stereotypes (+ or -); a shortcut for making conclusions about a group of people, selectively
+ example: black athletes
prejudice and discrimination
prejudice is a
belief
discrimination is the
behavior
the expression of racist attitudes or behaviors by individual people
personal discrimination
racism built into customs and laws, penalizing people by race not just class
institutionalized discrimination
beliefs that assert the inferiority of one sex and justify discrimination on the basis of this inferiority
sexism
the privilege of heterosexual relationships in society
heterosexism
culture in which heterosexuality is accepted as the norm
heteronormative
belief that humans are subdivided into distinct groups that are different in their social behavior and innate capacities and that can be ranked as superior or inferior
racism
genetically inherited characteristics
race
people sharing common origin and culture
ethnicity
How do social scientists view "race"
sociologists view race a social construction
a convenient way to categorize people (example: white and asian grouped by continent)
panethnic labels
a constantly evolving social construction, tied to gov't agendas and demographic shifts, inherently unstable
race as a floating signifier
a group that is perceived this way and which carries resentment and is confining and oppressive
model minority
patricia hill collins
matrix of domination
life chances are influenced not simply by class, race/ethnicity, gender, or sex but also
· education, age, religion, talent, beauty, intelligence, charisma or lack thereof
matrix of domination
socio-cultural constructions maintained through social institutions like the family, religion, education, the state, military, health care, and the mass media
sex and gender roles
biologically male or female
sex
masculinity and femininity
gender
a socially disapproved behavior - the violation of some agreed upon norm
deviance
some human behavior is inherently proper and good, while other behavior is obviously improper, immoral, and bad
absolutist (ethnocentric) view of deviance
socially constructed - deviance is not inherent in any particular act, belief, or condition
relativist (culturally relative) view of deviance
behavior that was once classified as deviant is now redefined as a psychiatric disease, disorder, or syndrome
medicalization of deviance
corporate, financial type crimes - more economically costly
white collar crime
3 reasons white collar crime is not punished like street crimes
penalty doesn't outweigh the crime
not investigated or doesn't go to trial just paid off
prosecutors come from that world
street crime and personal property crimes - more heavily punished
blue collar crimes
2 reasons street crimes (blue collar) are more heavily punished than white collar crimes
referred to as "class crimes"
racism
ranking systems for groups of people that perpetuate unequal rewards and life chances
(example: defaulting mortgage video)
social stratification
stratification system based on inherited positions with little movement allowed across strata
caste system
groups of people who share a similar economic position in society based on their wealth and income
industrial and post-industrial service societies
movement of people from one class to another
social mobility
passive income (don't have to work)
upper class
largest group
important in defining US culture (moods, political direction, values)
upper and lower defined by status, profession, income
middle class
factory, clerical, low-paying sales jobs
HS education
hourly pay
working class
working poor, minimum wage earners
chronically unemployed
absolute poverty vs. relative poverty
poor or lower class
off the economic ladder
homeless, panhandlers
underclass
General trends in immigration
· Today: mexico, latin America, china, philipines
· Yester year: overwhelmingly from Europe
theoretical
perspective that views the structure of society as a source of inequality that
always benefits some groups at the expense of other groups
conflict theory
theoretical perspective that posits that social
institutions are structured to maintain stability and order in society
structural functionism
theoretical perspective that explains society
and social structure through and examination of the micro-level, personal, day
to day exchanges of people as individuals, pairs, or groups
symbolic interactionist theory
reasons for immigration
· Economic opportunity
· The lure of employment and a better life = improved life
chances
· Family reunification
· Favored career status
· Escape from political/religious persecution
Name a few social responses to immigration
immigrants built the infrastructure of the USA
filled unwanted jobs, improved lives of many
potential to create friction between US and immigrants
durkheim connected some period of rapid, forced, chaotic migration to ANOMIE
people’s lives all around the world become economically, politically, environmentally,and culturally interconnected (travel, internet, media)
globalism
Cultural significance of ‘middle class’
important in defining US culture (moods, political direction, values…)
private ownership of capital. Economic system which
production and distribution are privately or corporately owned
capitalism
accommodations to make workers happy – private,
employer-based social welfare provisions (USA)
welfare capitalism
State ownership of capital (the state owns more) – People’s
Republic of China, Czech, East Germany
socialism
support legal entitlements (universal healthcare, access to
housing, workers compensation and education, childcare and elderly care). Pay a
lot of taxes but get more benefits. (Europe and Japan)
social democracy
Name the 4 types of political economic systems
capitalism
welfare capitalism
socialism
social democracy
belief that poor people, resigned to their position in society, develop a unique value structure to deal with their lack of success
culture-of-poverty theory
(don't benefit your own class) situation in which people in the lower classes come to accept a belief system that harms them; wealthy influence less wealthy to accept the system which socializes us through social
institutions (gov’t, media, law…)
false consciousness
Developing a sense of your own class. Class acting on behalf of itself (occupy wall street)
class consciousness
an organization of people committed to create, stop, or reverse social change
social movements
attempts to change limited aspects of a society but does not seek to alter or replace major social institutions; often seeking inclusion
(feminist or gay rights)
reform movement
designed to prevent or reverse the changes sought or accomplished by an earlier movement (Taliban, ISIS)
counter-movement
an attempt to overthrow the entire system or a major institution such as government (Cuban revolution)
revolutionary movement
control of mating to ensure that “defective” genes of troublesome individuals will not be passed on to future generations
eugenics
refers to people born at roughly the same time tending to experience life course events of social rites of passage (puberty, marriage, childbearing, death…)
cohort effects
refers to members of the same birth cohort also sharing a common history (place in time and the historical events the members live through) – WWII, 9-11…
period effects
we carry societal norms in our heads and act according to our social institutions. Socialization
makes us good citizens. We calculate the sanctions, risks, and benefits.
deterring deviance through social control
Name some social constructions of crimes and illegality
· crime is determined by those who make laws and wield power
· what we regard as illegal depends on how we view the person committing the act
· poor and minority tend to be more highly punished