Homework 8 PDF

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Homework 8: 3 Crash Courses + TED Talk Social Stratification: Crash Course Sociology #21: https://youtu.be/SlkIKCMt-Fs Social Stratification in the US: Crash Course Sociology #23: https://youtu.be/DeiHz5tzlws Social Mobility: Crash Course Sociology #26: https://youtu.be/GjuV-XdYHhA How inequality harms society: https://www.ted.com/talks/richard_wilkinson Purpose: Modern class analysis, stratification systems, social mobility 1.

Check the book for the following definitions and define them in your own words. What is the difference between these two terms? Income are payments, usually derived from wages, salaries, or investments. Income also includes cash assistance from the government. Whereas wealth is the physical possession of money held by an individual or group. Wealth includes financial holdings and savings, and ones’ home. Wealth generates income, so income depends on wealth. Overall income is the amount of money someone receives on a certain regular basis of time, while wealth is the length of time that a person/family could maintain their life without additional work. 2.

Check the textbook for the class stratification system in the U.S. What is the income distribution among each class? The class stratification system is a system by which society categorizes people and ranks them in a hierarchy. In the U.S. this is based on education status, how much we earned, what we do for a living, and how many assets we possess. In the U.S. the divisions of social class include upper, middle, working and lower class. The upper class consists of the richest Americans, their households earning more than $200,000 or approximately 5 percent of all American households. The lower level of this group is those who incomes may come from salaries earnings. The middle class consists of people who have white-collar and highly skilled blue-collar jobs. These households have incomes between $40,000 and $200,000. Within the middle class there is an upper and lower middle class. The upper middle-class household incomes ranges from about $100,000 to $200,000. This includes doctors, lawyers, engineers, and professors. The lower middle class consists of trained office workers, teacher, sales people, police officers, and others who provide skilled services. This class make around $40,000 to $100,000. The working class consists of blue-collar workers (factory workers and mechanics) and pink-collar labored (clerical aides and sales clerks). Household incomes range from $20,000 to $40,000. The lower class are household whom bring in lower than $20,000, usually unskilled workers. 3.

Now consider stratification systems that are not based on income: 3.1. Discuss a stratification system other than income/wealth that has been used outside of the U.S. Stratification isn’t just about economics and jobs it’s also about beliefs. A society’s cultural beliefs can tell us how to categorize people. Beliefs about social stratification inform what it means to deserve wealth, success, or power. Caste systems, mainly in India, is based on a set of

strong cultural and religious beliefs. Caste positions determined what jobs were acceptable and controlled ones’ everyday lives and outcomes. You must marry within your class and this controlled who you can interact with, for example lower class (shudras) can’t interact with upper class (Brahmins). In addition, a persons’ birth determines their social status. Ancestry, lineage and race are also used as main principles of social stratification. With race, the South African system of apartheid maintains a legally enforced separation between black and white people. 3.2. Discuss a stratification system other than income/wealth that has been used or is used within the U.S. Occupation, like what we do and how others view these jobs are a major part of our socioeconomic status. On the top of this list, most prestige jobs, was college presidents, nuclear physicists, surgeons, lawyers, and astronauts. In the middle were jobs like purchasing managers, office supervisors, IT technicians, and private detectives. On the bottom of the list is busboys, parking lot attendants, and telephone solicitors. Furthermore, your education is very important for where you end up on the social pyramid. The more prestigious jobs require degrees and higher-level education whereas the bottom of the list may not even require a high school diploma. 4.

Check both the book and the videos for information regarding social mobility. Use the word pool to answer the prompts (not all words will be used): relative, intergenerational, intergenerational, upward, long-rage, downward - mobility. Levi is now 30 years old and is an assistant manager at Publix. He started as a bagger after high school but has only a two-year degree from Valencia college. His parents, John and Chrissy, are both Physician’s Assistants with advanced degrees. His paternal grandfather worked on the factory floor making cars, while his grandmother Maria, was a stay-at-home mom. 4.1. What kind of mobility does Levi have? Describe the direction and what kind of mobility. Levi has intergenerational mobility meaning movement in social position across generation. His earliest generation, grandparents, were part of the working class. His parents were then a part of the upper class, and Levi is a part of the middle class. Also, Levi has experienced upward (vertical) mobility, which is moving up or down in absolute terms. He went from working as a bagger after high school to a manager working up the social pyramid as well as earning a higher income 4.2. What kind of mobility does Levi have compared to his parents? Describe the direction and what kind of mobility. Levi is downwardly mobile compared to his parents, they are at a high social status then Levi is. Also, Levi has intergenerational mobility, which is a change in an individual’s social status. Levi worked his way up to the corporate level, going from a bagger at Publix to a manager. 4.3. What kind of mobility does Levi’s father, John, have compared to Levi’s grandparents? Describe the direction and what kind of mobility. John has intergenerational mobility and upward mobility compared to Levi’s grandparents. Intergenerational mobility refers to a change in social status throughout a generation. In this case John graduated medical school from a lower-class family (his parents being factory workers).

How does the data presented in the TED talk support sociologists’ theories that social life is connected to society? Use at least two statistics from the talk to support your answer. In the TED talk Wilkinson compares certain aspects to economic inequality. He uses examples and statistics in which he shows the impact of social inequality. He claims the average wellbeing of our society is not based on national income and economic growth. Apparently, the more advanced a society/country is the less the difference is among individual in the society, like finances, education, wellbeing, etc. This also makes the society easier to function. It’s better for a society to have individuals with diverse talents/abilities, but not to have economic or even opportunity inequality. In essence there is a need of divine difference between economic inequalities and opportunity inequalities. 5....