SOC Final Mat PDF

Racial & Ethnic Inequality Minority, racial, and Ethnic groups –Racial Group: group that is set apart and treated differently from others because of perceived differently from others because of perceived physical differences –Ethnic Group:group that is set apart from others primarily because of its...

Racial & Ethnic Inequality Minority, racial, and Ethnic groups –Racial Group: group that is set apart and treated differently from others because of perceived differently from others because of perceived physical differences –Ethnic Group:group that is set apart from others primarily because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns Minority Groups – Visible Minority: used to refer to those Canadians who are non-white or are identified as being physically different from white Canadians of European descent, who compose the dominant Group Race –Racial Group:Minorities set apart from others by what are perceived to be obvious physical differences –Biological Significance of Race: There are no “pure races”. Migration, exploration, and invasion led to intermingling of races –Social Construction of Race: 1)Racialization: social processes whereby people define a group as a race in part on physical characteristics and in part on historical, cultural, and economic factors. 2)Stereotype; unreliable generalizations about all members of group that does not recognize individual differences within the group Ethnicity –Ethnic groups set apart from others based on national origin or distinctive cultural patterns –Distinction between racial groups and ethnic groups as socially significant Obscures differences within groups Overlooks the mixed ancestry of many Canadians Prejudice and Discrimination –Prejudice: Negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority –Racism: Belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior –The Privileges of the Dominant →An aspect of discrimination is the privilege dominant groups enjoy; privilege at the expenses of others Institutional Discrimination –Denial of opportunities and equal rights that results from normal operations of a society –Institutional discrimination consistently affects some racial and ethnic groups more than others – Racial or ethnic profiling A study done in Ontario found that young black men and aboriginal men had a much greater chance of being stopped by police than a white man. – Employment equity: refers to positive efforts to recruit historically disadvantaged groups for jobs, promotions and educational opportunities. Functionalist Perspective –Nash’s functions of racial prejudice for the dominant group include: Moral Justification for maintaining an unequal society Discouraging subordinate groups from questioning their status Encouraging support for the existing order Rose identified dysfunctions associated with racism Society that practices discrimination fails to use resources of all individuals Discrimination aggravates social problems Society must invest time and money to defend barriers to full participation Racial prejudice undercuts goodwill and diplomatic relations between nations Conflict Perspective –Exploitation Theory: Racism keeps minorities in low-paying jobs and supplies the dominant group with cheap labor By forcing minorities to accept low wages, capitalists can restrict wages of all workers Workers from the dominant group wanting higher wages can be replaced by visible minorities who must accept lower wages Feminist Perspectives – Some feminist perspectives argue that gender is not the sole source of oppression – It is possible that immigrant women, visible minority women, and Indigenous women experience the compound effect of inequality associated with their race or ethnicity as well as their class and gender. Interactionist Perspective – Contact Hypothesis: Interracial contact between people of equal status in cooperative circumstances will cause them to become less prejudiced and to abandon old stereotypes Extreme Behaviors –Genocide: Deliberate, systematic killing of entire people or nation –Expulsion: Forced removal of people from region or country Assimilation –Process by which person forsakes his or her own cultural tradition to become part of a different culture –A+B+C = A Segregation –Refers to physical separation of two groups of people in terms of residence –Apartheid: Republic of South Africa severely restricted the movement of Blacks and nonWhites through segregation Multiculturalism –A policy in Canada that attempts to promote ethnic and racial diversity in all aspects of Canadian life and establish diversity as a fundamental characteristic of a Canadian identity – A+B+C=A+B+C Indigenous Peoples Experiences – historical and contemporary - of Indigenous groups in Canada are deeply affected by colonialism The Indigenous population has higher rates of poverty, suicide, tuberculosis, infant mortality and incarceration than the non-Indigenous population. In 2021 (Census year), number of people who identified as Indigenous was 1.8 million (5% of the Canadian population) Indigenous people have made strides in recent years toward regaining self-determination and autonomy.  Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action 2015 Ethnic Groups – Asian Canadians Asian Canadians originally came to Canada as laborers in the construction of the railroad. They were victims of institutional discrimination at the hands of the Canadian government. –White Ethnic Groups White ethnic groups have a much greater chance of social inclusion because of their “invisibility.” Early immigration policies in Canada were discriminatory and tended to favor European immigrants Gender Relations How is Gender Socially Constructed? Most Canadians are cisgendered with a definite biological sex and receive societal messages about how to behave in a manner that matches their sex. Sex - biological category. Gender - “shorthand term which encodes a crucial point: that our basic social identities as men and women are socially constructed rather than based on fixed biological characteristics” (Young). Many societies have established distinctions between “female” and “male” that are not “natural” but are cultural and social. Gender roles: ❑ expectations regarding proper behaviour, attitudes, and activities of males and females ❑ Gender roles evident in work and in how we react to others Gender-Role Socialization in North America →Homophobia: fear of and prejudice against homosexuality →Transphobia: dislike or strong prejudice against transgender people Gender-Role Socialization and Social Class →Patterns of gender socialization are not homogeneous, but vary according to the social class to which a person belongs. →Upper-middle class families are most likely to support egalitarian gender relations →Self image develops in males and females through : Identification with the same gender, families, media Cross-Cultural Perspective →Gender stratification in any society requires →Individual Socialization into traditional gender roles within the family →Promotion and support of these traditional roles by other social institutions →Every Society has members who resist and successfully oppose stereotypes Functionalist view: Gender differentiation contributes to social stability →Expressiveness: Concern for maintenance of harmony and internal emotional affairs of family →Instrumentality: emphasis on tasks, a focus on more distant goals, and concern for external relationship between one’s family and other social institutions Conflict Response: → The relationship between men and women is traditionally one of unequal power →Men are in a dominant position over women →Gender differences are the result of the subjugation of women by men Feminist Perspective: →Women have been subordinated, undervalued, underrepresented and excluded in male dominated societies →Women’s subjugation coincided with rise of private property during industrialization →Oppression of women is inevitable in all male dominated societies →Gender inequality is embedded in various institutions in Canadian society and produces a systemic pattern of discrimination →Gender is interconnected with class, race, age, sexual identity, and ability to produce multiple layers of inequality and discrimination Intersections with Racialization, Class and Other Social Factors Women may be treated differently because of an intersection of multiple factors seen in the matrix of domination. Caucasians dominated women of color because of perceived race; men dominated them because they are women; and affluent dominated them because they are poor The Interactionist Approach -Study micro level of everyday behaviour →Men are more likely than women to: →Change topics of conversation →Ignore topics chosen by women →Minimize ideas of women →Interrupt women How Can Women Be an “Oppressed Majority”? Properties that define women as a minority group: 1. Women experience unequal treatment 2. Women share characteristics that distinguish them from men 3. Membership in subordinate group is involuntary 4. Women are developing greater sense of group solidarity 5. Subordinate status defined within institution of marriage ❖Sexism and Sex Discrimination Sexism: ideology that one sex is superior to the other →Generally used to refer to male prejudice and discrimination against women →Canadian society run by male-dominated institutions ❖Women in the Paid Workforce in Canada →Women continue to experience gendered patterns of inequality relating to pay, working conditions, and opportunities for advancement →Women underrepresented in occupations historically defined as “men’s jobs -In 2022, 62% of women over the age of 15 years had jobs -In 2021, the average earnings of full-time female workers were about 89 percent of those for full-time male workers. Glass Ceiling: invisible barrier that blocks promotion of qualified individuals in work environment because of a person’s gender, race, or ethnicity *GENERALLY WOMEN EARN LESS MONEY THAN MEN Double Jeopardy: refers to the discrimination that women experience as a result of compounded effects of gender, race and ethnicity Multiple Jeopardies: refers to the compounded effects of gender, race and ethnicity, class, age, or physical disability →Social Consequences of Women’s Employment The “Second Shift”: double burden that working women face—work outside the home followed by: →child care and →housework →which few men share equitably Women: The Emergence of Feminism in Canada -The feminist movement in Canada began in the mid nineteenth century -The “Persons Case” marked a significant achievement for Canadian women -Progress of the women’s movement affected Canadian women unevenly depending on their race, ethnicity and class -Movement re-emerged in 1960s to battle sexist attitudes and the position of women in the workforce -Third wave of feminism in 1990s shifted focus from common sources of oppression for women to multiple sources ❖The Status of Women Worldwide →Gender disparities exist in access to education and work opportunities, and in health, personal security and leisure time: → Feminization of poverty has become a global phenomenon Fewer girls attend school than boys in the developing world →Women work in occupations with lower status and pay than men do →Disproportionate number of women and girls are infected by HIV/AIDS The Status of Women Worldwide estimated women grow half the world’s food, but rarely own land. one-third of the world’s paid labor, but generally lowest-paying jobs. single-parent families headed by women are usually the poorest. long hours/low pay, but contribute significantly to family’s incomes. Deviance and Social Control What is social control? →Techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human behaviour in any society →occurs on all levels of society -Conformity and Obedience →Conformity: going along with peers who have no special right to direct behaviour →Obedience: Compliance with higher authorities in a hierarchical structure Conformity to prejudice →Research demonstrates that people may conform to attitudes and behaviour of peers even when it means expressing intolerance towards others What is social Control? –Obedience to authority →Milgram pointed out that in the modern industrialized world we are accustomed to submitting to impersonal authority figures, whose status in indicated by a title or uniform Informal and Formal Social Control →Informal Social Control: Used casually to enforce norms →Formal Social Control: Carried out by authorized agents Law and Society →Some norms are so important to a society that they are formalized into law →Laws: Governmental Social Control –Creation of laws a social process -Legal Order reflects the values of those in position to exercise authority →Control theory: Our connection to members of society lead us to systematically conform to society’s norms What is Deviance? →Deviance: behaviour that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society →Involves violation of group norms, which may or may not be formalized into law →Subject to social definition within a particular society and at a particular time Deviance and Social Stigma: → Stigma: labels society uses to devalue members of certain social groups → Stigmatization: stigma becomes part of a person’s identity Deviance and Technology →Technological innovations can redefine social interactions and standard of behaviour related to them Explaining Deviance: →Functionalists: Deviance is a common part of human existence, with positive as well as negative consequences for social stability. Durkheim’s Legacy –Anomie: loss of direction felt in society when social control of individual behaviour becomes ineffective  Merton’s Theory of Deviance: a person could experience strain when they cannot achieve culturally acceptable goals via socially-acceptable means. Cultural Goals and Institutionalized Means →Interactionist Perspective: Explains why rule violations continue despite pressure to conform and obey Cultural Transmission Theory –Cultural Transmission: humans learn how to behave in social situations, whether properly or improperly, through interaction with other Differential Association: – Sutherland’s term describing how exposure to attitudes favourable to criminal acts leads to the violation of rules – Learn “techniques” and “rationalizations” – Policy Implications? Routine Activities Theory – Opportunity Labelling Theory – Attempts to explain why certain people are viewed as deviants while others are not – Some individuals or groups have the power to define and apply labels – Also known as societal-reaction approach – Social Constructionist Perspective: deviance is product of the culture we live in →Conflict Theory → Contends that the criminal legal system in Canada treats suspects differently on the basis of their racial, ethnic, or social class background →Feminist Perspectives Although varied in their foci, feminist perspectives are eager to understand the gendered nature of institutions and inequities in the system that lead to differential treatment of men and women Laws divide crimes into categories based on: ❑Severity of offense ❑Age of offender ❑Potential punishment ❑Jurisdiction Types of Crime –“Street” Crime –Professional Crime Professional criminal: person who pursues crime as a day-to-day occupation –Organized Crime Work of a group that regulates relations between various criminal enterprises involved in illegal activities White-collar Crime: illegal acts committed in the course of business activities, often by affluent, “respectable” people Computer Crime: use of high technology to carry out illegal activity Organizational Crime: offence committed with the approval and encouragement of a company to advance its own interests – Victimless Crimes- examples-prostitution, drug use and gambling ❖Crime Statistics –Not as accurate as social scientists would like Serve as an indicator of police activity and approximate indication of the level of certain crimes Crime Statistics –Understanding Crime Statistics Canadians believe that crime is increasing in Canada despite the statistics that say it is actually lower today than it was a few decades ago –International Crime Rates Violent crimes much more common in U.S than Canada –Transnational Crime Crime that occurs across multiple national borders Technology facilitates the illegal activities of organized criminal networks Chapter (Racial & Ethnic Inequality) Chapter opener: Violence to indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people -”The tragedy of these women should not be understood as a sociological phenomenon but instead should be viewed as a crime”. This is flawed logic as it takes the focus off systemic and institutional pro- cesses and lays blame on individuals. Hundreds of missing and murdered women indicate a more systemic problem than individual criminals committing isolated acts. -WMIWG Inquiry was not smooth and was met with backlash -”This genocide has been empowered by colonial structures, evidenced notably by the Indian Act, the Sixties Scoop, residential schools, and breaches of human and Inuit, Métis, and First Nations rights, leading directly to the current increased rates of violence, death, and suicide in Indigenous populations” -people recommended changes to the Criminal Code and more resources to support Indigenous communities to have their own police forces. -Indigenous women, who make up only 4 percent of the Canadian population, comprised almost 50 percent of victims of human trafficking -teach children how to protect themselves Blue Box: Despite the often-glowing view of ethnic diversity in Canada, patterns of inequality exist and persist, whereby some groups—most notably the Indigenous Peoples of this country—have been and continue to be systematically subjugated by the dominant groups, resulting in grave social problems such as poverty and lack of adequate housing. Today, thousands of people who are members of racial and ethnic minorities continue to experience the often bitter contrast between the Canadian ideals of diversity and equality and the grim realities of poverty, prejudice, and discrimination. Class, gender, and the social definitions of race and ethnicity intersect to produce systems of inequality, 1: Sociology in global community: Brazilian indigenous populations declining because of booms in mining, logging, oil drilling, and agriculture. Many Indigenous groups were once nomads, moving from one hunting or fishing ground to another. Now they are hemmed in on the reservations the government confined them to, surrounded by huge farms or ranches whose owners deny their right to live off the land. -Bororo are now confined to six small reservations of about 1290 square kilometres—much less than the area officially granted to them in the nineteenth century. Bororo struggle to keep their culture. 2: Sociology in Global community: Cultural genocide refers to the systematic destruction of a group’s culture.Japan’s attempt to eliminate the Korean people’s language, history, and even names during its occupation of Korea in the early twentieth century is one example. -In Canada, Indigenous children were taken from their homes and placed in schools far from their families. expressed the purpose to “kill the Indian in the child.”practices and languages of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis were prohibited, -60s Scoop:Government officials assumed that the supposed benefit of familiarizing the children with the dominant culture would outweigh and ultimately excuse the personal and cultural losses the children experienced. Social Policy and Race and Ethnicity: German town of Sumte, received an official-sounding email saying that his village needed to immediately take in 1000 refugees from the Middle East, Africa, and Afghanistan.Refugees are people who live outside their country of citizenship for fear of political or religious persecution. Unlike refugees, immigrants are people who choose to move not because of a direct threat of persecution or death but most often to improve their lives by finding work, going to school, reuniting with family, or some other reasons. Unlike refugees, who cannot safely return home, migrants face no such impediment. -Refugee problem has not been resolved even tho the UNHCR had a goal of fixing this problem within 3 years. It still exists -countries are obliged to refrain from forcibly returning people to territories where their lives or liberty might be endangered. It is not always clear whether a person is fleeing for their personal safety or to escape poverty. -In many countries where refugees seek to settle, the economy is in desperate need of workers. Consequently, refugees could ultimately, even if not in the short run, function to provide a needed economic boost. -Conflict theorists point out that framing the issue as a “refugee crisis” may inadvertently stigmatize the refugees as the ones responsible for the problem, thus “blaming the victim” -Decisions to open or close a nation’s borders are difficult to make. -Many people in potential receiving countries remain hostile to refugees, especially those from Middle Eastern countries. -Of all the distinct minority groups in Canadian society today, Muslims are most widely considered to be the “other,” Chapter (Gender Relations) Why I’m done trying to be “man enough”: Roles he plays are different from what he sees himself as. Pretending to be a lot of things and putting on a show. Reject femininity and embrace masculinity. THIS IS TOXIC. Conflict between who he is vs the world sees him. Embrace Femininity and learn from ladies. Created posts that were authentics and saw mostly women following him. Man calls him gay but man is actually self conscious. Stereotypical Male things got him male attention. Gender Stereotype in media: women are portrayed as weak and docile and nurturing. Men as manly and freaky and seen as leaders. Judith Butler: Everyone has a theory of gender. Sex vs gender. Textbook: Chapter opener: Laura Bates showed a series of continual “tiny pinpricks” (buildup of incidents).They hadn’t seemed exceptional enough for me to object to them because they weren’t out of the ordinary. Because this kind of thing was just part of life—or, rather, part of being a woman. Every single woman I spoke to had a story. And they weren’t just random one-time events but reams and reams of tiny pinpricks—just like my own experiences. -acknowledge it, or talk about it—in fact, they often simply refused, point-blank, to believe it still existed. (Not just men but women to) -Laura Bates Website: While most postings are women describing their being victimized, there are men who also come forward about their being subjected to inappropriate treatment just because they are men. “This is not a men-versus-women issue. It’s about people versus prejudice” 1: Sociology in Global Community: Egalia (School in Sweden) that used gender neutral play and pronouns to encourage inclusivity and not worry about gender. Every detail has been carefully planned to make sure the children don’t fall into conventional gender stereotypes. -Since 1998, Swedish pre- schools have been mandated by law to counteract traditional gender roles and gender patterns. 2: Sociology in Global Community: Education of girls. All four international conferences made declarations to close the gender gap in primary and secondary education by 2005.literacy rates have improved globally. in 2015, approximately one-fifth of the the world's population was illiterate, and about two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adults were poor women from sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America. -educating girls and women has profound empowering benefits for them as individuals: It improves their health as well as that of their children. It decreases their fertility (for example, by improving education about birth control). It increases their productivity. It enhances their ability to make informed decisions. It increases their status and power within the family. It increases their opportunity to take on leadership roles in the community. It decreases their chances, and their children’s chances, of living in poverty -A World Bank study emphasized that there is a correlation between gross domestic product per capita and gender equality. Social Policy and Gender Relations: an engineer at Uber in 2015, Susan Fowler’s manager texted her that he was “looking for a woman to have sex with”. AND WHEN SHE SPOKE TO SOMEONE ABOUT IT, THEY DID NOT GIVE AN EFF AND TOLD HER TO MOVE DEPARTMENTS INSTED OF REPORTING HIM. -Similar sexual harassment-related firings and lawsuits hit major figures at other tech companies, movie studios, television news networks, business corporations, and branches of government. -While many people assume that workplace sexual harassment mostly consists of crude remarks or indirect pressure to engage in sex, a 2016 national survey found that 34 percent of the incidents involved unwanted touching, pinching, or direct sexual propositions. harassment is also a major concern in educational institutions, whether between students or between students and faculty members. In the military, sexual harassment presents special challenges, given the institution’s strict hierarchical command structure, close living arrangements, and the difficulty of changing one’s working conditions: -Functionalists acknowledge that the persistence of gender roles in a given culture may make it more likely for men to take advantage of women sexually. -Conflict theorists and feminists see sexual harassment as a product of unequal power—men wielding their authority over women, and bosses over employees. -Experiences with being the victim of harassment cause financial stress by precipitating job changes and can significantly repress a woman’s desired upward mobility (McLaughlin et al. 2017), not to mention the emotional and psychological toll it takes on victims and survivors. Chapter (Deviance) In class bootcamp vid: Edmonton Remand Center- Volunteer program military training type shi. To help change their life: more responsibility and higher quality of life. Illusions(short flim): Gang members-influenced by family and friends in community. Rob Papin wanted to leave so he escaped. Gang life is all about proving yourself. You want to play a role almost as if you are part of a movie. “I like power”. Anger contributes to joining gangs. No women in the group; women however hang around the men. Calling women only a “mattress”. No individuality. On guard all the time because there's always enemies. Indigenous people have been struggling for years: First extinction, then addiction, then each other. Textbook: Chapter opener: Graphic novel about indigenous man in gang violence and has a younger brother. He realizes that it is affecting his brother in a negative way which in turn helps him seek out rehabilitation. He realizes the impact that colonization, residential schools, and intergenerational trauma have had on his family and his people. -Duncan Campbell Scott, who was the Deputy Minister of Indian Affairs in Canada in 1920: “I want to get rid of the Indian problem. I do not think as a matter of fact, that the country ought to continuously protect a class of people who are able to stand alone.... Our objective is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question, and no Indian Department” -On the one hand, we can view it as deviant, violating the criminal laws of the country; but on the other hand, it can be seen as conforming to local “laws” of the various gang cultures. In the case of some Indigenous gangs, the gang provides a sense of “family” and identity that many of these youth are missing. Sociology in Global Community: Foreigners—tourists and students—breaking social norms, conventions, and laws in other countries. Research Today: - University and college students die each year of unintentional alcohol-related injuries. Drink till you dop mentality however, college students in the United States have the highest rate of drinking and driving. -Binge drinking on campus presents a difficult social problem. On the one hand, it can be regarded as deviant, violating the standards of conduct expected of those in an academic setting. On the other hand, binge drinking represents conformity to the peer culture. Social Policy and Social Control: legalization and regulation of marijuana. -For functionalists, government regula tion of marijuana will significantly impact the role of gangs in the production and sale of marijuana and will likely reduce some of the violent activities that result from conflict over drug turf. Regulation of cannabis will likely also improve or at least standardize the “quality” of the substance, thus reducing problems associated with “tainted” products. Functionalists might also focus on the current waste of police resources, the clogging of courts, and the overcrowding of prisons as a result of what many consider outdated drug policy. -Conflict sociologists ask questions like “Who benefits?” and “Why should we legalize marijuana and not other drugs?” Conflict theorists might point to the fact that middle-class Canadians are among those who primarily use marijuana. It is they who will be protected from criminal records. essence the government is profiting from the substance use and abuse of its citizens. -Interactionists similarly support legalization because such a policy reduces the number of people saddled with a negative label and criminal record. They, like some feminists, would likely push for legalization or decriminalization of other illicit substances as well, in an effort to reduce the negative labelling of individuals, which sometimes leads to further stigmatization, drug use, addiction, and negative outcomes. Policy: The Cannabis Act legalizes, regulates, and restricts access to marijuana. Its objectives are to remove marijuana consumption and incidental possession from the Criminal Code, while also more severely punishing those who import or export cannabis illegally, and who provide it to minors.