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Sociology

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The essay instructions are down below. Please let me know which topic you will choose so I can give you PDFs of notes so they can be used to include 5 terms to bold in the essay. I really wanna emphasize how liberal this class is. So which ever you choose to talk about, please have it be from a very liberal mindset.

You must include an examination of how relevant social constructions such as sexism, racism, classism, homophobia and privilege/oppression impact this social issue. Choose ONE research topic from the list below: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Immigration issues Gun violence at schools Reproductive health rights Racism and sexism in the media Children and families living in poverty Police brutality and racism Rape and sexual violence Research multiple sides of your social problem. I will also expect you to use at least five terms from our class and give a couple recommendations/solutions for addressing this problem. You must use intersectional analysis in your paper. Please include various social constructions that perpetuate inequality such as sexism, racism, classism and heterosexism. These problems do not impact all people in the same way. The conclusion of your paper should include at least two well-researched solutions. Examine organizations that challenge this problem. Your references must be sociological and academic. 5 typed pages, double-spaced, 12-pt font with cover page and ASA style reference page (including 5 academic references). Research from 3 or more experts on the topic. Must directly cite & apply 5 terms (use in-text citation) Part I- Constructing Differences (SOCIAL CLASS) Important terms: Wealth: the total amount of valuable goods that you own (homes, stocks, cars, businesses, bonds, jewelry, and property). Sometimes called your net worth- all your assets minus your debts. Wealth is an important factor in the upper class because it brings power through lobbying and campaign finance. In the middle and working classes it is a tool for advancement for your children and family through home ownership, education and health care. And less debt accrued by family over time equals more wealth. Social stratification: system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy. Superior to inferior (constructing difference while constructing superiority and inferiority) Stereotypes: “rigid, oversimplified, often exaggerated beliefs that are applied both to an entire category of people and to each individual in it.” (pg. 11) Stereotypes of the poor, the middle class and the wealthy permeate our media… Poverty myths busted: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/03/10-poverty-myths-busted Meritocracy: A society that rewards people based on “merit” or talents, skills, intelligence and hard work. It is a myth because it ignores the structures that prevent social mobility such as classism, racism, sexism, and homophobia. It also assumes there is no favoritism or nepotism in business and education. Reading 4 “Racial Wealth Gap”- Closer look at redlining and the National Housing Act of 1934: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5FBJyqfoLM Poverty Line- created in 1955 the “Thrifty Food Plan” version of the poverty line is three times what the projected cost is to feed the number of people living in your household. Cost of food x Number of people in household x 3 = how much money a family of that size would need in order to meet all basic needs. (2018 making poverty line $2092/month or $25,100/year) -Does not account for childcare, transportation, technology or other modern family needs -Does not reflect cost of living differences by state, city, region or neighborhood -Assumes that food is 1/3 of your overall budget for basic needs Federal Poverty Guidelines for 48 States and D.C. (January 2019): https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines DO FAMILY BUDGET EXERCISE USING CPI HANDOUT: Two full-time working adults (different jobs at similar times during the day/week), two young children both in full-time day care, living in San Diego County with no family or government support, and meeting all your basic needs with no “frills.” Categories of need: -Housing -Day care (child care) -Food -Transportation -Healthcare -Miscellaneous -Taxes Making Ends Meet from Center on Policy Initiatives (Updated 2017): https://cpisandiego.org/2017/03/22/making-ends-meet Part II- Maintaining Inequalities (FAMILY) We have discussed the construction of difference and how that process occurs. Inequality is a product of constructed differences that have values placed on them. People are treated differently in society by their status or statuses (stratification). We must recognize that different statuses have different amounts or privilege and oppression. AND In order for that inequality to continue it must be maintained or reproduced. This occurs in patterns of institutional discrimination. It is important to distinguish individual discrimination from institutional discrimination, which often has very serious effects on a large group of people. Status: the socially defined position an individual occupies in society. Statuses are ranked through stratification. (Example: Janitor- low status and College Presidenthigh status Master Status: The most important status you occupy. We may feel as individuals that one status we have (occupation, gender, religion, sexuality, class, or race) is the most important, but we often don’t get to choose our master status. We don’t decide what is most important to others. Often our master status is a stigmatized status. When a status we occupy is defined as having a high value you are given privilege: a set of unearned (some are earned) rights, assets, or freedoms belonging to a certain status. (pg. 218) Examples- white privilege, male privilege, heterosexual privilege, upper class privilege, and occupational privilege When a status is devalued the experience is oppression, which is barriers to rights, assets and freedoms because of having an oppressed status Examples- racial oppression, gender oppression, sexual oppression, and class oppression Oppression has three forms; institutionalized oppression (upheld by patterns in an institution), interpersonal oppression (one person oppressing another), and internalized oppression (directed at oneself) Read passage on institutionalized oppression Frye Discrimination: unequal treatment of people based on their perceived or actual group membership Institutional discrimination: systematic and institutionalized policies and practices in which a specific group of people are exploited or controlled because of physical characteristics and perceived group membership. Can be institutionalized racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, islamophobia, etc. Intersectionality: the study overlapping (intersecting) statuses that relate to systems of oppression and privilege. Also assumes that ideological systems of oppression such as racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, xenophobia, transphobia, ageism and ableism do not act independently. They all intersect and are built from same system of oppression that privileges a specific set of statuses. Clip explaining why we need to use intersectionality (K. Crenshaw): https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality?l anguage=en Brief explanation of intersectionality (J. Wilson): http://everydayfeminism.com/2016/09/raceand-jamia-wilson/ Productive labor and reproductive labor: Productive labor: a form of labor that is often done in the public sphere and produces goods and services that have monetary value in capitalist economies. Therefore it results in paid benefits like money, healthcare, paid time off and other measureable payments. Reproductive labor: the forms of labor often done in the private sphere associated with care giving and domestic labor such as cleaning, cooking, laundry, paying bills, organizing household chores, caring for the sick and elderly, socializing children, arranging healthcare and other family member appointments. This labor is not recognized in a capitalist economy as a payable form of labor. FAMILY and same sex couples: Heterosexual Couples Can Learn from Same Sex Couples: http://www.theatlantic.com/video/archive/2013/05/what-straights-can-learn-fromsame-sex-couples/275794/ Discussion of Institution Discrimination/Oppression Here is an example of three patterns that discriminate by gender, race, class and nationality. Glass ceiling: an invisible or visible once you reach it barrier that stops women systematically from reaching the uppermost occupation levels in institutions such as corporations, religious institutions and other men-dominated occupations. EXAMPLE: Women make up 45% the staff at S&P 500 companies, but only 4.6% of CEOs in these companies. (Hierarchy graph, data from EEOC 2015) https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-sp-500-companies/ *Currently only 3 Fortune 500 companies are headed by an African American CEOs and all three are men. Ursula Burns was the FIRST AND ONLY African American woman to run a Fortune 500 company (She was head of Xerox from 2009 – 2016) Glass escalator: The invisible policy of men being “kicked upstairs” in primarily women-dominated occupations and institutions. (Nursing, elementary schools, librarians, and social workers) Men come into field at entry level and are quickly tracked for administration and management. APPLIES TO MOSTLY WHITE HETEROSEXUAL MEN EXAMPLE: Men make up only 9% of all nurses in the U.S. Nurse anesthetists (CRNA) are the highest paid nurses on average and represent only 1% of all nurses make over $100k a year MORE than the average nurse . 49% of nurses working in anesthesiology are men and only 1% are Black and 2% are Latino. Source: Minority Nurse.org Black men face “Glass barriers” instead of glass escalator such as: According to Harvey Wingfield these are examples of black men experiencing “glass barriers” in nursing: -Experiencing social distance from female colleagues -Having supervisors overlook them for job promotions -Being assumed to be the janitor and not a medical professional **Update to C. Williams work shows that men of color and queer men do not benefit from the glass escalator nearly as much as straight white men Glass cellar: An invisible system of socializing poor men of color, immigrants and workers (mostly young women and girls) in “developing” economies into often low-paying and dangerous occupations that have a high health impact and high on the job death rate. (Coal mining, construction, garment manufacturing, and migrant farm workers) EXAMPLE: Women make up 90% of all sweatshop workers and make as little as $.06/hour. The average age of these women is 16-22 years old. Source: Feminists Against Sweatshops The Full Story of the Rana Plaza “Fashion Victims” (42 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOKyCH4oz3Q Part I- Constructing Differences (RACE) Race as a social construct Dispelling Racial Myths (Vox; 3 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnfKgffCZ7U Evidence of social construction of raceIT CHANGES OVER TIME: U.S. Census: -First U.S. Census was in 1790 and the racial categories were: Free Whites, Slaves and Other -1820 Census- the “free- colored” category was added -1830 Census- the category of “White persons foreign and not naturalized” (because of Nativist Movement) -1850 Census- Slaves and “Free inhabitants” are not marked if White, “B” for Black and “M” for Mulatto -1870 Census- “C” for Chinese (which included all Asians) and “I” for all American Indians -1890 Census- the term “race” is added into the census questions. The categories available are; White, Black, Mulatto, Quadroon, Octoroon, Chinese, Japanese and Indian -1920 Census- Hindu, Korean and Filipino categories added -1930 Census- Enumerators were instructed to no longer use the "Mulatto" classification. A person with both white and black ancestry was to be recorded as "Negro," no matter the fraction of that lineage (the "one-drop rule"). A person of mixed Black and American Indian ancestry was also “Negro” unless he was considered to be "predominantly" American Indian and accepted as such within the community. White and American Indian ancestry was to be recorded as an Indian, unless his American Indian ancestry was small, and he was accepted as White within the community. In all situations in which a person had White and some other racial ancestry, he was to be reported as that other race. Persons who had minority interracial ancestry were to be reported as the race of their father. For the first and only time, "Mexican" was listed as a race. Enumerators were instructed that all persons born in Mexico, or whose parents were born in Mexico, should be listed as Mexicans, and not under any other racial category. -1940 Census- Mexican people are now counted as White -1960 Census- Hawaiian, Aleut and Eskimo categories were added -1970 Census- added the question, “Where was this person born?” “Where was the mother born? The father?” -2000 and 2010- Race and ethnicity asked. Races are White, Black, Pacific Islander, Asian, Native American or Native Alaskan, and the categories of Hispanic or Latino are NOT counted as races. What the 2010 U.S. Census looked like: http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2009/questionnaire.aspx VARIES BY CULTURE: Brazilian categories of race: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/looking-in-the-cultural-mirror/201112/what-does-the -brazilian-census-tell-us-about-race SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF RACE: Omi and Winant (Article One) call the social construction of race- “racial formation.” Racial formation takes place because racial ideas, categories and privileges are part of a sociohistorical process. “Racial formation is the process by which social, economic and political forces determine the content and the importance of racial categories.” (pg. 22) (Read the top of pg. 21 “Race as a Social Concept.”) “Racial meanings have varied tremendously over time and between different societies.” (change over time and vary culture to culture) We learn categories of difference. Thus we are not born with these categories and differences and reality is socially constructed for us in three stages ( socialization process PART I): 1) Externalization- through interacting with others we learn about social institutions, values, and beliefs about people and places outside of ourselves. “Products” Example: You are a girl and your mom won’t let you go play in the dirt with the boys. Lesson –boys can be dirty and girls must be clean. You are watching sports and over and over the commentators say about black players “Look at him, he is a natural. Or he is a beast on the football field.” African Americans are naturally good at sports and have more physical strength than other races. 2) Objectivation- the social products become separate from those who created them and take on a reality of their own. They become a taken for granted part of reality. You start noticing patterns… same theme. 3) Internalization- these culturally created ideas become social “facts” and are a part of how you see the world and interact with others. Also, you accept your status and your roles and perform your role with ease. Example: Externalization- in high school a friend of yours gets in a car accident with an older Asian woman. He tells all your friends the story and says that Asians really can’t drive. Your other friend says and women can’t drive either, plus she was really old. I’m not surprised she hit you! Objectivation- In college your friends bring home a comedy to watch. There is a scene in the movie with a young Asian American woman driving down the street and hitting all the cars along the street. You and friends think this is hilarious. A year later your friend comments that he thinks all Asians in the U.S. don’t know English well enough to read the street signs. You think this kind of makes sense. You start noticing all “bad” drivers in your town are Asian. Internalization- You are now married with a 21 year old son. Your son brings home a Thai American woman that he is dating for dinner and after they leave you say to your spouse… “I can’t believe our son is into those people. I mean that girl barely spoke a word the entire night. I wonder if she even speaks English.” Seven Sociological Definitions of Racism: https://www.thoughtco.com/racism-definition-3026511 Part III- Experiencing Inequalities In Everyday Life Terms: Matrix of domination: (Hill Collins- third wave feminism- multicultural approach) the individual and everyday experiences of overlapping and intertwined privileges and oppressions. Statuses give us privilege when deemed superior and oppression when deemed inferior (draw on the board a series of circles including: gender, sexuality, nationality, race, religion, class, education) Create matrix and discuss: https://www.google.com/search?q=visual+of+matrix+of+domination&source=lnms &tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4pKqDuNLsAhXNpJ4KHXwsD28Q_AUoAXoEC AsQAw&biw=1440&bih=686#imgrc=JZVe9xY6QVktAM