Keyword Critique Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Keyword Critique - Research Paper Example In sociology, persons are normally classified into groups according to their socio-economic conditions. Social stratification tries to understand political, social, ideological, cultural, and economic dimensions of social inequality. However, stratification is not homogenous concepts. It is by definition has multiple meanings and the meanings changes when placed against different contexts and different actors. In sociology, the use of the term stratification has changed from time to time. It even substantially changes in terms of meaning and practice in different schools such as Marxism, functionalism and structuralism. II. The Conceptualization of Stratification When someone tries to find answer of poverty in any society the concept of stratification becomes important. If we try to locate reasons behind the backwardness of Black people or women vis-a-vis White people or we try to gauge chances of a child born into working class family to climb the social ladder, we will lend into ou rselves into the study of social stratification. The methodological analysis of stratification seeks ‘to discover social gulfs- to find the gaps in people’s social relations and experience- which might explain the fissures in people’s perception of each other. ... Max Weber has tried to elaborate the concept of social stratification wherein he studies stratification in traditional societies or we could call them status-based societies and of modern societies. According to him in traditional societies, person’s social status was depended upon his ascribed status wherein a person possesses qualities, which are beyond his control like sex, class at birth ethnicity, race, caste, or religion. Whereas in modern society element of achievement or personal qualities defines persons social status. Max Weber has made distinction between social class, which is defined according to material wealth, and status class, which depends upon social honor, prestige and links to the religious institutions. Studies of social stratification try to understand at what extends class or status system affects modes of social action. It analyses class and status structures and its reproduction in the society. Social stratification tries to understand how inequality of condition and opportunities affects outcome and what are the methods used by groups to protect their class or status boundaries. In simple word, how people maintain their class privileges and how other sections try to get access to it, these are the issues which get importance in the study of social stratification. Social stratification investigates various ways through which class, status-groups are formed in the society, and through it sociologist understand the society. While fiercely criticising the empirical sociology dominated in the United States, Anderson and Massey points out that â€Å"as the status attainment model came to dominate American sociology, the study of stratification became progressively despatialized. Socio-economic outcomes were conceptualized as individual-level