Hurley
SYG 2000

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I. Social Stratification
.....A. What Is Social Stratification?
.........1. Social Stratification is a characteristic of society, not a reflection of
..............individual differences.
.........2. Social Stratification persists over generations.
.........3. Social Stratification is universal, but variable.
.........4. Social Stratification requires not just inequality, but an ideology of belief.
....B. Basis of social differentiation:
.........1. Wealth
.........2. Power
.........3. Prestige
....C. Caste and Class Systems
.........1. The Caste System of India: Privileges for a few
.........2. Race as Caste: A Report from South Africa
.........3. Caste and Agrarian Life
....D. The Estate System
.........1. Feudal England
........ 2. Feudal Japan
....E. The Closed Class System -- Transitional England
....F. The Open Class System
..........1. Modern Great Britain
..........2. United States
....G. A One Class/Classless Society -- the Soviet Union
....H. The Second Russian Revolution -- What next?
.....I. Ideology: Stratification's 'Staying Power'
.........1. Plato
.........2. Marx
.........3. Historical patterns of Ideology

II. Functions of Social Stratification
.....A. The Davis-Moore Thesis: Society rewards different people differently
...........based upon the value of one's contributions to society
....B. Society creates a Meritocracy
....C. Ideology: When Is Inequality Unjust?
....D. The Not Level Playing Field:
..........ALL......................................Rich............Middle Class.....Poor.......Minorities
..........Occupational.........................Start..............Start................Start.......Start
...........Rewards..............................Here..............Here................Here.......Here
.....E. Are the Rich Worth What They Earn? [Oprah Winfrey earned $74 Million in 1995.]

III. Social Stratification and Conflict
.....A. Karl Marx: Social Class and Conflict: Capitalist society reproduces the class
..........structure in each new generation.
....B. Why No Marxist Revolution?
..........1. The fragmentation of the Capitalist class.
..........2. New kinds of jobs and a rising standard of living.
..........3. More extensive labor organizations.
..........4. More extensive legal protection.
....C. A Counterpoint:
..........1. Wealth remains highly concentrated.
..........2. White-collar jobs offer little to workers.
..........3. Progress requires struggle.
..........4. The Law still favors the Rich.

IV. Stratification and Technology in Global Perspective
.....A. Hunting and Gathering Societies
.....B. Horticultural, Pastoral, and Agrarian Societies
.....C. Industrial societies
.....D. Max Weber: Class, Status, and Power
.....E. The Socioeconomic Status Hierarchy
.....F. The Kuznets Curve
...........1. Creating Wealth
...........2. Creating Inequality
.....G. The Bell Curve Debate: Are Rich People Really Smarter?
..........1. Culturally Biased Tests
..........2. Harry Stack Sullivan to Albert Binet, 1903: 'Intelligence is culturally defined as the
..............facility and efficiency with which an individual utilizes what his culture values.'

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