...Race vs. Class From the time of slavery until the twenty-first century, race has been the driving element regarding opportunities for people of African descent. The question of whether this has changed presently is ambiguous. America has certainly evolved from a place of slavery and segregation to the self-proclaimed “Land of Opportunities” offering equal rights and prospects to all, yet there are still signs of inequality within the social construct of the nation. If one were to take a look at the American work field, they would notice the differences in positions acquired by African-Americans and Caucasians. African-Americans typically work minimum-wage jobs, living paycheck to paycheck and if they are fortunate enough to acquire an adequate paying job; their employers are Caucasians who usually own the major businesses and corporations. This inevitable conflict has emerged from America’s past history of unfair and unequal treatment of people of color. The American society has not completely eradicated the problem with racial discrimination and inequality within the workforce which has created the growing wealth gap. In the United States, issues of race and class are tied to together like a chain of DNA; one cannot address the issue of class without referring to the demographics of race. The methodology of determining the variations in social class was established in the mid-1960s and has not changed in the most latter years. Within the time span, there have been many studies...
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...Literature Review #1 Citation: Betts, Julian R., (2011), “The Economics of Tracking in Education”, in Hanushek, Eric A., Stephen Machin and Ludger Woessmann (Eds.), Handbook of the Economics Of Education, Volume 3, Amsterdam: North Holland, pp. 341-381. (found on article excerpt) Betts, Julian, Eric A. Hanushek, Stephen Machin, and Ludger Woessman. Handbook of the Economics of Education. Vol. 3. Amsterdam: North Holland, 2011. Print. (MLA citation) In Ballantine and Spade’s piece, Understanding Education through Sociological Theory, macro-level theories are discussed in detail. One theory that stands out is referred to as the labeling theory, which highlights the sense of self that youth ranging from the age of 6 to 18 develop in school. In particular, it addresses the notion of how labeling children may likely lead to self-fulfilling prophesies. For instance, if a child is labeled as less capable or more incompetent than his fellow peers, his sense of self may plummet as a result and lead to him never performing to his maximum potential at any point in his academic career. The labeling theory resonates with the idea of tracking of students in the education system. Tracking in American education typically involves grouping and labeling sets of students as low-performing, average, or high-performing. Based on several previous studies in addition to the research carried out by the authors of the paper, The Economics of Tracking in Education, it is apparent that tracking “increases...
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...Los Angeles: A critical essay looking into increasing inequality and its root causes in the metropolitan area across the last 50 years Los Angeles is one of the most economically developed cities in the world and it represents a beacon of technological advancement, social progression and equal opportunity for people all around the world. Los Angeles (L.A.) was recently ranked 9th on the Global Economic Power Index (Florida, 2012) and 20th on the Global Power City Index that included criteria such as “livability”, “cultural interaction”, “environment” and “accessibility” (Institute for Urban Strategies, 2014). These ideas may ring true for some; however there are many who live within the city limits that experience a very different reality. In the last 20 years there has been an increasing amount of academic literature examining rising economic, social, political and underlying racial inequality within L.A. This essay will attempt to evaluate this literature so as to examine what inequalities are occurring and identify possible causes underlying them. For future reference within this essay, I am going to be looking at L.A. as the Greater Los Angeles Area, which includes the city of L.A. and other interconnected urban areas so as to avoid confusion on where possible boundaries are drawn and also to have a greater area from which to draw comparison from. Socio-Economic History Leading to Contemporary Inequality The situation Los Angeles is currently in can be attributed...
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...produce an inherited superiority of a particular racial group. Racism, as defined by Webster’s New American Dictionary , is “a belief that some races are by nature superior to others.” The Macquarie Dictionary defines racism as: "the belief that human races have distinctive characteristics which determine their respective cultures, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule or dominate others." The common thread between all of these definitions seem to be the idea of superiority versus inferiority when comparing whites and blacks, in particular. Because of this notion of whites feeling superior and blacks feeling inferior, segregation still seems to exist, especially in high schools and on college campuses. Racial segregation in public schools was the norm across America in the early 1950’s. Although all the schools were supposed to be equal, most black schools were far inferior to the white ones. Linda Brown, a black third-grader in Topeka, Kansas, had to walk one mile through a railroad yard to get to her black elementary school, even though a white elementary school was only a few blocks away. Her father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll her in the white elementary school, but the principal of the school refused. So, then Mr. Brown went to McKinley Burnett, the head of the National Association for...
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...Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did. (Ehrlichman) The upholders, the initial thought, and the rationale of the War on Drugs were corrupted by a drive to suppress and oppress. This is also true for the institutionalized segregation that occurred from 1849-1950 in post-slavery America. The separation of blacks and whites exacerbated racial tension and caused poverty within the recently ‘freed’ black community. Free—to the extent of no longer being considered property of the white man—but no more free than that. Basic civil liberties, like the right to vote, were deprived of blacks until the Civil Rights Movement, by which these liberties were granted. Education, a necessity in fostering success, was provided to blacks in the cheapest, most primitive way possible. Black Americans under segregation were given the inferior schoolhouses, the inferior textbooks, the inferior utilities, the inferior curriculum. This, in combination with a poverty-stricken home life, created the least conducive-to-success environment possible for struggling black...
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...Abstract This paper discussed the topic of the effects of solitary confinement mainly in regards to Supermax prisons, but prisons of different levels as well. Also, the articles used to complete this paper converse about the legal issues with solitary confinement pertaining to the effects it has on inmates, isolated in units that are used to keep someone from interacting with anything or anyone outside of the walls, otherwise known as Communication Management Units (CMUs) or Secure housing Units (SHUs). CMUs contain a high degree of surveillance of the inmates. The articles also include the introduction and reintroduction of solitary confinement within a century’s time, and cases that were brought to trial challenging violations to the...
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...to discriminate on others that can be seen through institutional racism. This is when an entire ethic population denies another racial group basic civil liberties and benefits thus, continuing on the cycle of preferential treatment of a particular race. It is important to note that the United Nations has declared that racial discrimination and ethnicity discrimination are one and the same. Significantly, the partition of races can be traced back in history as early societies have traditionally divided human populations based on their race. As such, through the centuries sociologists, anthropologist and psychologists have tried to determine the root cause of racism especially with the detrimental effects of discrimination as a result of racist beliefs. Thus, the effects of racism continues to be a prevailing problem. It has been the cause of wars and conflicts throughout human history however, the question remains whether racism is inherent to a person’s genetic makeup or whether it is a learned behavior. This paper will evaluate the different theories and studies on racism to explore whether racism is actually a learned behavior...
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...true. Gay marriage is not, in short, a denial of family values. It’s an extension of them. (p. 38) In the religious lens on the topic of gay marriage, traditional Christians believe that homosexuality is a sin, which is why it is usually condemned by the church (Dias, 2015). In addition, there are also people that believe gay marriage should not be a law recognized by the federal or state municipalities because they consider it an ‘alternative lifestyle’, a choice made rather than a biologically inherited trait (Rich, 2015). In the next few paragraphs, I will discuss the history of legalization of gay marriage in America, the religious communities’ outlook on the subject of gay marriage, how Hollywood has influenced the gradual acceptance of gay marriage by showing more homosexual people in media, and also discuss some of the psychological and sociological effects, researched by psychologists, that gay marriage have said to produce in children who live in same sex parental homes. History of Gay Marriage Gay marriage has been a hot button issue in legislation ever since it’s conception. There have been many strides and setbacks for the movement before it was federally recognized as a legal union on June 27, 2015 by President Barack Obama (Condor,...
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...Nonprofit Management School of Social Welfare University of California, Berkeley 510-642-7066 mjaustin@berkeley.edu August 2006 1 Table of Contents Introduction – Michael J. Austin, Guest Editor Part I Multiple Social Science Perspectives of Poverty Theories of Poverty: Findings from Textbooks on Human Behavior and the Social Environment Amanda J. Lehning, Catherine M. Vu, & Indira Pintak Economic Theories of Poverty Sun Young Jung & Richard Smith Sociological Theories of Poverty in Urban America Jennifer Price Wolf Psychological Theories of Poverty Kelly Turner & Amanda Lehning An Anthropological View of Poverty Kristine Frerer & Catherine Vu Political Science Perspectives on Poverty Amanda Lehning Theories of Global Poverty in the Developed and Developing World Jennifer Morazes & Indira Pintak Part II Theory Integration and Practitioner Perspectives Social Capital and Neighborhood Poverty: Toward an Ecologically-Grounded Model of Neighborhood Effects Kathy Lemon Osterling Social Work Students’ Perceptions of Poverty Sherrill Clark The Explosive Nature of the Culture of Poverty: A Teaching Case Based on An Agency-based Training Program Catherine Vu & Michael J. Austin 2 Understanding Poverty From Multiple Social Science Perspectives Introduction This BASSC learning resource has its origins in both historical and contemporary attempts to address the complex social problem of poverty in the U.S. It grew out...
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...Dhanvin Sriram Dr. Brandon School & Society 8 December 2014 Race And Gender Discrimination The issue of discrimination has been the cause of raging debates for a long time in the history of the United States. Such discrimination may be based on race, gender color, ethnicity, or any other basis that distinguishes people and tends to favor specific groups over others. During the history of America, the American people have observed discrimination on many fronts and especially so against black people and the minority. The concepts of race, gender, and class have had a tremendous effect on children’s experiences through the American education system. Different children and people have different life experiences as well as different backgrounds. As such, one cannot wish away these elements of race gender and class in an education system that has real people from real societies. As such, a society can only hope to find ways of reducing the distinctions and the discrimination associated with those elements in the schools. The discussion in this paper will analyze the modern forms of racial and sexual discrimination, which affects access and treatment of students in schools. It will propose an argument for ways of creating racial and gender equality in schools in the United States. Equality of education in American schools refers to the provision of similar opportunities, expectations, and support in education for people from both gender as well as for people from...
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...The Anti-Social Era of America When asked “what unites us”, the first question the reader may possess is who is us? This word can mean so many different groups of people, small groups, large groups, communities, states, countries, etc. However, this us is referring to societies. Nevertheless, these societies can be apart of small groups, large groups, communities, states, countries, etc. The book's Ten Lessons in Introductory Sociology and Thirty Readings in Introductory Sociology demonstrates these many levels of society and how it affects our behaviors and the world around us. To begin this process of self-discovery and what unites us C. Wright Mills first aims to help us develop our sociological imagination. This is described as the “ability...
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...1 CHAPTER OUTLINE Ranking Groups Types of Groups Listen to Our Voices Problem of the Color Line Does Race Matter? Biracial and Multiracial Identity: Who Am I? Research Focus Multiracial Identity Sociology and the Study of Race and Ethnicity The Creation of Subordinate-Group Status The Consequences of Subordinate-Group Status Resistance and Change WHAT WILL YOU LEARN? How Does Society Rank Different Groups? What Are the Four Types of Groups? Does Race Still Matter? How is Biracial and Multiracial Identity Defined? How Is Sociology Applied to the Study of Race and Ethnicity? What Leads to the Creation of Subordinate-Group Status? What Are the Consequences of Subordinate-Group Status? How Does Change Occur in Race Relations? ISBN 1-256-48952-2 2 Racial and Ethnic Groups, Thirteenth edition, by Richard T. Schaefer. Published by Merrill Prentice Hall. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. Exploring Race and Ethnicity Minority groups are subordinated in terms of power and privilege to the majority, or dominant group. A minority is defined not by being outnumbered but by five characteristics: unequal treatment, distinguishing physical or cultural traits, involuntary membership, awareness of subordination, and ingroup marriage. Subordinate groups are classified in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, and gender. The social importance of race is derived from a process of racial formation; any biological significance is relatively unimportant to society...
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...South were damaging to black children, and thus began to dismantle the system of legalized segregation—was an occasion for assessing the last half century’s progress in the lives of African Americans. While there remains deep disagreement about the current state of black America and the policies that ought to follow from that, most would agree that the status of African Americans has changed dramatically, if insufficiently, since Brown. Not only has the system of legal segregation been eliminated and widespread prejudice diminished, but the economic, political and educational status of many blacks has significantly improved. Gunnar Myrdal’s An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy, generally viewed as one of the most important results of grantmaking by Carnegie Corporation of New York, played a major role in the story that led from an America, which after World War II still had a legal Jim Crow system in the South—along with a segregated army—to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It was cited as the social scientific evidence justifying the Supreme Court’s decision that what had been deemed separate but equal education for black children was, in fact, detrimental to their development. Published in 1944 (by Harper & Bros.; reprinted in 1996 by Transaction Publishers), An American Dilemma served to crystallize the emerging awareness that racial discrimination and legal segregation could not endure in the...
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...Movers and Shakers in Education The purpose of this paper is to evaluation and identifies the efforts and inspirations of four important individuals in history who facilitated to shape the American educational system. However the four people deliberated in this paper are definitely not the only ones who left a permanent mark upon the history of our American educational system we have in the present day, their works and morals that laid the groundwork upon which our educational system today was built. Common School Movement Horace Mann is recognized with creating the first state board of education in 1837, whereby schools were managed by a state system. He was a leader in the Common School Movement and believed that teaching standards were in great need of improvement and that instructors should be paid better. He brought a great deal of focus onto current school conditions and prompted discussions on ways to improve them. Because of him, school conditions were improved and better prepared. Mr. Horace Mann was essential in helping to prompt teacher training organizations (known as normal schools) and significantly successful in raising the standards of not just schools, but universities as well. He has been referred to as “The Father of American Education”, (gcumedia.com, 2012). His way of life was conditional upon the state to make sure all children were provided the opportunity to receive an education(www.ait.net). The...
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...group and is considered to be the model minority of the USA due to various factors such as hard work in both academic and employment that successively leads to economic prowess among this minority population (Chou, 2008). The history of the Asian American dates back to the ancient times when they occupied the American land before the European invasion. The tribes that occupied the American land are commonly referred to as the Native Americans. A majority of the Asian American people that are living in the USA are immigrants. Both individuals and the community/communities are faced with various challenges such as adopting the American culture and retaining their root cultures at the same time. However, the major issue of concern is racial segregation they are faced with. Like any other subordinate group in the USA, the Asian American people are not spared off the vice. They experience discrimination emanating from the fact that they are different from other minority groups and as well the whites. They are subjected to discrimination in various fields in which they are engaged such as education, employment, immigration, land acquisition and others (Phan et al. 2009). This forms of discriminations have their impacts on the several life aspects of this minority groups including mental health impacts as discussed in this paper. Introduction Asian Americans are individuals or distinctive groups of people from the east, southeast, and Asia that have immigrated to the USA. Various individuals...
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