Exam 2 Study Guide - Professor Davita Glasberg PDF

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Professor Davita Glasberg...

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1. Be able to compare and contrast the following concepts: sex and gender ● Sex = the biological assignment of male/female that one receives at birth; physically based and genetically constructed ● Gender = a social construct that assigns specific roles to males and females; outlines expected behaviors gendered identity and sexuality ● Gendered identity = the role of male/female or other that one chooses to fill, regardless of sex or societal expectations ● Sexuality = sexual identity and attraction that may or may not line up with societal expectations of one’s sex or gender; includes but is not limited to heterosexuality, pansexuality, and homosexuality cisgender, pangender, and transgender ● Cisgender = one’s gender identity matches the sex to which they were assigned at birth ● Pangender = people whose identity includes all genders ● Transgender = one whose gender is the opposite of the sex that they were assigned at birth race and racial formation ● Race = a social construction whereby dominant groups accord biological significance to physical or cultural characteristics ● Racial formation = the political process by which the dominant groups in society establish the content and importance of racial categories racism and bigotry ● Racism = when someone’s actions, practices, and beliefs are guided by their belief that humans are divided in categories based on race and that some are superior over others; a matter of institutionalized power ● Bigotry = a person that is intolerant on the basis of factors that could include race, but also ethnicity, religion, beliefs, gender, etc.; a personal belief that is often accompanied by discriminatory behavior prejudice and discrimination ● Prejudice = bigoted attitudes and personal beliefs that are not necessarily followed by action; prejudice does not have to entail discrimination ● Discrimination = the behavior or actions that follow these bigoted attitudes; single out a particular faction of humans based on race, religion, gender, social class, etc.

class and caste ● Class = an achieved status which divides humans in a society up namely based on economic status; can be changed ● Caste = an ascribed, more oppressive status; a more ancient method of social stratification that cannot be changed as it is based on one’s family or hereditary aspects federally established poverty line and true poverty ● Federally established poverty line = an established indicator used in the U.S. to determine who is living in poverty; based on annual income ● True poverty = the state of being poor, living in destitution, and not making enough money to fulfill one’s basic survival needs, regardless of a statistic that does not account for various other factors deviance and crime ● Deviance = action that violates or differs from norms; not necessarily illegal ● Crime = action that violates written law deviance based on achieved status vs. deviance based on ascribed status ● Ascribed deviant status = based on characteristics or traits that someone is born with; physical defects, being poor, race, weight, height, sex, and other unchangeable factors ● Achieved deviant status = traits that someone has developed or taken on; includes alternative attitudes or beliefs, violating dress codes, joining a gang, etc. white collar crime and corporate/organizational crime ● White collar crime = violations of law done by high-level individuals in the course of their occupation that benefit the individual; insider trading, for example ● Corporate crime = violations of law done by officers in corporations in the course of setting policy or standard operating procedures that benefit the firm or agency; illegally dumping toxic waste, for example

2. Know the patterns that data presented in class describe relative to: systems of structured inequality (particularly racialized, class, and gendered inequality) ● Housing - the average black resident lives in a neighborhood that is mostly black, but

with a large proportion of white people; on the other hand, most white people live in neighborhoods with a less than 1% population; blacks are far more likely to be rejected for mortgage loans than whites ● Education - black students are far less likely to be put in AP classes or to be put on a college track; in fact, they are more likely to be put in low-track classes with less class instruction time; black students are far more likely to be suspended or expelled ● Police - blacks are far more likely to be shot and killed or arrested without reason; they are also much more likely to be racially profiled and charged for minor incidences ● Men/Women - women’s poverty rates are significantly higher than men’s, even though recently women’s unemployment rates have been lower than men’s; median earnings are much higher for men; men make far more than women in male and female-dominated jobs

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What do these patterns suggest, and why are they persistent over time? Housing - blacks are generally confined to lesser neighborhoods and are limited/pushed back when trying to get out; this ensures that they remain there, and may push them into criminal activity according to to location, like gangs, etc. Education - blacks are generally less encouraged to push themselves in school, therefore they are less likely to succeed and pursue college or career tracks; this can force them on a bad path that can lead to criminal activity, poverty, etc. Police - blacks are more likely to be imprisoned, creating a criminal record which will then affect job prospects, etc. Men/Women - women are placed in a system where their hard work will most likely not give them the same benefit it would give a man; this perpetuates the poverty cycle of women

3. Be able to explain the following (and give examples): political socialization (and the agents that contribute to it) ● Political socialization is the lifelong process by which people form their ideas and opinions about politics, influenced by the family, mass media, educational system, peer groups, etc. ● Agents include: family, which teaches a person basic values and morals and shows

loyalty to typically one party that can be passed down; schools, which teach patriotism and expose a child to various adults and children that may voice their political beliefs; peers, which form their own opinions and may sway one to agree to assimilate with them; mass media, which may promote cynicism about the government, framing and highly polarized opinions; churches and religion, which teach certain values and morals that may identify with certain political parties racialized, class, and gendered socialization (and the agents that contribute to these) ● The process by which children form opinions and norms concerning race, class, and gender ● Agents can include: geographical location, because certain areas in the country have more radicalized opinions concerning race, class, gender, etc.; the opinions of family and friends; church and religion; schools and education; mass media and celebrities, etc. anticipatory socialization ● Anticipatory socialization is the process, facilitated by social interactions, in which nongroup-members learn to take on the values and standards of groups that they aspire to join, so as to ease their entry into the group and help them interact competently once they have been accepted by it imposter syndrome ● Refers to high-achieving individuals marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a “fraud”; collection of feelings of inadequacy self-fulfilling prophesy ● A cultural belief that becomes true because people act as though it is true ● Can be influenced by stereotypes ● Stems from the Thomas Theorem invisible privileges ● Privileges that come with one’s ascribed status, that one may not often notice or acknowledge; these privileges are not earned ● For example, white privilege deviance as relative ● The concept that there is no absolute way of defining deviant acts; deviance is defined depending on certain standards, which are constantly shifting; for example, an act that would have been considered deviant 50 years ago could be considered normal today, or vice versa ● Example: smoking in public places was normal decades ago, but is now considered a

rude and relatively deviant act victimless crime ● An event that lacks an identifiable victim who is the object of a crime; instead, the offense is against society itself through norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs ● Example: someone smoking marijuana; although this technically may not harm anybody else it violates societal morals gender as non-binary ● An umbrella term covering any gender that does not fit into the binary system; genderqueer falls under a similar scope, people who may not identify with a specific gender or see themselves as gender fluid race as a social construction ● The concept that starting generations ago, race was and continues to be used as a mean of justifying superiority and colonization; this is not a valid claim, however, as science and biology have no evidence that race influences intelligence, strength, or any other factor intersectionality of race, class, and gender ● There are complex connections between race, class, and gender; each is not independent of the other; the concept of “intersecting oppressions”; an individual can face multiple threats of discrimination when they are a minority in more than one class status inconsistency ● A situation where an individual’s social positions have both positive and negative influences on his or her social status; for example, a female working in a high corporate position: her low gender status conflicts with her elevated work status theories of deviance (compare and contrast at least 2 different ones) ● Differential Association Theory: ○ Individuals learn to engage in deviant behavior by communicating and interacting with those already disposed to do so; novices are taught the skills and techniques needed to commit crimes ● Control Theory: ○ Deviance is due to the absence of social control or other external constraints on individual behaviors; assumes that human nature contains flaws that cause them to act inherently “bad”, and social control is needed to subdue these innate instincts ● Containment Theory: ○ Sources of control are both internal and external; social control isn’t the only impediment to temptation for deviant behavior because one’s internal controls

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exist; these controls come from family, education, religion, etc. Social Reinforcement: ○ Deviance is the result of social reinforcement, which is the view that humans are psychologically motivated to seek out pleasure and avoid pain, but their behavior is directed by past experiences and speculations as to the likely outcomes of future behavior ○ A substance abuser uses drugs because this has been reinforced in their minds as desirable by the system of punishments and rewards Labelling Theory: ○ People come to be defined as deviant; this labelling may follow secondary deviance but may not fit one’s self-image; they may then internalize this deviance and continue to go down a deviant path to embody this label Opportunity Structure Theory: ○ The U.S. places a common emphasis on materialistic wealth as a goal; there are legitimate ways to go about obtaining this, but these are not possible for all; those who find alternative ways for doing so may engage in deviant behavior; includes innovation, ritualism, etc. Deviance and Capitalism: ○ The demands that an industrial capitalist society imposes on people causes them to engage in deviant behavior to meet these demands; the deviance is forced upon them

4. Be able to fill in conceptual chart as shown in class Merton’s Modes of Structural Adaptation Modes: Conformist (YES, YES) Innovator (YES, NO) Ritualist (NO, YES) - the goal (like making money) is already achieved, but people continue to do their jobs out of habit or to make more money Retreatist (NO, NO) - aren’t sure of goal or have a socially uncommon goal, retreat out of society peacefully Rebel (NO; CREATES NEW GOALS, NO; CREATES NEW MEANS) - people who don’t accept the goals, bit instead of retreating they create new ones ● Accept/Access Culturally Approved Goals; Accept/Access Culturally

Approved Means

5. Know the videos we saw and their sociological meanings. Be able to apply sociological concepts to an analysis of the sociological importance of the videos or the sociological point the videos made. How does the intersectionality of race, class, and gender affect people in this video? Are all males advantaged? Are all affluent people advantaged? All whites? ● NO; discrimination targets white Jewish men and women, white gay or lesbian men or women ● Men of color are not advantaged, despite gender and class position Are we powerless to resist or change systems of structured inequality? ● No; communities can fight back by showing support to minority groups, engaging in acts of kindness, counteracting the hate with love ○ Putting menorahs in the window, volunteering to paint over racist graffiti, having

a unity celebration on the same day as a KKK rally How do some people challenge systems of inequality?

*** the membership in organizations such as the KKK, skinheads, neo-nazis, etc. spikes when the economy fails … disgruntled people who were laid off or are struggling are finding people to blame ***

6. What is the meaning of "invisible privileges?" Select one of the following dominant groups (members of the upper class, men, whites, able-bodied people, heterosexuals, and cisgenders) and list at least five invisible privileges of members of that group. Discuss and explain: Not everyone in that group can necessarily count on having these invisible privileges. ● Invisible privileges are had based on ascribed status and are often unseen or unrecognized by the individual on a daily basis ● White people experience white privilege: ○ Can walk alone outside without worry of being attacked, targeted, or profiled by police ○ Can walk into public places without fear of being ridiculed, talked about, or discriminated against ○ Can walk into a classroom or work environment and know that a large majority of their peers will be of the same race ○ Know that their race is represented in the workforce, in government, etc. ○ Can go into a job interview and not worry about being denied the position due to their race

● However, not every white person can say they always have all of these privileges; intersectionality of class and gender also come into play; a white woman, for example, cannot walk alone without worrying about being groped or assaulted or harassed by a man

7. Discuss and give sociological reasons for your analysis: are we now in a post-racial society? Why or why not? ● No, absolutely not; while African Americans now have sound constitutional rights that give them equality in technical terms, this is not always practiced; discrimination in the workplace still exists, as does racial profiling, police brutality based on race, and racism in general; although racist or bigoted people existing in a society does not mean it cannot be post-racial, statistics prove that there are still major disparities amongst the housing, education, and general treatment of blacks and whites

8. Discuss and explain: Does the official poverty threshold as annually established by the Federal government accurately measure the true threshold of poverty? Why or why not? ● No; this threshold establishes an annual income that is said to be sufficient to allow a person to survive; however, it does not take into account other factors like children, family, issues with housing, medical expenses, etc; there also exists difficulty in attaining a job especially depending on race and class; discrimination can factor into this as well; getting a higher paying job also comes with more expenses, such as transportation, housing, childcare, etc.; to put the same number on each person's survival is inaccurate because each person’s life has immeasurable intricacies

9. Discuss the meaning of the carceral state. What are the implications of the carceral state? ● The carceral state refers to the fact that the United States incarcerates far more people than any other nation in the world; instead of being based on rehabilitation and release, our prisons are highly punishment-based, meaning that released prisoners will often revert to the same criminal activity after they are able to leave prison ● Prison in the U.S. is privatized and used to make a profit, therefore money is prioritized over care; therefore officials interested in making money lobby for increased prison sentences, three strikes laws, and “law and order” policies; they also lobby against the legalization of marijuana, gun control, and other issues that would decrease crime and keep people out of prisons ● The carceral state reinforces discriminatory attitudes and racial disparities; “the new Jim Crow laws” refer to the fact that criminals may be denied their right to vote after their crimes are committed, and since prisons are often highly populated with African Americans, this can cause them to be underrepresented in government...