● Research on Social Stratification Today
○ Know the class differences in U.S. society, what influences them and how they
are defined and determined.
○ Recognize the ways in which the gap between rich and poor has grown larger.
○ Learn the processes by which people become marginalized in a society and the
forms this marginalization takes.
○ Unanswered Questions
○ Learn about competing explanations for why poverty exists, and means for
combating it.
○ Understand your own chances for social mobility.
○ Learn how changes in the U.S. economy since the 1970s have led to growing
inequalities.
● social stratification:
○ the existence of structured inequalities between groups in society in terms of their
access to material and symbolic rewards.
● Intersectionality:
○ a sociological perspective that holds that our multiple group memberships affect
our lives in ways that are distinct from single group memberships.
● structured inequalities:
○ social inequalities that result from patterns in the social structure.
● Systems of Stratification
○ Slavery:
■ a form of social stratification in which some people are owned by others
as their property.
○ Caste:
■ a social system in which one’s social status is held for life.
● Systems of Stratification:
○ Slavery
○ Caste
○ Class systems:
■ a system of social hierarchy that allows individuals to move among
classes.
■ class: socioeconomic variations among groups of individuals that create
variations in their material prosperity and power.
■ Life chances: a person’s opportunities for achieving economic prosperity.
● Class Systems
○ Income
■ money received from paid wages and salaries or earned from
investments.
○ Wealth:
■ money and material possessions held by an individual or group.
● Marx: Means of Production and the Analysis of Class
○ means of production:
○ Know the class differences in U.S. society, what influences them and how they
are defined and determined.
○ Recognize the ways in which the gap between rich and poor has grown larger.
○ Learn the processes by which people become marginalized in a society and the
forms this marginalization takes.
○ Unanswered Questions
○ Learn about competing explanations for why poverty exists, and means for
combating it.
○ Understand your own chances for social mobility.
○ Learn how changes in the U.S. economy since the 1970s have led to growing
inequalities.
● social stratification:
○ the existence of structured inequalities between groups in society in terms of their
access to material and symbolic rewards.
● Intersectionality:
○ a sociological perspective that holds that our multiple group memberships affect
our lives in ways that are distinct from single group memberships.
● structured inequalities:
○ social inequalities that result from patterns in the social structure.
● Systems of Stratification
○ Slavery:
■ a form of social stratification in which some people are owned by others
as their property.
○ Caste:
■ a social system in which one’s social status is held for life.
● Systems of Stratification:
○ Slavery
○ Caste
○ Class systems:
■ a system of social hierarchy that allows individuals to move among
classes.
■ class: socioeconomic variations among groups of individuals that create
variations in their material prosperity and power.
■ Life chances: a person’s opportunities for achieving economic prosperity.
● Class Systems
○ Income
■ money received from paid wages and salaries or earned from
investments.
○ Wealth:
■ money and material possessions held by an individual or group.
● Marx: Means of Production and the Analysis of Class
○ means of production:
