Begin—list ways we rank people here at Ardrey Kell
OBJECTIVES AND AGENDA 3/27
 OBJECTIVES
 Answer the question— “What is America’s system of stratification and
is it a bad thing?”
 Compare and Contrast the explanation of stratification between the
Conflict and Functionalist perspectives.
 AGENDA
 Warm-up—For each of the charts on Pages 207, 208, 209, and 210—
write 3 conclusions that stand out AND if there is a question below the
chart….answer it.
 Review charts
 Notes—System of Social Stratification
 American Dream---answer the questions
 Conflict vs. Functionalist
 Work on and discuss worksheets from midterm
 Read and outline Chapter 9
OBJECTIVES AND AGENDA 3/30
 OBJECTIVES
 Compare and contrast the two theories of stratification.
 List the social classes and describe the average person in all classes.
 AGENDA---"What Teachers Make"
 Warm-up--Which theory of stratification makes more sense, Conflict
or Functionalist OR a synthesis of the two (look on page 212)?
 BREAK INTO GROUPS
 1. Build a Car 2. Build a House 3. Operate on your heart---For each,
list the people necessary for the following to happen. A. List the
people necessary for the above to happen. B. Number them in order
of pay….and then importance. ---stratify
 Social class notes and exercise
 Have each student choose a social class—1. Read and write down a
description of your class—write a “Typical day in the life” of a fictional
character in your class—house, job, family, vacation, dress---or
anything else—have some fun and make it funny!!! 2. I will collect
your description and use it as a quiz for Tuesday. 3. Teach the
characteristics of your class.
 Read and outline Chapter 9
OBJECTIVES AND AGENDA 3/31
 OBJECTIVES
 Compare and contrast the different social classes
 Be able to discuss how poverty and social class effects life
chances.
 AGENDA
 Warm-up—Write notes for social mobility OR finish your
‘fictitious person” for social class—once you are done, turn
them in
 Walk around and get the descriptions for all of the other
social classes.
 “Hard Times” and poverty
 Work on and finish outline for Chapter 9 AND chapter 9
Review—Identify People and Ideas—Understanding Main
Ideas
OBJECTIVES AND AGENDA 4/1
 OBJECTIVES
 AGENDA
 Warm-up--“You have just graduated from college with a
degree in __________________. Guess what the next 10 years
of your life will look like. In your description, use an example
of EACH of the types of social mobility”
 Read and revise examples of classes—add if necessary
 Pop quiz on Social classes—10 examples
 Poverty notes---war on poverty
 Hard Times Generation
 The New American Underclass
Warm-up
 Rank the following professions in order of what you think their
societal importance is:
 CARD EXERCISE
 Once you receive your card--






1. What is the max amount of money you will make? How much
education will you need? What College will you go to?
2. Describe your house?
3. Describe your retirement?
4. Are you pleased with your choice?
5. Was there something unfair about the process?
6. What will your social class be?
7. If this was your career choice, describe your parent’s reaction?
 Shoe Shiner, Veterinarian, Athlete, Member of the Clergy,
Physician, Lawyer, Realtor, Social worker, Farmer, Waiter, Airline
pilot, Electrician, Mail carrier, Teacher
 Systems of Stratification—division of society into
categories
 Closed—movement is impossible—assigned a status at
birth and remains at that level

Caste systems-- India's Caste System


Resources and social rewards distributed on basis of
ascribed statuses.
Exogamy vs. endogamy
 Open—movement is possible American Dream?



1. Is America a “closed System?”
2. Define the phrase “The American Dream? 3. In your opinion,
does it exist today? Why or Why Not
Class systems--Basis of achieved statuses.—some control—talent,
effort, etc– Democrats Republicans
Conflict vs. Functionalist
Theories—Wealth, Power, Prestige
 Conflict Theory
 Competition over scarce resources as cause of social inequality. Class
exploitation—Wealth
 Watching the video on Wealth—what are the facts that support the
Conflict theory
 Once a group has power, they exploit that power—Marx
 Weakness


Unequal rewards based on differences in talent, skill, and desire
Society must urge right people into positions
 Functionalist Theory Functionalist and today's Kids???
 Necessary feature of social structure Everyone gets a trophy?
 Roles must be performed if system is to continue
 High rewards for performance of certain roles.
 Weakness

Not everyone has equal access
The American Class System
Three ways to determine class
 Reputational method—rank other community
members based on
 what they know

—small communities
 Subjective method—determine their own social
rank—people do not like to rank themselves in
upper or lower—Most middle class
 Objective method—sociologists define social
classes by income, occupation, and education. –
least biased
Question warm up #2
 2. The theory of stratification based on competition
by groups for scarce resources is
 A. exchange theory
 Conflict theory
 Functionalist theory
 Interactionalist theory
Social Classes in the US
Group work—With your group, come up with a fictional
person for each of the following US classes.

1. The upper class

2. The upper middle class

3. The lower middle class

4. The working class

5. The working poor

6. The underclass
Ticket out.
 Which of the following statements would be that of a
functionalist sociologist?
 1. A system that ranks its citizens is necessary for a society
to run efficiently.
 2. Rank helps define specific roles to be performed by
citizens.
 3. Although there may be conflict because everyone does
not have equal access, ranking citizens is necessary for a
society to run.
 4. All of the above
Social mobility
 Horizontal mobility—movement within a social
class—move from one job to another of same rank
 Vertical mobility—movement between social classes—
up or down
•
upward mobility--Advances in technology, merchandising
patterns, level of education
•
downward mobility--Illness, divorce, widowhood, retirement,
Changes in economy is primary
Poverty—A better life movie
Hard Times Generation
 Poverty—standard of living that is below the minimum
level considered adequate by society—relative

Minimum annual income—Poverty level
 Age
 Children have largest percentage in poverty
 African Americans and Hispanic is three times level among
white
 Sex
 57% of poor are women—again, race is higher
 Race and Ethnicity
 African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to live in
poverty
 See chart
Life Chances—likelihood that individuals have of sharing in
the opportunities and benefits of society
Lower social class= lower opportunities and
benefits of society.
 Lower social class—issues=Health, length of
life, housing, and education
• Infants—60% more likely to die in first year
• More likely to be arrested, convicted and go
to jail
•
 More likely to be a victim
“war on Poverty”
 1964—Johnson
TV Ad.
 War on Poverty
 Poverty rate is same at is was in early 1970’s—15-18
Trillion dollars

1996--Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act
 States handled welfare—roles went
down, poverty the same. “Workfare”
PRO-W.O.P
CON-W.O.P
Safety net lifts millions out of poverty
Without government programs such as food
stamps and unemployment insurance, the
poverty rate would grow from 16.0% to 28.7%,
causing the ranks of the poor to swell from 50
million to 90 million people.
Quiz- chapter 9 short answer and
essay question
 Short Answer
 1. Explain the difference, sociologically speaking, between
old money and new money.
 2. How do conflict theorists who base their work on
Marxist theory, explain social stratification?
 ESSAY
 Describe how the life chances and behavioral
characteristics of the poor differ from those of the
wealthier segments of society.