Class: Race and Ethnicity
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Class Notes
Sociological Perspectives on Stratification:
Structural Functionalist Perspective: stratification exists because of society's need for social order; Davis-Moore hypothesis
Conflict Perspective: social inequality is a primary source of conflict, coercion, and unhappiness; Marx, Dahrendorf, Weber.
Symbolic Interaction: beyond income and wealth, certain things come to be symbols of social classes; crack versus cocaine, Disneyland versus The Turks, National Public Radio versus Fox News, Opera versus Country, Motel 6 versus The Four Seasons, NASCAR versus Rugby, Banana Republic versus The Gap versus Old Navy.
Race and Ethnicity:
Race: "a category of people labeled and treated as similar because of some common biological traits, such as skin color, texture of hair, and shape of eyes" (Newman 375).
Ethnicity: "the sense of community that derives from the cultural heritage shared by a category of people with common ancestry" (Newman 375).
Perceived differences can lead to prejudice or discrimination, including racism. Race is often considered a master status, one that overpowers all other social positions held by an individual. Other examples of racism include racial steering and linguistic profiling.
Required Reading:
"America is the Land of Equal Opportunity," Ruane and Cerulo (Second Thoughts, pp. 157-171)
"Racial and Ethnic Formation," Omi and Winant (Sociology Reader, pp. 269-275)
"Fences and Neighbors: Segregation in the Twenty-First Century America," Farley and Squire (Sociology Reader, pp. 283-289)
Recommended Reading:
"The Architecture of Inequality: Race and Ethnicity," Newman (Sociology, pp. 331-374)
Keywords: sociological perspectives on stratification, Davis-Moore hypothesis, Marx, Dahrendorf, Webe, symbols of social classes, race, ethnicity, prejudice, discrimination, racism, master status, racial steering, linguist profiling.
