SOCI
567
Fall 2005
Barbara H. Chasin
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT
The purpose of this assignment is to help you become more aware of how social stratification affects people's lives and to observe, in the real world, the concepts we are discussing.
You should carry a notebook with you so that you are prepared to write down observations and then enter them into your journal. All entries should be dated. There is no fixed number, but you should have at least three entries a week. The journals will be used for class discussions and will be handed in at the end of the semester. As we cover particular topics, you may want to go back and add to an observation you have recorded.
I would like your permission to quote from these journals. Any use I make of them would be completely anonymous, no names or other ways to identify you would be given. If you don't want your entries discussed I will not hold it against you. Please let me know your feelings on the first page of your journal.
Below are possible types of entries that are appropriate for this assignment. You may also have your own ideas of what should be included. You can include newspaper clippings, ads, photos, etc. as long you explain their relevance. Material downloaded from the Internet can also be included but such material should not be a major part of your journal. You can discuss material from other courses if this seems relevant.
1. Material relating to life styles and life chances:
Describe the class and racial/ethnic make-up of your own immediate neighborhood and the larger community it is in. For example, the types of housing, quality of the schools, health care facilities, recreational opportunities. What stores are accessible? Can you see and advantages or disadvantages of living in this community?
Observe differences between particular neighborhoods /communities that you see, even if you don't live there.
What are some differences in types of stores and/or shopping malls that seem to cater to different social classes? Do you see any differences in how different people are treated?
Material relevant to Hurricane Katrina and its consequences would be very relevant.
2. Power and authority observations.
Describe the particular positions in a workplace, your own or one you observe, such as a bank, store, government office. You can include observations from classrooms if they are relevant.
What are the differences in power and authority of different positions?
What are some of the differences in physical surroundings relevant to particular occupational positions?
What kinds of problems are associated with particular jobs?
What is the gender/ racial/ethnic composition in the workplace you are describing? In other words, as best as you can tell, who is doing what?
What kinds of conflicts are there in the workplace you are describing?
Is there a union? If so what role does it play? What feelings about unions are expressed in this workplace?
Look for examples of power relationships at the local, state and national level. Who is making what kinds of decisions? What is likely to be the impact of a particular decision? What opposition, if any is there to a particular decision?
3. The Media
What life styles, problems etc. are shown to be associated with particular social classes in the media, the movies, ads?
What messages are being conveyed by advertisers, that is why should you buy a particular product, what does it promise to do for you?
What class, racial/ethnic/gender differences are shown in the media?
How are important political issues and current events being treated, or not treated? It is useful to consider what is being left out.
You can compare different types of media, mainstream to more liberal/progressive
or more conservative for example or more liberal/progressive and more
conservative to each other. You can
discuss particular articles.
4. Social situation observations that seem relevant to this assignment.
What dating patterns do you observe? Who is eating together, being friends? Are there any patterns relevant to social class, race/ethnicity?
Describe comments about particular classes, racial/ethnic groups, or that relate to gender.
5. Autobiographical material.
You can write about your own family; the affects of social class, changes in class, etc.
6. Theoretical implications of observations.
Try to relate what you are observing to any of the theories we discuss in this course and to particular readings.
Conclusions
At the end of your journal you should have a summary statement saying what you think your own observations show about the role that power and stratification play in people's lives.