June 30th

Sign in, deposit participation cards White Privilege Exercise Lecture 6: Social Stratification Homework:

Read Threads: Chapter 10 Homework #3 due next Wednesday

Understanding the Construction of Difference: Power & Privilege Gender, race and sexuality are one of the

primary ways that power and privilege are exercised in American society Privilege emerges from the social positions we

occupy and not from innate qualities of individuals

Privilege: one’s social position in society is seen as “normal” and objective Who is an “American”?

McIntosh: Invisible Privileges “As a white person, I realized I had been taught

about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage.”

Types of Privileges according to McIntosh: positive advantage: one that all individuals in society

should have

negative advantage: one that can only be gained at the expense of others

Individual exercise:

Take about 10-15 minutes and write a list of at least 5 privileges that you think you carry around in an invisible knapsack. These privileges can be based on the following structures of privilege:

White privilege Male privilege Physical Ability Privilege Heterosexual Privilege Religious Privilege Other?

For each privilege explain if this privilege is a positive advantage (one that all individuals in society should have) or a negative advantage (one that can only be gained at the expense of others)? Explain.

Understanding Privilege

Structures of privilege are often invisible to us “I was taught to see racism only in individual acts

of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group”

Individuals with privilege are not responsible for the circumstances that brought them privilege, but they are responsible for how they respond to it

Intersectionality

We need to understand the experience of individuals at the intersection of:

Gender: social differences to people of different sexes

Sexuality: sexual identity and sexual orientation

Race: classification of individuals based on their physical characteristics

Class: social and economic standing in society

Lecture Six

Social Stratification: What determines our life chances?

Stratification

Social Stratification: hierarchical classification of society’s members based on: Resources Power Authority Prestige

Important to understand stratification because: Determines access to resources and rewards in society Life experiences and opportunities

Social Status Our social status or status positions in society are

largely determined by the system of stratification in a society

Achieved status positions – earned through our efforts

Ascribed status positions – we are born into

Master status positions – priority over all other positions, usually determine ones position in the system of stratification

Caste: Closed-System

Social status is bestowed for life Rigid social positions with the limited social

mobility

Caste systems based on Race Apartheid South Africa (1948-1994)

Political and economic system

Johannesburg

Soweto Township

Class: Open-System

Class System: positions are based on economics and achievement

Social mobility: movement from one class to another Upward and Downward

Social Class intersects with other social categories Gender, race/ethnicity, immigrant status, geography

US: Mixed-class System

Even though we believe that we are pure class system, we are a mixed class system both ascribed and achieved characteristics

determine class position

Opportunity structure: what opportunities are available to different individuals and groups depending on their position in the overall social structure of society

Opportunity Structure

WealthHigh Income

Good Neighborhood Good Schools

Good JobsAccess to Health Care

↑

↓

→ → → →

→ → → →

Barriers to Mobility?

Social Exclusion: cut off from mechanisms that allow social mobility in a society Neighborhood/Residential Education Occupation Culture

Master Status Positions often determine ones access to resources for social mobility in American society

The Color of Opportunity

Does race matter when ex-felons are looking for jobs? Black men whose job applications stated that they

had spent time in prison were only about one-third as likely as white men with similar applications to get a positive response.

White men who are ex-felons are more likely to be hired that black men without a criminal record

Polarization of Income and Wealth Income: economic gain from wages (or rent)

Top 20% = 50% of total income Bottom 20% = 4% of total income

Wealth: value of all economic assets – property, income, income generating property 0.5% own 35% of nations wealth 90% at bottom own 28% of national wealth

The Color of Poverty Higher rates of poverty among non-whites

White- 8% Black – 25% Hispanic – 22% American Indian – 25%

Average white family has a net worth 7 times that of the average Black family This gap has grown since the 1960’s

The wealth gap accounts for many of the racial inequities Racial disparities almost disappear when economic

resources are equal