriented on inner spirituality

world-rejecting movements

religious movements that are exclusive in nature, highly critical of the outside world, and demanding of their members

total institutions

groups who exercise control over their members by making them subsume their individual identities in that of the group, compelling them to adhere to strict ethical codes or rules, and sometimes forcing them to withdraw from activity in the outside world.

world-accomodating movements

religious movements that emphasize the importance of inner religious life and spiritual purity over worldly concerns

religious nationalism

the linking of strongly held religious convictions with beliefs about a people's social and political destiny

disestablishment

a period during which the political influence of established religions is successfully challenged

evangelicalism

a form of protestantism characterized by a belief in spiritual rebirth

fundamentalists

a group within evangelicalism that is highly anti modern in many of its beliefs, adhering to strict codes of morality and conduct.

racial literacy

the skills taught to children of multiracial families to help them cope with racial hierarchies and to integrate multiple ethnic identities

ethnicity

cultural practices and outlooks of a given community that have emerged historically and that set people apart.

race

differences in human physical characteristics used to categorize large numbers of individuals

racialization

the process by which people use understandings of race to classify individuals or groups

minority group

group of people in a given society who, because of their distinct physical or cultural characteristics find themselves in situations of inequality compared with the dominant group within that society

racism

attribution of characteristics of superiority or inferiority to a population sharing certain physically inherited characteristics

institutional racism

patterns of discrimination based on ethnicity that have become structured into existing social institutions

prejudice

the holdings of preconceived ideas about an individual or group, ideas that are resistant to change even in the face of new information, can be positive or negative

discrimination

behavior that denies to the members of a particular group resources of rewards that can be obtained by others

stereotyping

thinking in terms of fixed and inflexible categories

displacement

the transferring of ideas or emotions from their true source to another object

scapegoats

individuals or groups blamed for wrongs that were not of their doing

antiracism

forms of thought and/or practice that seek to confront, eradicate and/or ameliorate racism

apartheid

system of racial segregation established in south africa

assimilation

the acceptance of a minority group by a majority population in which the new group takes on the values and norms of the dominant culture

melting pot

the idea that ethnic differences can be combined to create new patterns of behavior drawing on diverse cultural sources

pluralism

a model for ethnic relations in which all ethnic groups retain their independent and separate identities yet share equally in the rights and powers of citizenship

multiculturalism

condition in which ethnic groups exist separately and share equally in economic and political life.

immigration

the movement of people into one country from another for the purpose of settlement

emigration

the movement of people out of one country in order to settle in another

diaspora

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

genocide

the systematic, planned destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group

ethnic cleansing

the creating of ethnically homogenous territories through the mass expulsion of ethnic populations

segregation

the practices of keeping racial and ethnic groups physically separate thereby maintaining the superior position of the dominant group

sex

the biological and anatomical differences distinguishing females from males