Chapter 11 - Race and Ethnicity are terms people frequently confused. A race is a socially constructed category composed of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society consider important. Race is a significant concept because most people regard it as very important. Ethnicity is a shared cultural heritage. Ethnicity involves even more variability and mixture than race because most people identify with more than one ethnic background. A minority is a category of people, distinguished by physical or cultural traits, who are socially disadvantaged. They have two important characteristics: a distinct identity and subordination. Not all members of a minority category are disadvantaged.
Prejudice is a rigid and irrational generalization about an entire category of people. Prejudices are prejudgments and they can be positive or negative. Prejudice often takes the form of stereotypes, which are exaggerated descriptions applied to every person in some category. A powerful and destructive form of prejudice, racism refers to the belief that one racial category is innately superior or inferior to another. Closely related to prejudice is discrimination, treating various categories of people unequally. While prejudice refers to attitudes, discrimination is a matter of actions. Like prejudice, it may be positive or negative. According to Robert Merton, prejudice and discrimination may combine in four different ways: active bigotry, timid bigotry, fair-weather liberalism, and all-weather liberalism.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Week 8- October 15, 2007
Chapter 9 - Global Stratification speaks to the patterns of social inequality in the world as a whole. Worldwide the 20% of all people earn roughly 80% of the world's income. The United States and Japan are considered high income countries, while many Latin, Asian, and African countries are considered low income countries, despite the fact that many resources are derived from these countries. In poor countries there is far more absolute poverty (life threatening ) than in the high and middle income countries. Walt Rostow contended that the final stage of economic development is high mass consumption. The Dependency theory holds that global stratification results from the exploitation of poor countries by rich countries.
Chapter 10 - Gender Stratification is the process by which gender becomes a part of an individual's personality. Gender is the cultural meaning attached to being female or male. Societies give more power and resources to males, which causes sexism a component built into the operation of social institutions. The Intersection theory investigates the intersection of race, class, and gender and found that women of color encounter greater social disadvantages than white women and earn much less than white men. Women are more likely to be sexual harassed and objectified in pornographic material. They also more likely to be domestically victimized.
Chapter 10 - Gender Stratification is the process by which gender becomes a part of an individual's personality. Gender is the cultural meaning attached to being female or male. Societies give more power and resources to males, which causes sexism a component built into the operation of social institutions. The Intersection theory investigates the intersection of race, class, and gender and found that women of color encounter greater social disadvantages than white women and earn much less than white men. Women are more likely to be sexual harassed and objectified in pornographic material. They also more likely to be domestically victimized.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
