Education

a social institution through which society provides its members with important knowledge, including basic facts, job skills, and cultural norms and values

Schooling

formal instruction under the direction of specially trained teachers

Tracking/Streaming

the practice of placing students in specific curriculum groups on the basis of test scores and other criteria

Functional Illiteracy

a lack of the reading and writing skills needed for everyday living

Mainstreaming

integrating students with disabilities or special needs into the overall educational program

Hidden Cirriculum

the concepts that students must learn in order to succeed in school are not part of the formal curriculum

Bureaucracy of Education

1.       Rigid Uniformity

2.       Numerical Ratings

3.       Rigid Expectations

4.       Specialization

5.       Little Individual Responsibility

Authoritarianism

Credential society/credentialism

an increase in the focus of the level of education required to enter a field

Goal displacement

the substitution by an organization, of the goal or goals which it was established to serve, for other goals

Cultural Capital

knowledge of higher culture such as art and music that facilitates acceptance into high status groups

Standard English

the English dialect spoken by the middle and upper classes

Social Stratification

a system by which society ranks categories in a hierarchy

Characteristics of Social Stratification

-          Social Stratification is a trait of society

-          Social Stratification is cyclical

-          Social Stratification is universal

-          Social Stratification involves inequality and beliefs

Social Mobility

a change in position within the social hierarchy

Caste System

social stratification based on Ascription or birth

 Four Varna/Five classes (Descending order)

-          Brahmin

-          Ksyatriya

-          Vaishya

-          Shudra

-          Untouchable

Class System

social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement

Meritocracy

social stratification based on personal merit

The Estate System

a caste like system of three estates based off of divine authority

Three Estates

-          First Estate-Clergy

-          Second Estate-Nobles (<%5 of the N)

-          Third State-Commoners

Status Consistency/Crystallization

the degree of consistency in a person’s social standing across various dimensions of social inequality

Structural Social Mobility

a shift in social mobility of large numbers of people do more to changes in society itself than to individual efforts

Ideology

cultures beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality

Davis-Moore Thesis

the assertion that social stratification is a universal social pattern because it has beneficial social consequences for the operation of society

Why No Marxist Revolution?

1.       The fragmentation of the capitalist class

2.       A higher standard of living

3.       More worker organizations

4.       Greater legal protections

Socioeconomic Status

a composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality

Conspicuous Consumption

buying and using products because of the “statement” they make about social position

Income

earnings from work or investment

Wealth

the total value of money and other assets, minus outstanding debts

Prestige

the respect and admiration with which an occupation is regarded by society

Classes

-          The Upper Class

-          Upper-Uppers

-          Upper-Lowers

-          The Middle Class

-          Upper-Middles

-          Average-Middles

-          The Working Class

-          The Lower Class

Intragenerational Mobility

a change in social position occurring during a person’s lifetime

Intergenerational Mobility

upward or downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents

Characteristics of Social Mobility in the United States

-          Social mobility over the course of the past century has been fairly high

-          The long term trend in social mobility has been upward

-          Within a single generation social mobility is usually small

-          Social mobility since the 1970s has been uneven

Is the American Dream real?

-          For many workers earnings have stalled

-          Multiple job holding is up

-          More jobs offer little income

-          Young people are remaining at home

Poverty

a state in which resources, usually material but sometimes cultural, are lacking

Relative Poverty

the depravation of some people in relation to those who have more

Absolute Poverty

a depravation of resources that is life threatening

Feminization of Poverty

the trend of women making up an increasing proportion of the poor

Minority Groups

a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives that the members of a dominant or majority group

 Dominant Ideology

a set of beliefs and cultural practices that help to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests

Race

a socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society consider important

Ethnicity

a group which is set apart from others because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns

Stereotype

an unreliable generalization about all members of a group that does not recognize individual differences within the group

Racism

the belief that one racial category is superior or inferior to another

Scapegoat

a person or category of people typically with little power, whom people unfairly blame for their own troubles

Discrimination

unequal treatment of various categories of people

Institutional Discrimination and Racism

bias built into the operation of society’s institutions

Four controlling images of black women

-          Mammy

-          Matriarch

-          Welfare Queen

-          Jezebel

Pluralism

a state in which people of all races and ethnicities are distinct but have equal social standing

Assimilation

 the process by which minorities gradually adopt patterns of the dominant culture

Mixing pot - Salad bowl

Segregation

the physical and social separation of categories of people

-          De facto                               - De jure (by law)

Gender

the personal traits and social positions that members of a society attach to being male or female

Gender Stratification

the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women

Gender Roles

attitudes and activities that a society links to sex

Intersection Theory/Intersectionality

 the interplay of race, class, and gender often resulting in multiple dimensions of disadvantage

Feminism

the advocacy of social equality for women and men in opposition to patriarchy and sexism

Collective Behavior

activity involving a large number of people that is unplanned, often controversial, and sometimes dangerous

Collectivity

a large number of people whose minimal interaction occurs in the absence of well-defined and conventional norms

Tenets of Collectivity

-

          People who are part of collectives have little or no social interaction

-          Collectivities have not clear social boundaries

-          Collectivities generate weak, unconventional norms

Localized Collectivites

people who are physically close to one another

Crowd

a temporary gathering of people who share a common focus of attention and who influence one another

Mob

a highly emotional crowd that pursues violent or destructive goals

Riot

a social eruption that is highly emotional, violent, and undirected

Dispersed Collectivities

people who influence one another despite spatial separation

Mass Behavior

collective behavior among people spread over a wide geographical area

Rumor

unconfirmed information that people spread informally, often by word of mouth

Characteristics of Rumors

-          Rumors thrive on uncertainty

-          Rumors are unstable

-          Rumors are difficult to stop

Gossip

a rumor about people’s personal affairs

Public Opinion

widespread attitudes about controversial issues

Propaganda

information presented with the intention of shaping public opinion

Fashion

a social pattern favored by a large number of people

Fad

an unconventional social pattern that people embrace briefly but enthusiastically

Panic

a form of collective behavior in which people in one place react to a threat or other stimulus with irrational, frantic, and often self-destructive behavior

Mass Hysteria/Moral Panic

a form of dispersed collective behavior in which people react to a real or imagined event with irrational frantic fear

Disaster

 an event, generally unexpected, that causes extensive harm to people damage and property

Types of Disasters

Natural & Technological

Claims Making

the process of trying to convince the public and public officials of the importance of joining a social movement to address a particular issue

Relative Depravation

a perceived disadvantage arising from some specific comparison