INSTITUTIONS FAMILY AND Stratification EDUCATION Part 1 STRATIFICATION

INSTITUTIONS: FAMILY AND Stratification EDUCATION Part 1

STRATIFICATION - DEFINITIONS Social Stratification can be described as socially-patterned inequality of access to things that a culture defines as desirable (University of Chicago, 2015). Stratification can most simply be defined as structured inequalities between different groupings of people (Giddens, 2006, p. 296). Often, stratification is thought of in terms of assets or property, but it can also occur because of other attributes such as gender, age and religious affiliation (Giddens, 2006).

STRATA IN A HIERARCHY Most privileged Least privileged

WHAT IS ‘PRIVILEGE’? A special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group.

WHAT IS A HIERARCHY? A system in which members of an organisation or society are ranked according to relative status or authority.

STRATIFICATION IS ABOUT CLASS, STATUS AND POWER Class: Class is those who share common economic interests, are conscious of those interests, and engage in collective action which advances those interests (Marx). A category of people who have in common a specific causal component of their life chances in so far as this component is represented exclusively by economic interests in the possession of goods and opportunities for income, and it is represented under the conditions of the commodity or labour market. " (Weber) O ype t n tio a p u cc

HOW IS WEBER’S VIEW OF CLASS DIFFERENT TO THAT OF MARX? Weber agrees that class is linked to economic position, however, unlike Marx, he did not think that people in the same class will necessarily take action to advance their interests (e. g. start a revolution). Weber believed that an individual’s position on the social hierarchy is also linked to their status…

STRATIFICATION IS ABOUT CLASS, STATUS AND POWER. Status: Classification of men into such groups is based on their consumption patterns rather than on their place in the market or in the process of production. (Weber). A status group can exist only to the extent that others accord its members prestige or degrading, which removes them from the rest of social actors and establishes the necessary social distance between "them" and "us. “ (Weber).

STRATIFICATIONS IS ABOUT CLASS, STATUS AND POWER. Power: For Marx, power is always rooted in economics. Those who own the means of production exercise political power either directly or indirectly. Weber understands by power: the chance of a man, or a number of men "to realize their own will in communal action, even against the resistance of others. "

STRATIFICATION IS ABOUT CLASS, STATUS AND POWER. Bourdieu class and status are inextricably linked to the acquisition of certain tastes and dispositions. Social class is not defined solely by economics, “but by the class habitus which is normally associated with that position”. An individual will “know” that something is “pretentious” or “gaudy”, whereas a person from another class will see the same thing as “beautiful” or “stunning”.

GIDDENS (2006) All socially stratified systems share three 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.

STRATIFICATION AND INSTITUTIONS Sociologists argue that stratification is created and maintained by social institutions (e. g. family, education, work and the media). In other words, institutions like the family and education, for example, operate in such a way that leads to the separation of different groupings of people into ‘strata’ in the societal hierarchy.

HOW DOES THE FAMILY CREATE AND MAINTAIN SOCIAL STRATIFICATION? An individual’s social class, status and power will be closely linked with that of the family in which they were socialised. This process is called social reproduction.

HABITUS AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION This links back to Bourdieu’s concept of HABITUS. According to Bourdieu, habitus is an embodied set of socially acquired dispositions that lead individuals to live their lives in ways that are similar to other members of their social group. He suggests that a child learns these things from their family, and then from their school and peers, who demonstrate to the child how to speak and act, and so on. In this way, “the social order is progressively being inscribed in people’s minds”.

A SENSE OF ONE’S PLACE – BOURDIEU Quesitons: 1) How do traditional sociologists (Marx, Durkheim etc. ) determine how the social-class system is reproduced? 2) How is Bourdieu different in his explanation? 3) Bourdieu explains that people of the same class tend to exhibit similar cultural values. What does he mean by this? 4) How does an individual develop their habitus? 5) Habitus provides people with a sense of identity and ‘place’. What happens when people stray into the “fields” (institutions or structures) of a different class? Can you connect this to family and the education institution? 6) How do people use their judgements to distinguish class? 7) What are three forms of ‘capital’? 8) Does Bourdieu’s theory of habitus allow for social mobility?

WORKING CLASS OR AFFLUENT? ELVERY & LESLIE http: //www. abc. net. au/news/2015 -10 -28/social-class-survey-where-you-fit-inaustralia/6869864 (Find out where you fit in) *Research paper available on class blog.