Social class in the United States is a controversial issue, having many competing definitions, models, and even disagreements over its very existence. Many Americans believe in a simple three-class model that includes upper class, the middle class, and the lower class or working class. More complex models that have been proposed by social scientists describe as many as a dozen class levels.
United States Social Classes : While social scientists offer competing models of class structure, most agree that society is stratified by occupation, income, and educational attainment. Meanwhile, some scholars deny the very existence of discrete social classes in American society.
In spite of debate, most social scientists agree that in the U. For example, in Mexico, society is stratified into classes determined by European or indigenous lineage as well as wealth. In the U. Social class is sometimes presented as a description of how members of society have sorted themselves along a continuum of positions varying in importance, influence, prestige, and compensation.
Thought of this way, once individuals identify as being within a class group they begin to adhere to the behaviors they expect of that class. Thus, a person who considers him or herself to be upper class will dress differently from a person who considers him or herself to be working class — one may wear a business suit on a daily basis, while the other wears jeans, for example.
By adhering to class expectations, individuals create sharper distinctions between classes than may otherwise exist. Sociologists studying class distinctions since the s have found that social classes each have unique cultural traits.
The phenomenon, referred to as class culture, has been shown to have a strong influence on the mundane lives of people, affecting everything from the manner in which they raise their children, to how they initiate and maintain romantic relationships, to the color in which they paint their houses.
The overall tendency of individuals to associate mostly with those of equal standing as themselves has strengthened class differences. Due to class mobility, in some cases individuals may also acculturate to the culture of another class when ascending or descending in the social order. Nonetheless, the impact of class culture on delineating a social hierarchy is significant. Describe the various forms of property — private, public and collective — and their functions.
It goes beyond income as a measure of social class, as it reflects wealth accumulated e. Property is a better overall measure of social class than income, as many individuals who are considered wealthy actually have very small income, and those with less property tend to have less power and prestige.
Income : Income is one form of property, and contributes significantly the measures of wealth. Private property is the ownership, control, employment, ability to dispose of, and bequeath land, capital, and other forms of property by persons and privately owned firms. Private property is distinguishable from public property and collective property, which refers to assets owned by a state, community, or government rather than by individuals or a business entity.
The concept of property is not equivalent to that of possession. Property and ownership refer to a socially constructed circumstance conferred upon individuals or collective entities by the state, whereas possession is a physical phenomenon. Economic liberals consider private property to be essential for the construction of a prosperous society. They believe private ownership of land ensures the land will be put to productive use and its value protected by the landowner.
If the owners must pay property taxes, this forces the owners to maintain a productive output from the land to keep taxes current. On the other hand, socialists view private property relations as limiting the potential of productive forces in the economy.
They believe private property becomes useless when it concentrates into centralized, socialized institutions based on private appropriation of revenue until the role of the capitalist becomes redundant.
Compare the positives and negatives associated with the use of power and how power operates in society. The subject matter is diverse and can cover anything from race, social class, crime and law, poverty, education and more theoretical wider issues such as the impact of radical change to whole societies. A sociology degree will analyse and explore human behaviour across different societies, usually from a global perspective.
The first year will often serve as an introduction to issues in contemporary sociology and social and political problems, providing the opportunity for students to discover the aspects of sociology that interest them the most. Modules will then become more specialised in the second year and third year, branching out across a range of different topics including gender equality, race and culture, politics and equality.
Most universities will also teach social research skills, which will be incorporated across the degree programme. Universities will sometimes offer the opportunity to choose from a range of modules so students can adapt their learning programme to suit their needs and interests.
In the final year, students will usually conduct a piece of sociological research, which will draw on the research skills learnt during the course. Sociology students use their degree to unpick global issues. There are no essential subjects that should be studied to guarantee a place on a sociology degree. Most universities will look to see if a student has previously studied sociology but as not all schools offer it, it is not deemed a requirement. Other subjects that will be useful however, are psychology, history, geography and media studies.
Any humanities or social science subject that requires analytical and research skills will be useful. However, this list is not prescriptive and it is always worth checking out what your university of choice will ask for and which grades. What can you do with a psychology degree? What can you do with a geography degree? What can you do with an education degree? What can you do with an English literature degree? Studying sociology can create many opportunities for you to meaningfully discuss the "hot topics" of the day.
Interesting questions that tend to arise include the following:. In addition to bringing about discussions on these kinds of questions, studying sociology can provide you with many opportunities to consider solutions to problems that exist in society. Solving problems requires a number of important skills, including an ability to organize large amounts of information, to critically analyze the information, to draw evidence-based conclusions, and to effectively communicate conclusions to diverse audiences both orally and in writing.
These are skills you can attain through your study of sociology, improving your prospects in the job market. Career Opportunities Over the course of your work life, you are likely to experience multiple career changes.
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