1. SYSTEMS OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
Chapter 6 – Global Stratification – Sociology

2. Social Stratification
The division of large numbers of people into layers according to their relative power, property, and prestige
May apply to nations and to people within a nation, society, or other group
Occurs in all societies
Gender is a basis for stratification in every society

3. Slavery A form of stratification in which some people own other people
Varied greatly throughout history
Causes of Slavery – Debt, War, Crime, Racism
Conditions of Slavery
Length of Service
Inheritance of Slavery
Power
Wealth
Slavery was legal in some parts of Africa as recently as 2004.

4. Caste
A form of social stratification in which one’s status is determined at birth and is lifelong
Boundaries between castes are firm:
Endogamy: The practice of marrying within one’s own group
Reduce contact between castes through elaborate rules

5. Caste India’s Castes Based on religion Divided into thousands of
subcastes
Formally abolished in 1949
Remain part of everyday life

6. Caste
South Africa
Dutch Afrikaners controlled the government, police, and military under a system known as apartheid
Dictated where people could live, work, go to school, and socially interact
Illegal now, but its legacy remains

7. Caste A U.S. Racial Caste System
When slavery was outlawed in the U.S., it was replaced with a racial caste system
Laws prohibited intermarriage and kept schools and public places segregated
Informal laws dictated everyday interactions

8. Estate
Estate Stratification System: The stratification system of medieval Europe, consisting of three groups or estates: the nobility, the clergy, and commoners (serfs)

9. Class
Class System: A form of social stratification based primarily on the possession of money or material possessions
Ascribed or Achieved?
Social Mobility: Movement up or down the social class lader