Social Stratification

Sociologists have many theoretical approaches about social stratification. Giddens (1992) distinguishes four systems of stratification: Slavery, caste, estates and class. We can find two kinds of slavery in societies: In one way slaves were considered as chattels and were property of their masters; in other form slaves were used as workers and servants. In the Castes systems, hard segregation between groups exists. One group is in the highest degree and has most purity; and other groups are located in lowest degrees. Estates can be found in societies that some differences are established by law among people. Social classes have some differences from other systems of stratifications. The base of difference in the class is economic situation. The most theories of social stratification belong to Karl Marx and Max Weber. For Marx a class is a group of people who stand in a common relationship to the means of production. (Giddens1992). Marx believes that the base of inequality among individuals in modern societies is economy. Weber argues that status is more influential than economic condition. According to Stuart Hall today in societies class isn't only determiner and some other respect like (gender, nation, religion, age) can also be considered important In America American certain values, specifically private property, free market and more profitability cause different economic conditions in the society. In America and in any historical era there were not clear social classes. Nowadays most of people are middle classes. In America despite this concept that "anybody works hard can achieve more reward", minorities and some groups can't move up of opportunities ladder. Many people in America live under poverty-line. At 1993 one-fifth of richest people got 44 percent of incomes, versus three-fifth of poorest persons got 30 percent of all incomes. (census.gov) A person, who is born in a rich and powerful family, has a fixed condition in hierarchical system. This person is born in social class of his or her parents. We can say that despite of American Dream in America, merely those people who are born in high classes inherit the class of their parents. In "Schooling and Capitalist America" Bowels and Gintis stress that educational system in America trains people their conditions and legitimize the existing inequality: Schools categorize students in educational and academic ways and this categorizing, finally distribute them in jobs and economic systems. The media in America ignores equality and social justice and supports existing inequality and lack of social justice by magnifying institutions and American certain values. In 1995, 10 percent of richest population in the US possessed of 68 percent of whole wealth. In fact, in 1986, one percent of the richer populations were possessor of 42 percent of whole wealth. These statistics show that a great deal of the whole wealth in the United States is transporting from hands to hands of the rich people. It seems that there exits a trend that increases differences of wealth; for instance in 20 years between 1963 and 1983, the average wealth of 10 percent of the richest increased 147 percent. (American congress, 1986) Reference: Charon, Joel , M. (1997). Ten Questions: A Sociological Perspective, Wadsworth company

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Book Review

Review of American society today

"American society today" is a book which was written in 8 chapters in English by Edward Ashbee.He is the head of Social Studies at Denstone College, Staffordshire. Ashbee is also the co-author of US Politics Today and The Politics Today Companion to American Government. The book was published by Manchester University Press in 160 pages, paperback with ISBN 07190 6022 2 in 2002 in Manchester and New York. This book can be considered as a basic work which presents complete and basic knowledge about American society and can be suggested to those who want to know about different aspects of American society. The language of the book is not complicated; also the tables and extra information in the silver bulks helps the readers to understand more about the intention of the writer. American society today tries to define the features of contemporary American society and it provides an introduction to the US for students of American Studies, politics and sociology, as well as general readers. The book follows with the points to perform different images of the US-especially in the 1980s - in the mind of Europeans. He also writes about "Some of the cruder Representations" of the US which has been subsequently modified. Television channels with different programs about the American life were empathetic across the world to the events of September 11, 2001. The book starts its description from Europe; the popular representation of the US often falls back upon crude caricature. Although there is admiration on the country's resources as well as it's technological and economic capabilities, US society and the American character have won few sympathetic portrayals in Britain indeed and there has long been a degree of latent hostility to the US that is shared by both right and left parties. In particular historical moments, it has become manifest. Later in the book there are other examples: "Martin Carthy, the celebrated English folk musician, received some widely shared sentiments. In one of his songs he lampooned the US, citing its 'stone age finesse', ' Neanderthal pride', corrupt self-serving politicians and instinctive imperialism" After these descriptions the book attempts to construct a counterweight to these by considering the defining features of American society in a balanced way. This book has been written in 8 chapters: American exceptionalism - the American dream and the modern economy - individualism and conformity - communities, civic decline and "bowling alone" - the family, sex and sexuality - race, ethnicity, and "balkanization" - one nation indivisible: the American regions - conclusion: September 11, and its aftermath. Chapter 1 examines the distinctive character of American society and the ways in which it can be considered exceptional. This chapter contains several subtitles like "The melting pot", "a fragment culture", "The American creed", "The exceptionalism of America's national purpose", try to conceptualize the term of exceptionalism. In this chapter the writer expresses that the US followed a separate and distinct path of development and there are, however, different ways of understanding American exceptionalism. He also writes: "Some have cited the character of the American people and the role or the ' melting pot'. Others stress the role of the westward frontier in shaping the American character, the class origins of the American colonies and the absence of a mass socialist party." In chapter 2 the author stresses the concept of the nature of the "American dream", its promise of upward mobility, and the nature of the contemporary American economy. He also points it out that there is conflicting empirical evidence and much of the data suggests that the rates of mobility are limited, particularly for women and minorities: " .... The unequal distribution of income and wealth has considerable significance. Actually, there are many talks on the underclass and over class. While some hailed the new economy of the late 1990s as a revolutionary shift in the character of economic opportunities, the claims were often exaggerated...." The writer also tries to justify his claims through some tables with statistical information. The concept of the characteristics of American individualism is the main topic of chapter 3. According to the subjects which are debated in this section, American individualism traditionally incorporated notions of freedom and a willingness to confront established order. Although these still find a place in popular culture, there have been recurrent fears that individualism is being suppressed by modernization. The extent to which American identity also rests upon attachments to family, neighborhood and nation forms the matter of chapter 4. Alongside individualism, individuals have traditionally had ties binding them to their families, neighborhoods and the US itself. In the beginning of this Chapter author indicates an important study, Bowling Alone, in which Robert Putnam argues that there has been a process of civic disengagement. The family, sex and sexuality are debated in chapter 5: "Although the traditional family -structured around a male breadwinner and a "stay-at-home" mother - is sometimes represented as social norms, it is instead a function of particular periods and circumstances...... social behavior have had a more conservative character." "African-Americans" , "Latinos", "Asian-pacific-Americans", "Whites', 'language", "Balkanization", are main subtitles of chapter 6 which and the writer examines the role of ethnicity, race, and other social cleavages. He talks about America as a multicultural and fragmented society. Chapter 7 examines the differences between the regions and the degree to which the US is - in the words of the Pledge of Allegiance - "one nation indivisible". The author argues that although some have asserted that economic and political processes have created a centraliseded nation, regional differences can still be discerned and adds that other factors - most notably mass immigration and the processes of both industrialization and deindustrialization - also have shaped the contemporary regional structure. Finally, the last chapter has been devoted to the September 11 attacks on twin towers of the World Trade Center and Pentagon in New York and Washington DC. Also, there is some about other consequences most notably the degree of political consensus. American society today considers these debates and assesses the different perspectives that have been put forward.

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Issues

Abortion We can say that, the abortion debate is one of most important issues in the United States. The reason is that the debate is upon the right to life. Another important point of this issue is that this is an issue merely about women. This doesn’t mean that men don’t have any engagement in this issue, but it means that, women should choose and decide about this issue. Abortion can be studied in several perspectives: religion, women's right, hygiene. In some religious principles, abortion is considered as a kind of murder that threatens the fetus. In this view, mothers can not have abortions unless their health at stake. Women' right advocator, believe that, it is an absolute right of women to choose whether to have an abortion or not. In the healthy perspective, there are some debates that if the fetus is deformed, or if childbirth threatens the life of the mother, mothers can have an abortion. In the U.S In 1973 the Supreme Court passed Roe v. Wade. According to this decision, a woman has the right to have abortion. But this right is not determined. This idea divides pregnancy of women into three parts, called trimesters. In the first three month, a woman can decide whether to have abortion or no. But in the second and third three months, this decision is made by a state. As I have worked on the result of the election of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, their viewpoints about abortion will be referred in this part. Hillary Rodham Clinton on abortion: In 2003, as a senator, she was among those who voted against a bill which forbidden a late-term abortion procedure. Opponents to this bill called it "partial-birth" abortion. In her stance on this issue, she has supported abortion and has said that if she will be chosen as the president, she would nominate Supreme Court judges who support precedents such as Roe v. Wade, and who agree that a right to privacy is declared in the Constitution. She doesn't agree with a constitutional amendment or federal law banning abortion. Clinton has tried to court abortion opponents by saying she favors government policies that would reduce unintended pregnancies and make abortions rare. Barack Obama on abortion: His stance on abortion suggests that a woman has the right to decide how many children to have. Like Clinton, he also opposes Constitutional amendment or federal law banning abortion. In a meeting which was held in July, he declared that he would appoint Supreme Court nominees who support Roe v. Wade. " With one more vacancy on the court, we could be looking at a majority hostile to a woman's fundamental right to choose for the first time since Roe v. Wade, and that is what is at stake in this election", Obama said. Moreover, he believes in fundamental changes about abortion in the White House and in the Supreme Court.

Review of Dead Man

Cast: Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Lance Henriksen, Micheal Wincott, Eugene Byrd Director: Jim Jarmusch Writer: Jim Jarmusch Language: English Genre: Drama, Western Release Year:1996 Awards: 2 wins & 5 nominations Color: white and black William Blake(not the famous poet) travels to town of machine in the West from Cleveland to get a promised job as an accountant. When he arrives to the town, he finds that one month ago another person has filled the job. Blake that spent all money after death of his parents to get there, get angry and wants to meet the mill owner (Robert Mitchum)who in his office and talks with a stuffed bear and keeps a portrait of himself in his room. He threat Blake with a gun and advises him to leave the town. That night Blake meets a girl who sells paper flowers and befriends her and is invited to her room. Blake kills her ex-lover who is Charlie Dickinson (Gabriel Byrne) in a self defense; he is Dickinson's son, the mill owner. Then Blake is pursued by Dickinson's men and became a wanted man. Next morning he sees himself beside an Indian, Nobody, (Gary Farmer). Nobody guides Blake to a spiritual journey to where he belongs to. Jarmusch's film, Dead Man, is a film in western genre. But we can say that it is an iconoclasm in this genre. The "Dead Man "does not apply to western stereotypes. West in Dead Man isn't romantic. Probably Jarmusch tries to say that outcomes of industrialization have destroyed nature and moralities in the west.In the film we can also see some points about Indians and white immigrant's treatment with them. One example is the narratives of Nobody about his life- white men move him from his home to several countries- and then in his dialogs with Blake, Nobody says in the station where whites have trade with Indians, they sell blanket which have smallpox that will sicken all Indian villagers. The machine town which black arrives in is a corrupt, mucky and unsightly. It is the first view of the west from Blake's eyes. Some sequences in the film which show direct violence are vexing and disgusting. For example the sequence where Cole Wilson after killing his co-worker eats his hand, or the scene where hired killer Cole Wilson crushes a corpse's head under his boot.On the technical side, Robby Muller has shot the film in black and white. The music of film isn't a usual Western music, but it's certainly effective. Like the film itself, it's liable to be an acquired taste.

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