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Social Sci LibreTexts

10: Stratification

  • Page ID
    231768

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    IELTS Writing Task 2 ...

    In sociology we use the term stratification. In other context we might talk about inequality. So, what is stratification? In sociology, stratification is a term used to characterize a structure of inequality where (a) individuals occupy differentiated structural positions and (b) the positions are situated in layers (or strata) that are ranked hierarchically according to broadly recognized standards. Those at the top have more privilege and easier access to scarce resources. Most often sociology books will discuss stratification in the US as the class system. We will acknowledge all the ways in which people are grouped and ranked such as race, gender, age, neurodiversity, ability/disability and attractiveness that grant individuals different types of advantage and disadvantage.

    Although the sociologist Pitirim Sorokin is often credited with first developing and then using the concept of stratification in empirical work, the clearest lineage emerges in the work of Talcott Parsons and that of his students. In his essay ‘An analytical approach to the theory of social stratification’, Parsons (1940, p. 841) wrote: ‘Social stratification is regarded here as the differential ranking of the human individuals who compose a given social system and their treatment as superior and inferior relative to one another in certain socially important respects.’

    In this module you will explore terminology used to discuss the unequal distrubution of resources and power in society. You will then engage with these terms and apply them to the contemporary context in the US. The module ends with an introduction into systems of stratification providing a framework for assessing the class system, most often identified as the system of stratification in the US.


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