Soc 1000 flashcards

exam dec 6

Economic Inequality

Economic inequality refers to the unequal distribution of income, wealth, and economic resources among individuals or groups within a society. In simple terms, it’s the gap between those who have a lot and those who have very little.

Capitalism

an economic system based on private ownership of the resources used to create wealth and the right of individuals to personally profit

Cultural Capital

symbolic resources that communicate one’s social status

Economic Capital

: financial resources that are or can be converted into money

Economic Elite

The minority of people who control a disproportionate amount of wealth

Glass Ceiling

an invisible barrier that restricts upward mobility

Income

Money a person earns from work or other sources.

Near Poor / Precariat

People living just above the poverty line but struggling with unstable, low-paying jobs.

Relative Poverty

one’s economic position to the living standards of the majority of those in that particular society

Social Capital

the number of people we know and the resources they can offer us

Social Class

A group of people with similar income, education, and social status.

Social Mobility

opportunity to move up or down in the economic hierarchy

Stratification

The ranking or layering of people in society based on resources, status, and power—like upper, middle, and lower classes.

Wage Gap

Differences in earnings between groups—often between men and women or between racial groups.

wealth

Total value of everything a person owns (house, savings, investments) minus what they owe (debt)

Wealth Gap

The large difference in total wealth between groups or classes—often much bigger than income gaps.

Socioeconomic Status

the prestige, honor, respect, and power associated with differnt class positions

Stratification

The structured ranking of entire groups of people within a society, which leads to unequal access to resources, opportunities, and privileges.

Cross-Institutional Advantage/disadvatage

a phenomenon in which people are positively or negatively served across multiple institutions

Environmental Racism

the practice of exposing racial and ethnic minorities to more toxins and pollutants than White people encounter

intergenerational Advantage

Advantages and disadvantages that are passed from parents to children

Mass Deportation

an extremely high rate of deportation in cross-cultural and historical perspective

Mass Incarceration

an extremely high rate of imprisonment in cross-cultural and historical perspective

Redlining

a practice of refusing loans to or steeply overcharging anyone buying homes in poor and minority neighborhoods

Resource Desert

places that lack critical amenities

School-to-Prison Pipeline

a practice of disciplining and punishing youth in school that routes them out of education and into the criminal justice system

Androcentric Pay Scale

a positive correlation between the number of men in an occupation relative to women and the wages paid to employees

Breadwinner/Homemaker Marriage

a model of marriage that involves anFreedom/Power Paradox earning wage spouse supporting a stay-at-home spouse and children

Freedom/Power Paradox

a situation whereby women have more freedom than men but less power, and men have more power than women but less freedom

Gender Segregation (Jobs)

refers to the separation of people based on their gender in social, economic, or institutional settings. This separation can be formal (written into rules or laws) or informal (based on norms, expectations, or traditions).

Heteronormative

promoting heterosexuality as the only or preferred sexual identity, making another sexual desire invisible or casting them as inferior

Patriarch/Property Marriage

a model of marriage in which woman and children are owened by men

Second Shift

the unpaid work of housekeeping and childcare that family members do once they return home from their paid jobs 

Sexism

the projection of unjust outcomes for people seen as woman

Shared Division of Labor

refers to a household arrangement in which partners divide domestic tasks more equally, rather than assigning them based on traditional gender roles.

Specialized Division of Labor

in arrangement in which one partner does more paid work than childcare and housework and the other does the inverse

Stalled Revolution

Is sweeping change in gender relation that started, but yet has to be fully realized

Cultural Hegemony

Power maintain primarily by persuasion

Elite Theory of Power

The idea that a small group of networked individuals controls the most powerful positions in our social institutions

Ideology

shared ideas about how human life should be organized

Individualism

The idea that people are independent, actors, responsible, primarily for themselves

Manufacturing Consent

Mass media and powerful institutions shape public opinion to make people accept and support policies or ideas that serve elite or government interests

Pluralist Theory of Power

The idea that US politics is characterized by competing groups that work together to achieve their goal

Power Elite

generally refers to a small, cohesive group of people in a society or organization who hold a disproportionate amount of power, wealth, or influence.

Xenophobia

is the fear, dislike, or prejudice against people from other countries or cultures. It often manifests as hostility toward foreigners or those perceived as outsiders within a community or nation.

Collective Action

refers to activities undertaken by a group of people with a shared interest or goal

Counterframe

is a way of presenting information, issues, or events that challenge or oppose a dominant or prevailing narrative

Countermovemen

A countermovement is a social or political movement that arises in direct response to another movement, often to challenge or oppose its goals, messages, or influence.

Critical Event

is a significant occurrence or incident that has a major impact on individuals, groups, organizations, or society as a whole.

Frame

refers to the way information, issues, or events are presented and structured to influence how people interpret or understand them.

Interdependent Power

refers to a form of influence that arises when individuals, groups, or institutions depend on each other to achieve their goals or fulfill their needs

Opportunity Structures

refer to the external factors and social environments that enable or constrain individuals’ and groups’ ability to achieve goals or advance their interests

Organizational Strength

refers to the capacity of an organization, such as a social movement, business, or non-profit group, to achieve its goals and sustain its efforts over time effectively.

Reform Social Movement

is a type of social movement that seeks to change specific laws, policies, or practices within an existing system, rather than seeking to overthrow or radically transform the entire system.

Repertoire of Contention

refers to the set of tactics, strategies, and forms of protest that social movements or groups use to express their grievances, make demands, or challenge authority.

Social Construction of Social

is the idea that many aspects of our society—its institutions, categories, roles, and norms—are not natural or inevitable, but are created and maintained through collective human agreement and interaction.

Problems

Social Movements

is a collective effort by a group of people to promote, resist, or undo social change. Social movements usually emerge when individuals feel that their needs, rights, or values are being ignored or threatened, and they organize to influence society, policies, or cultural norms.

Standing

Anthropocene

It is a proposed geological epoch that marks the period in which human activity has become the dominant influence on the Earth’s climate and environment.

Core

Cultural Hybridization

refers to the process through which different cultures interact, blend, and create new cultural forms, identities, or practices.

Global Cities

are major urban centers that play a key role in the international economy, culture, politics, and communication networks.

Global Imagined Community

is a concept that describes how people across the world see themselves as part of a shared global group—even if they will never meet most of the people in it. This idea builds on Benedict Anderson’s theory of imagined communities, which explained how nations are socially constructed through shared symbols, media, language, and identities.

Globalization

is the process by which people, countries, economies, ideas, and cultures become increasingly interconnected and interdependent across the world.

Nation-State System

refers to the modern world order in which the globe is divided into sovereign states that are each tied to a nation—a group of people who share a common identity, culture, history, or sense of belonging. In this system, political authority (the state) is expected to align with cultural identity

Periphery

refers to countries or regions that are economically less developed, have weaker state institutions, and are structurally dependent on more powerful countries in the global system.

Semi-periphery

refers to countries or regions that are in-between the core and the periphery. They are more industrialized and economically developed than peripheral states but still lack the full political power, wealth, and global influence of core countries

Transnational Organization

is an institution, company, or group that operates across multiple countries and is not confined to the authority or identity of a single nation-state

Transnational Social Movement

is a collective effort by individuals and organizations across multiple countries to address social, political, or environmental issues that go beyond national boundaries. Unlike local movements, these movements connect people globally around shared goals, often using technology and media to coordinate and spread awareness.

World System

is a framework for understanding the global economy and society as an interconnected whole, where countries are linked through economic, political, and social relationships. It emphasizes that no country exists in isolation—each is part of a larger global network, often structured by unequal power and resources.

Ethnography

is a research method used in anthropology and sociology to study people, cultures, and social practices by observing and interacting with them directly. It focuses on understanding the everyday lives, behaviors, and perspectives of a community from the inside.