Notes:
social class, a category of people with similar status, culture, and wealth
class consciousness, an awareness of one’s social category within a social hierarchy.
social status, an individual’s position, or rank within a social system
social stratification, a system in which categories of people are ranked in a hierarchy.
socioeconomic status (SES), an individual’s social position based on education, occupation, income, and place of residence.
income, money earned on a regular basis through work
blue-collar worker, an individual who engages in manual labor
pink-collar worker, an individual who works in female-dominated jobs with low pay
white-collar worker, an individual employed in a salaried professional, managerial, or administrative position
Wealth, the total of all personal assets, including property, investments, and income
Power, the ability to exert control over others and achieve goals with or without the support of society,
prestige, the level of esteem and respect afforded to an individual often associated with one’s occupation or membership in a group or organization
occupational prestige, a consensus of the value of a job or profession
social inequality, a system that unequally rewards individuals based on characteristics such as sex, income, age, race, and ethnicity
open systems, social systems that encourage and allow for social mobility
closed systems, social systems that do not allow for social mobility, concerning social stratification.
slavery system, a closed stratified system in which slaves and owners exist.
caste system, a closed stratification system in which people are designated to a particular social position based on their parents’ social status.
estate system, a closed stratified system in which wealthy landowners and peasants exist
class system, an open stratified system that allows social mobility
ascribed status, a position in a social system that is assigned based on characteristics such as race, sex, or class,
Triple oppression, combined characteristics of being a woman, minority, and poor,
achieved status, a position in a social system that is gained through merit
American dream, a commonly held belief in the U.S. suggesting that anyone can overcome obstacles and get ahead in life through hard work and determination
upper class, a category of people who maintain the highest status and resources in a society
middle class, the category of people at the center of a social hierarchy
lower class, the lowest category of people in a social hierarchy
Federal Poverty Line (FPL), a governmental standard of measurement indicating the income level of when an individual or family is designated as poor
working poor, individuals who spend more than 27 weeks per year in the paid labor force and live below the poverty line
poverty rate, the percentage of people who are considered poor
social reproduction, the process of children remaining in the same social class through intergenerational transmission of various types of capital
absolute poverty, a threshold in which an individual does not have enough resources to meet their basic survival needs
relative poverty, a subjective level at which an individual or family experiences a deprived lifestyle.
modernization theory, a macro theory indicating the process by which nations progress through stages of development
dependency theory, a macro theory indicating the stratified world economic system keeps peripheral nations dependent on core nations
world-system, any historical social system of interdependent parts that form a bonded structure and operate according to distinct rules
wealth gap, it refers to the uneven distribution of financial assets and resources in a society that results from the concentration of money in the hands of a small segment of the population
social mobility, an individual’s or group’s movement up or down the system of stratification in society
life chances, the opportunities and resources a person has at their disposal to improve their quality of life
cultural capital, the information, knowledge, and ideas people use to support their social mobility,
Social capital, the social networks that people can use to enhance their societal position
digital divide, the access to and ability to use technology like computers and the Internet
Vertical mobility, movement up or down the system of stratification
Horizontal mobility, movement within a layer of the system of stratification
intragenerational mobility, an individual’s change in status during a lifetime
intergenerational mobility, an individual’s change in social status that results from mobility on a generational level
structural mobility, changes in the social position of a group that result from shifts in the larger society
global inequality, the stratification that exists between people living in different nations