Social structure and stratification of society. Lecture 5

1.

Lecture 5
Social structure and
stratification of society

2.

Content
• Social stratification. Types of social stratification
• Theories of social classes
• Social mobility
• Social structures
• Social institutions
• Glossary

3.

Social stratification simply be
defined as structured
inequalities between different
groupings of people.

4.

Stratification criteria may be different:
Gender
Race
Age
Wealth
Income
Education
Ethnicity
Occupation
Social status
Derived power
(social and political)
etc.

5.

Unequal distribution of wealth, power, and prestige results in what is
called social inequality.

6.

All socially stratified systems share three basic characteristics:
The rankings apply to
social categories of
people who share a
common characteristic
without necessarily
interacting or
identifying with
one another.
People's life
experiences and
opportunities depend
heavily on how
their social category
is ranked.
The ranks of different
social categories
tend to change
very slowly
over time.

7.

The most extreme form
of social stratification,
based on the legal
ownership of people
Practiced since the earliest
times and has continued
for millennia and
nowadays
Slavery
India, South Asia,
West Africa

8.

Form of social stratification
in which status is
determined by one’s family
history and background
and cannot be changed
Caste-related segregation
and discrimination
were prohibited in 1949 by
India’s constitution, but
they are still prevalent
Caste
India

9.

The system of segregation
of racial and ethnic groups:
1. white (English and
Dutch heritage);
2. Indian (from India);
3. “colored” (mixed race);
4. black.
Was legal between 1948
and 1991
Apartheid
South Africa

10.

A system of stratification
based on access to
resources such as wealth,
property, power, and
prestige
Social Class

11.

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS (SES)
is a measure of an individual’s place
within a social class system.
Often used interchangeably with
“class”.

12.

Social classes differ from earlier forms of stratification
in four main respects:
Class systems are fluid
Class is economically based
Class positions are
in some part achieved.
Class systems are
large-scale and impersonal

13.

Karl Marx: class conflict theory
A social class is a group of people who stand in a
common relationship to the means of production the means by which they gain a livelihood.
The two main classes:
1. industrialists or capitalists;
2. the working class or the proletariat.
An exploitative relationship between classes.
Marx’s work concentrates on economic issues.

14.

15.

Max Weber: class, status and power
Weber
identifyed
three
important
and
independent dimensions that together determine
where people rank in a stratification system. The
combination
of
these
three
measures
is
sometimes referred to as social class.
Сlass
divisions
derive
also
from
economic
differences that have nothing directly to do with
property,
like
skills
and
credentials,
or
qualifications, which affect the types of work
people are able to obtain.

16.

17.

Status refers to differences between social
groups in the social honor or prestige they are
accorded by others.
Party defines a group of individuals who work
together because they have common
backgrounds, aims or interests.
Max Weber

18.

The movement of individuals or
groups within the hierarchal
system of social classes.
Three different ways of mobility:
1. Intergenerational;
2. Intragenerational;
o Horizontal;
o Vertical;
3. Structural.
Social mobility

19.

Social structures
are recurrent patterns of relationships

20.

Social structures can be analyzed
in terms of three concepts:
• Status (achieved or ascribed);
• Role (conflict, strain);
• Institution.

21.

Five basic social institutions:

22.

Glossary terms:
Social stratification, strata, hierarchy, industrial and post-industrial
societies, ranking, slavery, caste, social class, social mobility,
vertical mobility, horizontal mobility, intragenerational mobility,
intergenerational mobility, structural mobility, proletariat, status
and party, social structure, social institutions, achieved status,
ascribed status, role, role conflict, role strain.