social stratification (ch. 9). vocabulary social stratification slavery indentured service caste...
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Social Stratification (Ch. 9)
Vocabulary• Social stratification• Slavery• Indentured service• Caste system• Endogamy• Apartheid• Estate stratification system• Class system• Social mobility• Bourgeoisie• Proletariat
• Class consciousness• False consciousness• Meritocracy• World system theory• Neo-colonialism
Systems of Social Stratification
Slavery
Slavery• Ownership of some people by others–Been around for an extremely long time
• Exodus 13:13 (The Message)– “Redeem every firstborn child among your sons.
When the time comes and your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’, you tell him, ‘God brought us out of Egypt, out of a house of slavery, with a powerful hand…”
Slavery• “As long as the mind is
enslaved, the body can never be free. Psychological freedom, a firm sense of self-esteem, is the most powerful weapon against the long night of physical slavery…” – Martin Luther King
Ancient Romans
Ancient Greeks
African Tribes
Americans?
Causes of slavery• Debt–Creditors enslaved people who couldn’t pay back
their debts• Crime–Murderer was enslaved by the victim’s family for
their sentence• War/Conquest–Conquered peoples became slaves after war
Conditions of slavery• Sometimes, slavery was a temporary status– Slaves of the Israelites were set free in the jubilee
years (occurred every 50 yrs.)–Roman slaves had the right to buy themselves out
of slavery• Slavery was not always inheritable–Child of a slave in a rich family may end up
adopted by the family, later end up an heir to the family inheritance
Conditions of slavery• Slaves were not necessarily powerless and poor–Could accumulate property and rise to high
positions in society–Could even become wealthy enough to own
slaves while still being a slave
Evolution of Slavery in the New World• While most of the Caribbean had bonded slavery,
the first type of slavery in the American colonies was known as indentured servitude
• Poor people wanted to start a new life away from England, and thus, were paid to work on tobacco farms in Virginia–Most contract lengths were 5 years– Survival rate was less than 40% initially
Evolution of Slavery in the New World• If you did survive through the end of the contract,
you were given a plot of land to start your own farm–Became future competitors of landowners
• Eventually, there was higher demand for workers– Tried Native Americans, didn’t work too well–Africans became the prized slave, typically
brought to the American colonies by the Dutch, English, Portuguese and Spanish
Evolution of Slavery in the New World• Most historians believe slavery led to the racism of
African-Americans during the U.S. history from 1606-1960s
• American slaveowners developed an ideology– Slaves were inferior– Slaves were not fully human–Africans were the best type of slaves to own
Evolution of Slavery in the New World• Slave states in U.S. made slavery inheritable–Children could be sold, bartered, traded– Illegal for slaves to hold meetings or leave his/her
master’s property w/o a pass
• U.S. in the mid-1900s–MS: Illegal for a white person and black person sit
in the same seat of a car
Slavery Today• Several African countries still practice slavery today–1980: Mauritania abolished slavery–1987: Sudan abolished slavery
• Other forms of slavery are often sexual in nature– Slavery in China
Caste
Caste System• Status is determined by birth and is lifelong– Low-status birth = low-status label for life– For the most part, you can’t get out of the status
you’re born into• Many societies practice different forms of a caste
system– Endogamy is the most common•Marrying w/i one’s group
Caste System – India• Existed for almost 3,000 years• Based on Hindu religion• 4 main castes– Each castes are subdivided into 2,000 sub-castes
(jati)– Each jati has an occupational specialty•Washing clothes• Sharpening knives• Repairing shoes
Caste System – IndiaCaste Occupation
Brahman Priests, teachers
Kshatriya Rulers and soldiers
Vaishya Merchants and traders
Shudra Peasants and laborers
Dalit “The Untouchables” Outcastes; degrading or polluting labor
Caste System – South Africa• SA originally est. by the Dutch in 1652–Minority group of white, native-born South
Africans called “Afrikaaners” est. apartheid legal separation of races
Racial Group Classification
Europeans Whites
Africans Blacks
Coloureds Mixed
Asians Asians
Caste System – South Africa• Classifications determined:–Where people could live–Where people could work–Where could people go to school
• By law, whites were not allowed to mix socially w/other groups
• Apartheid as a legal system does not exist anymore, but SA still struggles w/a transition to non-apartheid system b/c of how long SA was under apartheid
Caste System – U.S.• 1865 – Slavery abolished in the U.S.• 1866-1960s – Racial caste system est. in the U.S.–Whites were always considered to have a higher
status than African-Americans–Upper class feared “pollution” from the lower
class–Prohibited intermarriage–Demanded separate-but-equal facilities
Estate System• Est. in Medieval Europe
Estate Occupations
First Estate Nobility – families ruled the country
Second Estate Clergy – Catholic Church was a major power during this
time
Third Estate Commoners – Serfs; worked the land for the 1st & 2nd
estates
Estate System• Nobility practiced primogeniture only 1st-born
sons are allowed to inherit the land–Other sons had to find other ways to support
themselves• Joining the clergy, military, or becoming a
lawyer was popular
Determination of Social Class
Karl Marx• Feudal system broke down people moved to the
city• Moved to the city people worked in low paying
jobs for factory owners• Owners of production bourgeoisie• Workers of production proletariat• People in different class develop class
consciousness– Shared identity based on your position in life
Max Weber• Social class is made up of:(1) Property– Includes those that control the means of
production, but not necessarily own them(2) Prestige–Not just based on property; could be ownership
of other things(3) Power–Ability to control others