Chapter 9.1 Social Stratification

 the division of society into categories, ranks or classes  Social Inequality: the unequal sharing of scarce resources and social rewards  What criteria would you use to stratify a society in order to distribute scare resources?

The Caste System in India

Brahmans  Occupations: priests, scholars

Kshatriyas  Occupations: rulers, nobles, soldiers

Vaisyas  Occupations: merchants, bankers, businesspeople

Sudras  Occupations: laborers, artisans

Harijans  Occupations: outcasts, limited to the most undesirable tasks

Stratification Theories

Functionalist  Cause of Stratification  needed to help society function smoothly by ensuring that specific roles are performed  higher rewards guarantee that important roles that require more skill are filled  Criticisms of Theory  society does not provide equal access to education & jobs  rewards do not always reflect the social values of roles

Conflict: Marxists  Cause of Stratification  the bourgeoisie exploit & control the proletariat to maintain wealth & power  Criticisms of Theory  fails to recognize that unequal rewards are based in part on differences in talents, skills & desires among people

American Theorists  Cause of Stratification  groups compete for scarce resources  those with power use it to maintain their position  Criticisms: See Conflict Theory

CHAPTER 9: CLASSWORK  Page 212: #3-4  Page 220: #2-3  Page 227: #2-3  Page 228: #1-10 Identifying People & Ideas  Page 228: #1-6 Understanding Main Ideas  Page 229: #1-4 Building Social Studies Skills

Activity: Dimensions of Social Stratification  in groups of 3, please complete 1 of the following activities…  1. Poster: Choose 1 of the 3 dimensions of social stratification & create a poster containing an explanation of the dimension as well as relevant illustrations & examples  2. Skit: Choose 1 of the 3 dimensions of social stratification & create a skit portraying an example of that dimension