erica bender academic connections ucsd summer 2014
DESCRIPTION
Before we can “think like sociologists,” we first need to develop a sociological imagination This means looking beyond individual people or individual behavior – instead of focusing on an individual, we focus on the social For example, a parade…TRANSCRIPT
MEDIA MATTERSStereotypes and Social
Change in Popular Media
Erica Bender
ACADEMIC CONNECTIONS – UCSD – SUMMER 2014
Recap From Yesterday Course goals
Build critical media literacy Introductory knowledge of core sociology
concepts See the link between the media and
inequality/social change 3 ‘Realms’ (Class, Race, then Gender)
3-4 days each First day will be intro to concepts Last day will be informal presentations and
conclusions 1 informal presentation for each realm
Yay Sociology!
Before we can “think like sociologists,” we first need to develop a sociological imagination
This means looking beyond individual people or individual behavior – instead of focusing on an individual, we focus on the social
For example, a parade…
CLASS Class
Social differentiation based largely on economic factors and factors that
indicate economic standing.
Ways to think about class: A gradational hierarchy – like a ladder, pyramid,
or? Different categories▪ Elite – Professional/Managerial – Middle – Working –
Lower/Poor – Very poor
What does class look like in the US? Do we have a classless society?
How do you know? Does that matter to you?
How would we draw the class ‘ladder’ for the United States? All equal Wide in the middle Wide at the top? At the bottom?
A picture of class in the US.
Discussion Questions
How does someone’s class affect them?
Where does your class come from?
Can you change your class?
How bad is economic/class-based inequality in the United States?
Why doesn’t class ‘go away’?
How does someone’s class affect them?
Key word: Life chances Life chances = the objective opportunities that a
person has in life to improve his or her quality of life Your life chances refer to your ability to live the life
you want But a lot of things get in the way of life chances,
because your life chances often depend on your access to resources (such as money, food, education, health care)
Class influences life chances because it is the primary factor that determines your access to resources
Where does your class come from?
Mostly, from your family We are born into a family already firmly placed
in a class position. How does your family’s class position affect you
as a child? Neighborhood, school, social networks,
knowledge/skills, behaviors How does your family’s class position affect you
as an adult? Likelihood of obtaining higher education Career Income!
Can you change your class? Key word: Social (Class) MobilitySocial Class Mobility = the
objective probability that you will be able to move up in social class
What kinds of things will you have to obtain to achieve higher social mobility for yourself?
What factors are beyond your control?
Your income vs. your parents’ income
Education as a path to mobility
Where are you most mobile?
How bad is class-based inequality? Initial thoughts – With a partner, rank the
following countries from highest to lowest in terms of inequality Germany Great Britain Korea United States Japan Isreal
The United States is one of the most unequal countries in the developed world.
The US has a huge disproportion of income and wealth concentrated among a few people…
Why don’t we see inequality?
Why don’t we see inequality? Remember the relationship between
structure and culture? Structures are reinforced by cultural
beliefs and attitudes. So if class inequality is a structure,
what kinds of beliefs keep us from seeing class inequality?
Other factor: residential segregation
Why don’t we see inequality?
