Chapter 14 Education and Religion

A successful society depends on its successful members. This is why children are taught norms and values either from an education system, family or religion. Education consists of the roles and norms that ensure the transmission of knowledge, values and behavioral patterns. Schooling is formal education instructed by officially trained teachers and follows strict policies.

In the functionalist perspective education serves the roles of teaching knowledge and skills, transmission of culture, social integration, and occupational placement. Then the conflict perspective on education believes that the purpose of education is for social control. Here an example is schools hidden curriculum which is the transmission of cultural goals that are not acknowledged such as values. Then there is tracking which involves assigning students to different types of educational programs. There have been some issues with the American school system. In 1983 a report was published that explained the decline of quality education in America and how the United States had fallen behind other industrialized nations in science and literary skills. There are also educational alternatives. Charter schools are funded with public money but are privately run. Also in school choice parents receive a voucher equal to the amount the state spends on education for the child. Homeschooling is a method rising in popularity where children are taught at home by their parents.

Since the dawn of time people have wondered where we come from and what happens after we due. Humans have tried to answer these questions through religion. The sacred is anything supernatural that inspired awe, respect and reverence. The profane is anything considered part of the ordinary world. Religion is a system of roles and norms organized around something sacred and that brings social groups together. The functions of religion are social cohesion, social control, and emotional support. A ritual is an established pattern of behavior in which the group believes they are experiencing something sacred. Animism is the belief that spirits actively influence human life. One type of animism is called shamanism in which people believe that spirits only communicate with one member of the group or shaman. Totemism is the belief of kinship between humans and animals. Theism is the belief in god or gods, Monotheism is the belief in one god. Polytheism is the belief in many gods. Ethicalism is based on the idea that moral principles are sacred. Ecclesia is a type of religion which people are part of by virtue of birth. A denomination is a well-established religious organization in which a substantial number of the population are members. A sect is a small religious group that is separated from the denomination because of different beliefs. A cult is a new religion whose beliefs and practices differ from the rest of the religions.

America is a place of many different religions. Because of immigration patterns and established religion freedom, the US is diverse when it comes to people of different religions. 90% of Americans claim to believe in God but only 66% claim to be affiliated with a religion.

Religious diversity

In order to survive, a society must ensure that the future generations have the capability to pass down their norms and values. Many societies do this through education systems that ensure the passing of knowledge. Many others also do it with religion. One of religion’s purposes is to pass down and teach values.

Chapter 11 Gender, Age and Health

Biologically, men and women are very different. Sociologically the case is the same. For thousands of years men and women have been treating each other differently. The usual case is women being treated as lesser human beings and men being glorified.

Gender comprises the behavioral and psychological traits considered appropriate for men and women. Gender roles are the specific behaviors and attitudes that a society establishes for men and women. Gender identity is the awareness of being masculine or feminine as those traits are defined by culture. Appropriate gender role behavior is learned through socialization. The power relationship between men and women developed into a patriarchy. Sexism is the belief that one sex is by nature superior to the other the women’s right movement was a time period in America, the goal was equality of sexes socially and politically. The most important reform during the women's movement was earning the right to vote or suffrage. During this movement, women wanted the chance to get a higher education. The wage gap is the level of woman's income relative to that of men, which changed very little. There is also a type of invisible barrier that often prevents women from obtaining higher business positions. There is also a political gender gap in the USA, women tend to vote more but men dominate politics.

Women demanding votes

Agism is the belief that one age category is by nature superior to another age category. Sociologists are interested in a phenomenon called “the graying of America” which predicts that by 2050 1 in 5 Americans will be elderly. During the 1960's, approximately 76 million children were born during this time period known as the baby-boom generation. Medicare is the government-sponsored health-insurance plan for elderly Americans and Americans with disabilities. Medicaid is the state and federally funded health-insurance program for low-income individuals. Some people claim that government transfer payments like Social Security have made older Americans financially secure at the expense of younger generations. These disabilities also cause people to face prejudice. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 has the potential to bring employment to disabled people.

 Advances in medical technology have also affected health-care costs. One method of controlling health expenditures is the use of alternative health-insurance plans called managed care. Yet many Americans have problems getting healthcare even with the oversupply of doctors. There is a great problem with the distribution of physicians both geographically and in medical fields. Poor people are unlikely receive adequate medical care. The majority of medical costs in the United States are covered by private or public insurance. Alternative medicine includes treating illness with unconventional methods such as acupuncture, acupressure, biofeedback, massage, medication, yoga, herbal remedies, and relaxation techniques. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease that attacks the immune system, leaving a person vulnerable to a host of deadly infections. One does not necessarily die of AIDS but of some regular sickness that the body cannot fight due to the deteriorated immune system. Many AIDS activists claim the United States government has not responded adequately to the AIDS crisis. However, there have been great efforts to ameliorate the crisis from the government.

We are all different from the day we are born. We are either born male or female and after that we keep changing as we get older. Over time women have gotten more equal treatment than they ever had. The world is also aging. People are now living longer and with that there are special needs that need to be tended.

Chapter 12 Family

       A family is a group of people who are related by marriage, blood, or adoption and who often live together and share economic resources. Families are essential to society because not only do they provide for the economy but they make up what we call society. Traditions customs and norms are passed to new members of society by family.

        A nuclear family consists of one or both parents and their children. An individual's family of orientation is the nuclear family into which the person is born or adopted. The family of procreation of an individual is the family into which he or she marries into.. An extended family consists of two or more generations. Kinship is a network of people who are related by marriage, birth, or adoption. Marriage is the set of norms that establishes and characterizes the relationship between married individuals. The marriage of one man to one woman is called monogamy. Marriage with multiple partners is called polygamy. This is when a man is allowed to marry more than one woman at a time.

Married couple 

        Polyandry is when a woman is permitted to marry one man at a time. When a married couple lives with or close to the husband's parents, it is called patrilocality. Oppositely when the married couple lives near the wife's parents, it is called matrilocality. Bilocality is when the newly married couple chooses to live where they want.  Matrilineal descent is when property is passed from mother to daughter. Patrilineal descent is when property is passed from father to son. Property can be inherited from either side of the family in bilateral descent. A patriarchy is when the father holds most of the authority and a matriarchy is when the mother holds most of the authority. Eaglitarian is when the mother and father share authority. In most societies there is an incest taboo forbidding sexual relations or marriage between certain relatives.

       Americans usually marry individuals who have social characteristics similar to their own, this is called homogamy. Heterogamy on the other side is marriage between individuals who have different social characteristics. There are many ways a family can be disrupted the most devastating would be family violence. Another type of family disruption is divorce. Dual-earner families are families in which both husband and wife have jobs. In the USA, marriage is often delayed and put off until later years and delayed childbearing is also common in the USA. The sandwich generation are couples that are caught between the needs of their children and those of their parents. The choice to remain childless is called voluntary childlessness, which is very usual in the USA. Dual earning couples are also a popular trend in American culture. Remarriage and single parenting are also common in America.

       Families are very important to culture and society. Without them society wouldn’t be able to thrive economically, reproduce efficiently or pass down traditions and norms. There are many types of families and many different types of ways families can form. Trends within family change all the time along with changes in society. We have to appreciate and value family because they are the core of society.

Chapter 10 Racial and Ethnic Relations

       Everyone is different as individuals. Yet people are brought together by similar physical characteristics or cultural backgrounds. These groups of people can be the “dominant” group of societies and the rest can just be minorities who the dominant group accepts or rejects.

       Race is a category of people who share inherited physical characteristics and whom others see as being a different group. Sociologists don’t really look at these different physical characteristics but see how people react to them. As an opposite we have ethnicity. Rather than physical characteristics, ethnicity is a set of cultural characteristics that distinguish a group. People who share a common cultural background are known as an ethnic group. Race and ethnicity are composed of different characteristics. Race refers to physical characteristics while ethnicity refers to cultural characteristics. Being a member of a certain race or ethnicity can result in being part of a minority group. A minority group is a group who because of their physical or ethnic characteristics are singled out and treated unequally. Historically scholars had placed people in three different categories which were Caucasoid (whites), Mongoloid (Asians) and Negroid (blacks). Yet these categories have many gaps for people can fit into more than one category.

This child would fit in both Negroid and Caucasoid categories because of his dark skina and fair hair.

       Scientifically no particular physical feature or ethnic background is superior. A minority status exists because it has been established by the dominant members of society. Discrimination can range from just being rude to committing violent acts. There are two types of societal discrimination, Legal discrimination which is upheld by law and institutional discrimination which is an outgrowth in the structure of society. Then there is prejudice. Prejudice usually comes with stereotypes (over simplified, exaggerated generalization about a group of people). Racism is the belief that one’s’ own race or ethnic group is superior than others. One of the most accepted explanations for discrimination is scapegoating or blaming an innocent individual or group.

       There are different patterns to which societies treat minorities. One of them is cultural pluralism. This policy allows each group in society to keep its unique cultural identity. Then we have assimilation which is the blending of two or more different cultural groups. Many countries have established legal protection to ensure the rights of the minority groups. Then there are policies that separate a minority group from the dominant group called segregation. Some places engage in subjugation or the maintaining control of a group through force. When the dominant group of society separates from the minority it’s called population transfer. The most extreme response to minorities is extermination also known as genocide.

       The world is full of different cultures with different physical characteristics and ethnicities. It can be very hard to classify physical characteristics because there are so many mixed traits. When a group moves to a new area and becomes a minority group they can either be accepted and integrated or frowned upon and segregating. The truth is that no physical trait or ethnicity is superior than others and that discrimination is just imposed by society.

Chapter 9 Social Stratifications

In every existing society there has been social inequality. Even if the social classes are divided in a different way, come will always be above others. Social classes can be divided by many factors such as income, education, occupation, lifestyle or even heritage.

The level of social inequality depends on the society’s stratification system.  There are two basic types of stratification systems which are caste systems and class systems. A caste system has scarce resources and social rewards are distributed according to ascribed statuses. A newborn’s status is determined by his/her lifelong status. The practice of exogamy to determine status when there is marriage between two different castes. This practice is marriage outside one’s social category. Most commonly however endogamy is practiced which is marriage within one’s own social category. Class systems on the other hand is composed by the distribution of scarce resources and rewards through achieved statuses. This means that one can climb the social ladder. The dimensions of social stratification are wealth, power and prestige. An individual’s wealth is made up of his or her assets (value of what the person owns) and income. Power is the ability to control the behavior of others with or without consent. People who have a substantial wealth usually hold some power. One can also be ranked by prestige which is the respect, honor, recognition or courtesy an individual receives from the members of society. There are two main theories for stratification. One of them is the functionalist theory which views stratification as necessary feature of social structure. They claim that without varying rewards, jobs wouldn’t be fulfilled and society wouldn’t run smoothly. The other is the conflict theory which states that the competition for scarce resources is the cause of social inequality.

Political Cartoon about the differences between the rich and the poor

There is social inequality in every class system. Theoretically, all Americans have equal access to the resources needed for social advances but there are many different social statuses in America. Sociologists do not agree in the number of class divisions in the United States. The most common is dividing it into five classes: upper class, upper middle class, lower middle class, working class and lower class. There are three basic methods to determining these divisions. The first is reputational and individuals in the community are asked to rank other community members based on lifestyle. The second is subjective in which individuals are asked to determine their own social rank. The third is objective and divisions are determined by income, occupation and education. The upper class makes up percent of the population and it controls a proportion of the countries’ wealth. Then there is the upper middle class who are high income business people and professionals. The lower middle class are usually people who hold white collar jobs and work doesn’t involve manual labor. The working class holds jobs that require manual labor. The working poor are the ones who have the lowest paying jobs and the underclass are families that have experienced poverty and unemployment for generations. Social mobility is the movement between or within between or within social classes.

Even in the most prosperous countries, there is always going to be poverty. Poverty is seen as the standard of living that is below the minimum level considered adequate by the society. the minimum income is called the poverty level. In America the largest percent of poverty in age group are children. According to gender 57 percent of the poor are women. Finally according to race and ethnicity African Americans and Hispanics have the highest poverty rates. Life chances are the likelihood of an individual sharing the benefits and opportunities of society. It has been shown that life chances vary by social class and that the lower the class the less life chances. Life expectancy is the average years a person will live. Poor children are 60 percent more likely to die in their first year. Behavior patterns also change according to social class. For example, divorce rates are higher in the lower class than any other social class. The government responds by trying to help those in need through programs such as Medicare.

Social classes can be very complex. Many sociologists even argue about how they should be divided. Whether it’s by caste system or social classes, there will always be inequality among society.

Chapter 8 Deviance and Social Control

      The world becomes more connected everyday and our societies get bigger and closer without us even noticing. This makes the rules and norms harder to interpret to the eyes of some individuals. Certain people cannot process the norms that a society has. This can show by the person dressing a strange way to the community or it can lead to more serious violations that require punishment. This is why there is a complex legal system to protect people from offenders.

       Most people internalize social norms but there are some people who break the rules. We can’t really internalize all of the rules society has and because of this we are bound to break them once in a while. Behavior that violates specific and significant social norms is called deviance. Since there are so many norms governing behavior, occasional violations are unavoidable and not considered deviant. One of the ways to be considered deviant is to commit an offence repetitively. For example, if one continues to get speeding tickets over and over again, then that person will be considered reckless and therefore deviant. A stigma is a mark of social disgrace that sets the deviant apart from the rest of society. The social foundations of deviance are clarifying norms, unifying the group, diffusing tension, promoting social change and providing jobs. There are different theories dedicated to deviance. The first is the functionalist theory which states that deviance comes from a natural outgrowth of the norms in the community. Next is the conflict theory which states that deviance is the result of competition and social inequality. Finally interactionalists insist that deviance is a natural human feeling.

     A crime is any act that is labeled as such by those in authority, is prohibited by law, and punishable by the government. The five main categories of crime are violent crimes which are murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Then we have crimes against property which include burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Third there are victimless crimes which are composed of prostitution, illegal gambling, illegal drug use, and vagrancy. Fourth there is white-collar crimes which are committed by individuals of high social status in the course of their professional lives: misrepresentation, fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, price fixing, toxic pollution, insider trading, and political corruption are the usual crimes. Finally there is organized crime composed of drug trafficking, illegal gambling, unfair labor practices, hijacking of merchandise, and loan-sharking.

       A crime syndicate is a large-scale organization of professional criminals that controls some vice or business through violence or the threat of violence. Crimes as we know, don’t go unpunished, once a crime has been committed and reported it is taken by the jurisdiction of the criminal-justice system. Police discretion is the power to decide who is actually arrested. This power is very important and requires a great amount of responsibility. Sadly many people take advantage of police discretion. It is widely suspected the high rates of African American arrests are caused by racial profiling. When a criminal is arrested, they have the right for a trial and they go to court. They do a process legal negotiation that allows an accused person to plead guilty to a lesser charge in return for a lighter sentence. This process is called legal bargaining. Corrections are sanctions used to punish criminals and they have four functions: retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and social protection. The juvenile-justice system is for offenders under 18. This system is like the criminal-justice system yet is not as harsh due to the fact that the offenders are minors. When a person constantly repeats criminal behavior it is called Recidivism.

       Deviance in my opinion is very important. In some ways one must learn not to follow everything a society or regime says. Yet there are some norms that are there to protect us and when people break those rules there may be serious consequences. Depending on the type of crime and how the person, pleads or defends him/herself in court there will be an adequate punishment. And example, if a criminal pleads guilty he may have some time removed from his sentence.  

Chapter 6/Chapter 7 The Adolescent in Society and The Adult in Society

Every day we grow whether it’s physically or mentally. We are always in a period of development even as adults. There are many challenges to every stage of life yet we have to go through it and enjoy it as much as we can.

Adolescence can be defined as the period between the normal onset of puberty and the beginning of adulthood. Puberty is the physical maturing that enables individuals of physical reproduction. The characteristics of adolescence are biological growth and development. Here the body’s glands produce various hormones that control biological development.  Then there is having an undefined status, expectations for children are known and expectations for adults are also known but expectations for teenager are vague. Increased decision making is another characteristic and increased pressure as well. Finally the search for self is when adolescents are mature enough to think for themselves and know what they want in life. Preparing for future roles is an important aspect to finding oneself. Anticipatory socialization is learning the rights, obligations and expectations of a role that will be taken in the future.

Adolescents

Dating is a universal phenomenon that is practiced a lot by adolescents. Dating was influenced by the industrial revolution when people were moving to cities and were less dependent on their parents. This made the idea of courtship decrease. Yet it was till after World War I that dating was practiced. This was because of the increased gender equality and the new sources if entertainment such as cars and cinemas. There are many functions to dating. First and probably most important is entertainment. It allows young people to go out and have fun especially in the stage of causal dating. Second, dating acts as a mechanism of socialization. It teaches individuals about members of the opposite sex and how to behave in social situations. Third, dating fulfills basic psychological needs such as conversation companionship and understanding.  Fourth, dating can help an individual attain status. It was shown in various studies that dating between college fraternities and sororities was mostly for status attainment. Fifth and final, in later stages of dating the person might select his/her as their spouse.

Adolescence has many challenges and consequences that come with those challenges. One of those challenges is teenage sexual behavior. Before the 1960’s the majority of Americans held the belief that sexual activity should be confined to marriage. However this changed in the 1960’s and 70’s due the development of birth control, contraception and the feminist movement led to the “sexual revolution”. Consequently teenage sexual activity has increased to 50 percent in 1995. There were also higher percentages of unmarried teen mothers. There are many consequences to teenage sexual activity which are that babies born from teenage mothers are usually underweight and more likely to die within the first year. Teenagers who become parents have a lower chance of finishing high school or college. Individuals who become parents at a young age also tend to have a lower income and teenage mothers also go through a lot of emotional stress. Another problem is teenage drug use. Though some drug use decreased during earlier years, some are starting to rise again. Influences of drug use are having friends who constantly do drugs, having social and academic adjustment problems and living in a hostile family setting. Finally there is teenage suicide which are contributed to drug and alcohol use. The rate of teenage suicide exceeds that of the general population.

After adolescence one enters the adult world. Male and female adult development is different. The adult male development is characterized by a life structure or a combination of statuses, roles, values, beliefs and life circumstances. An adult’s life is divided in early adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. It is suggested that the adult female development is categorized in three phases. The first is leaving the family where the adult makes psychological break from parents. However many women put more emphasis on marriage than on careers. Then comes the entering the adult world phase which is when an adult gets married and has children. Finally entering the adult world again phase comes when the children enter grade school.

An important part of adult life is work. Labor force consists of all individuals age 16 and older who are employed in paid positions. The composition of the American labor force is changing and one of the biggest changes is the amount of working women. Women now hold about half of the professional jobs in the United States. A profession is a high status occupation that is obtained through formal education. Examples are Lawyers, teachers, dentists, engineers, etc. Unemployment is the situation that occurs when a person does not have a job but is actively seeking employment.

Professional Adults

With improved health care and other factors, people are living longer. Therefore the late adult era cannot be viewed as a single period of development. Late adulthood is divided into young-old (ages 65-74), middle-old (ages 75-84) and old-old (ages 85 and above). In many cases, when one reaches late adulthood they retire to pursue other careers or hobbies. One of the changes is adjusting to retired life. Another change is physical and mental functioning. As one ages, the body deteriorates which causes wrinkles, grey hair and losing physical capacity. Contrary to popular belief, as one ages the mind doesn’t necessarily deteriorate. Actually the mind can get stronger than ever before, however the elderly are more prone the Alzheimer’s disease which causes deterioration of the brain. Many elderly have issues with dependency and death. When an elderly person becomes dependent on a grown child the roles reverse and now the child takes over the role of caregiver and authority figure. Though many have problems with dependency, the elderly don’t seem to have a problem with death since they feel they have less to lose.

Late Adults

As we go through life we pass through many stages: childhood, adolescence, early, middle and late adulthood until we die. Each stage has challenges that we have to overcome but that doesn’t mean we cannot enjoy ourselves in any stage we are in.