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

Dalit  “The Untouchables” Caste System – India Caste 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

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