11/07/13Are We Not Born Equal? Chapter 71. Defining Stratificationa. deeply entrenched hierarchical/unequal layering or arrangement of social groupsb. An unequal social system grounded on the differential distribution and exercise of privilegesc. Ascribed position (closed)i. based on qualities of a person gained through birthii. ex: race, ethnicity, gender, age, physical ability (not controllable)iii. declined due to modernization and increased social complexityiv. Mestizaje - people who are cut off from their Indian roots or with indigenous cultural practicesv. Race1. skin tone is one basis of racial classification2. include personal income, social origin, level of formal education, personal-ity, and kinship ties3. extreme ex: South African policy of legal segregation of dominant whites from non-whitesvi.Ethnicity1. shared sense of identity2. can be a basis for claiming entitlements to resources/defending/regaining resources3. China - has one of the most formalizing systems for monitoring its many ethnic groupsa. treat Tibetans with ethnocide (destroying the culture)4. Roma - Diaspora Population - dispersed group living outside their original homelanda. largest minority population and the mosts disadvantagedvii. Gender and Sexism1. Patriarchya. honor killings (extreme patriarchy) - men killing women in defiance of sex or arranged marriages2. Matriarchya. rare but existed in the Iroquoisd. Achieved Position (open)i. based on qualities of a person gained through actionii. rose due to modernization and increased social complexity11/07/13iii. Meritocratic Individualism - capitalistic societies where the system allows for upward mobilityiv. Structuralist Perspective - power of economic class position shaping a person’slifestyle and could change it if that wanted2. Why talk About Stratification?a. is an intrinsic part of everyday lifeb. has much to do with ethnic conflicts and violencec. has much to do with culture3. Some features of Stratificationa. Markers of cultural/ethnic differences/Indicatorsi. used to pinpoint which people in the groups belong where in the stratified hier-archy1. examples:a. Language in Latin America (Brazil is fluent in Portuguese or Spanish = upper class)i. keeps people at the bottom of the hierarchy and keeps people in their placeb. Religioni. Contemporary Iraq: religious differencesb. cultural differences overlap with each other distinctionsi. Cultural difference in higher stratification hierarchy overlap with different kinds of cultural differenceii. Difference to change (Indian Case)c. differential access to/exercise of poweri. power keeps order of people by forcing them to do certain thingsii. may have the ability to coheres those lower than themd. ideological justifying/rationalizing unequal social orderi. No stratified society in which can’t find system of ideas that legitimize an ideaii. rarely solely based on the use of poweriii. provides a justification and rationale trying to instill that things are the way they ought to beiv. portrays bottom of hierarchy as uncivilized, savage, and unworthy, and inferiorv. portrays top as wealthy, superior, empowered, holds more valuevi.slavery lacked work discipline, morals, intelligence, religione. acquiescence to/ Compliance with Inequality (Hegemony)i. Societies rests on those at bottom of the hierarchyii. Unequal societies but come to an agreement that it is unjust11/07/13iii. Hegemony: concept stratification can’t exist without1. When it does work, regardless where they are positioned, the social and cultural things are seen as proper/normal way things should be2. Examples of Hegemony Breakdownsa. Dominant expectations of gender rolesb. Civil Rights Movement challenging the “rightful” way of treating differ-ence races4. Emergencea. rise of states/state-level societiesi. weren’t hand in hand; it was reciprocalii. Equality and the spread of the ideology were the basis of the state-level soci-etiesb. European Colonialismi. Spread of European empires impact everyone entailing the rearrangement of things that benefit privileging and unstable artificial state1. Iraq,