- Sex and gender are influenced by both biological and social/cultural factors. While biology determines one's sex, gender roles and behaviors are largely learned and can vary significantly across cultures. - Cultural practices around the world exhibit a wide range in expressions of sexuality, gender roles and relations. Most cultures are dominated by patriarchal systems where men center power. However, alternative genders also exist. - Political organization ranges from simple band societies to more complex states. Leadership and social control methods vary depending on the type of society, from consensus-based bands to hierarchical states with formalized legal institutions.

1. Chapter 10
Gender
Chapter Outline
! Sex and Gender
! Cultural Variation in Sexual Behavior
! Coming of Age in Cross-Cultural Perspective:
Male and Female Rites of Passage
! Gender Roles, Power, and Prestige: The
Status of Women
! Gender Relations: Complex and Variable
SEX AND GENDER
Are men and women born, made, or
both?
Do our genetics dictate who we become as
males and females?
!
!
Do we learn what is appropriate behavior
for a male and female in our society?

2. The answer is both,
but heavy on learning. SEX
• The biological qualities inherited by a male or
female because of either the XX or XY
chromosomes that help produce testosterone
and estrogen in appropriate proportions.
GENDER
• The learned appropriate behaviors associated with
males or females. Gender is best described with
the terms MASCULINE and FEMININE.
THE RANGE OF MASCULINITY

3. THE RANGE OF FEMININITY
Most people don’t measure up to either
extreme.
We fall in between.
!
Your sex would be male or
female.
(INHERITED)
!
Your gender would be
masculine or feminine.
(LEARNED)
Sexual Division of Labor
Makes most sense with H/G.
(men hunt, while women, tied to nursing,
gather)
!
The problem with the current “women’s
work” in most places is …….?
(women’s domestic contributions are
devalued)

4. Where is the most value?
Theories about the sexual
D.O.L.
• Strength
• Compatibility with child care
• Economy of effort
• Expendability theory
Alternative Genders
• Typically genders are thought of as one of
two types.
• However, the world isn’t quite that simple.
!
• Transsexuals, hijra, berdache, gays, and
lesbians are a few alternatives to
heterosexuality.
Transsexual/Transgender
• It is when an individual identifies with the
opposite gender, and expresses a desire to
be the opposite sex.
• It could lead to a sex change operation,
most likely in Trinidad, CO.

5. The berdache (or Two-Spirit)
• First identified by French fur traders and
trappers.
• Part of a number of American Indian
societies.
• They dress in the clothes of the opposite
gender, and do the tasks appropriate for
that gender.
• Typically they are thought of as “holy
people” with special powers, and not
shunned or criticized.
Berdache examples
Modern Transvestities The Hijra of India
• These are men who usually have undergone
a sex change operation and often make a
living as prostitutes for men.

6. Margaret Mead and Gender
• She studied a number of tribes in New
Guinea. Arapesh –
both genders gentle.
Mead’s study centered on how
gender was expressed in a number
of isolated groups.
Mundugumon –
Both genders aggressive and
violent Tchambuli – males
gentle, females
aggressive

7. The conclusions of Mead’s
research?
• The extreme variation among people who
share an original gene pool in the same
environment has to be due to learning, not
genetics (nurture, NOT nature).
Cultural Construction of Gender
! The idea that gender characteristics are not
inborn but rather constructed within each
culture.
! All cultures recognize:
– Two sexes: male and female.
– Two genders: masculine and feminine.
Homosexuality
• Commonly going by the names of gays or
lesbians, homosexuals remain anatomically
as they are born, but find close identity with
members of the same sex.
A Nearly Universal Gender
Quality
Patriarchy – MEN
RULE!

8. Expressions of Sexuality in
Culture
!
• In most cultures, sexuality exceeds the
simple act of procreation.
!
• It includes learned standards of appearance
and actions.
Modern concerns about sexual
mutilation
Location of FGM and Statistics
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION TYPES
(in increasing order of severity)
1- Circumcision (sunna)
• mildest form for mutilation
• includes the removal of the sheath of clitoris and tip of clitoris
2- Excision (clitoridectomy)
• entire clitoris is removed
• often parts of labia minora also removed
• sometimes cuts made around vagina (to facilitate future childbirth)
3- Infibulation (Pharonic circumcision)
• a surgical version of a chastity belt.
• term FIBULA originates with Romans, who fastened rings through the
genital lips of
slave women to prevent unauthorized intercourse and pregnancy.
• involves removal of sheath, clitoris, labia minora, and scraping flesh
from labia
majora.
• sometimes also involves scraping of flesh from inside of vagina.
• genitals are then sewed together, with a tiny opening allowed.
• upon marriage, surgery performed to open it.
• additional surgery often needed to accommodate childbirth.

9. Why do FGM?
• Many mothers or grandmothers actually
conduct the surgery themselves.
• Reason – to make daughters “marriageable”
by conforming to the standards of future
husbands.
Is it ethnocentric to condemn
FGM?
!
• Judging the impact of FGM on the
population is allowable (not comparing it
to our system).
!
• Birth rates, mortality rates, and health
conditions all are legitimate concerns for an
anthropologist.
Exaggerations of females’ bodies
• Footbinding in China
!
• Corsetting in Victorian America
!
• Modern breast alterations.

10. Chinese Footbinding: Why do it?
Corsetting:
Striving to achieve the “hourglass” Impacts of Corsetting

11. Plastic Surgery: Striving for
Perfection
What plastic surgeons
would do to Audrey Hepburn
The Goddess of the 50’s
What plastic surgeons
would do to Marilyn.

12. Breast Alterations
Guess what is the most popular
plastic surgery procedure in Brazil?
How about lips?
Who decides the idealized shapes for
women?
!
• Men (who are given their marching orders
from the mass media).
Would you buy a used car from
this man?

13. What About Men?
• Most Cultures = right of passage to
Manhood
!
• In the last decade or so, body image has
become an issue for men as well.
!
• Modern plastic surgery for men

14. The global range of sexual
behavior
!
• Polynesia (sensuous, promiscuous)
!
• Dani of New Guinea (ambivalent)
!
• Inis Beag of Ireland (ultra-Puritanical)
Polynesia: sensuous,
promiscuous
Dani of New Guinea: ambivalent Inis Beag of Ireland: repressed

15. SUMMARY
!
• Sexual identities and behaviors are
as varied as any other cultural
practices around the world.
!
• The impact of male influences on
sexual behavior indicates where
power is centered in most cultures.
Chapter 11
Political Organization
Chapter Outline
▪ Social Differentiation
▪ Power and Social Control
▪ Types of Political Organization
Social Differentiation
▪ The relative access individuals and groups
have to basic material resources, wealth,
power, and prestige.

16. Egalitarian Societies
▪ No individual or group has more access to
resources, power, or prestige than any other.
▪ No fixed number of social positions for which
individuals must compete.
▪ Associated with bands and tribes.
Rank Society
▪ Institutionalized differences in prestige but no
restrictions on access to basic resources.
▪ Individuals obtain what they need to survive
through their kinship group.
▪ Associated with horticulture or pastoral
societies with a surplus of food.
▪ Associated with chiefdoms.
Stratified Society
▪ Formal, permanent, social and economic
inequality.
▪ Some people are denied access to basic
resources.
▪ Characterized by differences in standard of
living, security, prestige and political power.
Stratified Society
▪ Economically organized by market systems.
▪ Based on intensive cultivation (agriculture)
and industrialism.
▪ Associated with form of political organization
called the state.

17. Social Control of Behavior
Ways societies deal with abnormal behavior and
conflict:
▪ Gossip and ridicule
▪ Fear of witchcraft accusations
▪ Avoidance
▪ Supernatural sanctions
Law
▪ Law is found in every society.
▪ In complex societies, functions of law belong
to legal institutions, such as courts.
▪ Law addresses conflicts that would otherwise
disrupt community life.
Band Societies
▪ Small group of people (20 to 50)
▪ Related by blood or marriage
▪ Live together and are loosely associated with
a territory in which they forage
▪ Egalitarian
Band Societies: Leadership
▪ Decision-making is by consensus.
▪ Leaders are older men and women.
▪ Leaders cannot enforce their decisions; They
can only persuade.
▪ Sharing and generosity are important sources
of respect.

18. Band Societies: Social Order
▪ Maintained by gossip, ridicule, and avoidance.
▪ Violations of norms are sins.
▪ Offenders may be controlled through ritual
means such as public confessions.
▪ Offender is defined as a patient rather than a
criminal.
Tribal Societies
▪ Members consider themselves descended
from the same ancestor.
▪ Found primarily among pastoralists and
horticulturalists.
▪ Egalitarian
▪ Leadership: Bigman
Chiefdom Societies
Characteristics:
▪ Monumental architecture
▪ Distinct ceremonial centers
▪ Elaborate grave goods reflect high social
status
▪ Larger settlements by smaller villages
▪ Cultivators and pastoralists
State Societies
▪ Central government with monopoly over the
use of force.
▪ More populous, heterogeneous, and powerful
than other political organizations.
▪ Able to organize large populations for
coordinated action.
▪ Defend against external threats.

19. Politics and Social Control
Politics – A Cultural Universal
Societies only survive if there
is leadership to make
decisions and keep the peace.
The political institution is:
. . .concerned with how members of a society
make decisions for the group and keep the peace.
!
!
Making decisions for the group includes writing
laws. Keeping the peace includes: 1) maintaining
order within the society (law enforcement), as
well as 2) defending the nation from outside
threats (military defense).
Politics
“Who gets, what, when, and How”
!
Government
– System or organization for exercising power over
citizen

20. Machiavelli
!
• At early age sought the political life
• Politics was a passion to Machiavelli,
not just a job or position but a driving
force within him
• Vowed to be involved at all costs
The Prince
• Power is key to all politics & rivals need
to get along for trade = commerce over
beliefs
• Aristotle and old view = politics is source
of friendships and moral excellence
• Machiavelli = politics as means to
control the people,
• Compel people to obey whether they want to or
not
• Human beings are essentially self-
interested and self-regarding
• This is to be used to the leaders
advantage
!
• Observation of how people actually
behave, as opposed to how they
ought to behave.
Political Systems
• Monarchy
– Power in one person
– Based on birth & wealth
!
• Theocracy
– God is in charge, speaking through an earthly
appointee

21. Fascism
– State is all powerful and citizens submit
!
Oligarchy
– Power in a group within the state
!
Democracy
– Popular sovereignty
– Will of the majority over minority
• Elite
• Pluralist
• Participatory
Dangers of Democracy
Social Contract
!
America as a Republic
!
American Political Culture
Aging of America

23. Levels of Political Organization
!
• STATE (most complex)
• CHIEFDOM
• TRIBE
• BAND (simplest)
• Headman is “leader”
• Egalitarian
• No power, only some influence
• Headman is “leader” of only
a small village of related
people, primarily nomadic.
• Example: San hunters
The Band

24. The Tribe
• Leader can be a Big Man, a Warlord, etc.
• Egalitarian
• Leadership achieved by actions
• Still lacks dictatorial power, but has more
influence
• Leads multi-community
alliance
• Examples: Trobriand
“Big Man”, Afghani tribal
warlord, or Iraqi cleric
The Chiefdom
• Queen, King, or Chief is leader.
• Stratified system (structured inequality)
• Leader has power over citizens
• Leadership often inherited (unearned)
• Leads entire societies
• Example: Zulu Queen of
Swaziland
The State
• King, Queen, President is leader
• Stratified system (structured inequality)
• Leader has power over citizens
• Leads large societies (larger than Chiefdoms)
• Leadership can be inherited (Jordan’s King
Abdullah from dad, King Hussein) or selected
by vote (JFK)
Comparative Political Systems

25. Great Britain
Unwritten Constitution
The Law of the Constitution
• Many historic documents figure in
the written parts of Britain’s
constitution, such as the Magna
Carta, the Petition of Right, and the
Bill of Rights. A body of legal rules
has also been recorded in centuries
of court decisions.
The Conventions of the
Constitution
• The customs and practices of British
politics make up the bulk of the
unwritten constitution. The system
is flexible, but provides no absolute
safeguards for people’s rights.
The Monarchy
One of the queen’s
responsibilities is to appoint the
prime minister, but the
appointment is still subject to
approval of the House of
Commons.
It can be said that the British
monarch reigns but does not
rule.
In formal terms, all acts of the
British government are
performed in the name of the
queen.
The queen, however, has very
little influence on the daily
running of the British
government.
Parliament
The House of Lords
The upper house, the
House of Lords, consists
of members appointed by
the queen on the advice of
the prime minister.
The House of Lords has
limited power. Lords can
delay, but not block,
passage of bills passed in
the House of Commons,
and they serve as the final
court of appeals in the
British court system.
The House of Commons
The lower house, the
House of Commons,
consists of 659 elected
officials.
The Commons is
responsible for initial
passage of British
legislation.
The majority party in the
Commons largely controls
the work that body
undertakes.

26. Ministers, Elections, and Parties
The Prime Minister
The prime minister is chosen by the queen and subject to the approval
of the Commons.
The Cabinet
Ministers, or cabinet members, are chosen by the prime minister. The
cabinet, along with the prime minister, provides political leadership.
Cabinet members also head the various executive departments.
Calling Elections
There is no fixed date for parliamentary elections. Instead, under
normal conditions, a prime minister announces the date of the next
election (at least once every five years). Elections can also be called if
the government loses a vote of confidence.
Political Parties
High levels of party loyalty and party discipline characterize the British
party system.
Japan
The Constitution
Japan’s current constitution, adopted in 1947, was written
under the watchful eye of American authorities.
The current Japanese constitution places the right to govern in
the hands of the people, instead of in the hands of the emperor.
Basic freedoms, paralleling many of the freedoms guaranteed
in the U.S. Bill of Rights, are granted in the Japanese
constitution.
A unique anti-military clause is also part of the Japanese
constitution, stating that the Japanese people “forever
renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation.”
The National Diet
House of Councillors
Consisting of 252 members who
are elected every six years, the
House of Councillors holds
much prestige, but has little real
governing power.
The House of Councillors votes
on all bills, although it can be
overridden by a two-thirds vote
by the House of
Representatives.
House of
Representatives
The House of
Representatives consists of
500 members, 300 of which
are elected from single-
member districts, and 200
from 11 larger multi-seat
districts.
The powers of the House of
Representatives include the
right to call for a vote of no
confidence, to make treaties,
to raise funds, and to make
appropriations.

27. Executive Functions and the
Bureaucracy
Executive Functions
The prime minister and the cabinet
perform the executive functions of
government in Japan.
The prime minister is elected by
the House of Representatives.
The prime minister picks the
cabinet members.
The prime minister has the power
to dissolve the House of
Representatives. If she/he calls
for a dissolution, a general
election takes place to elect and fill
all 500 seats in the lower house
Bureaucracy
The Japanese
bureaucracy, or civil
service, is unusually well-
respected and powerful in
Japanese society.
Even though civil service
jobs don’t pay well,
positions are still sought
after and can lead to
cabinet appointments.
China
Political Background
The People’s Republic of China was established in 1949 when Mao
Zedong’s Red Army finally vanquished Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists
after decades of civil war. Nationalists fled to Taiwan.
To increase agricultural and industrial production in China, Mao
instituted a series of drastic Five-Year Plans. Frequent and extreme
changes in policy had the opposite of their intended effect.
In the mid-1960s, Mao tried to purge China of old thoughts, His plan
was called the Cultural Revolution, and led to much violence and
many atrocities committed by Mao’s overzealous Red Guard.
Mao abandoned the Cultural Revolution in 1968. In 1976, Deng
Xiaoping came to power after Mao’s death. Deng’s reforms loosened
government control of the economy, but did not grant the people
more human rights. A dramatic example of this was the Tiananmen
Square massacre in 1989.
China Today
China’s
Communist Party
The Chinese Communist
Party has 58 million
members in China.
It is organized in a similar
way to the government of
the former Soviet Union.
A 1,900 member National
Party Congress elects a
smaller Central
Committee, which in turn
elects the 20-member
Politburo. The Politburo
makes party policy and
organizes the Secretariat.
China’s Government
The government of China is
composed of two main bodies,
the National People’s Congress
and the State Council.
Nominally, the National People’s
Council is the highest authority
in the land. In reality, it passes
policy decisions made by the
State Council and the Party
onto lower levels of
government.
The State Council is headed by
the premier, who is chosen by
the Party.

28. Political Parties
Voting choices
Party identification
– Partisanship – single most important factor
• when voters have little information about
candidates
– Candidate appeal, with the importance of name
identification and the advantages of incumbency
– Issue voting
• economic conditions, education, jobs, and the
environment
Party balance and imbalance
– Classified according to how the parties share
public offices
• Two-party state
• Modified one-party state
• One-party state
– Since the end of World War II, there has
been a trend toward two-party competition

29. Interest Groups
-Collection of persons who share
common interest or attitude
Interact with one another,
directly or indirectly
!
-Try to affect policy process to
achieve goals
Constitutional Assumptions:
Federalist 10 (James Madison)
• Factions -- citizens united and activated
by common impulses or passions adverse
to the rights of other citizens and the
aggregate interests of the community!
• Popular government would be destroyed
by excessive democracy
De Tocqueville
!
• Americans are a nation of joiners
The Roots and Development of
American Interest Groups
• National Groups Emerge (1830-80)!
• Progressive Era (1890-1920)!
• Organized Labor – the American Federation of Labor
(AFL) (1886)!
• Business and Trade Associations – The National
Association of Manufacturers (NAM) (1895)!
• The Rise of the Interest Group State (1960s and 1970s)!
• Religious and Ideological Groups!
• Business Groups, Trade and Professional Associations!
• Organized Labor

30. Special Interest Groups
• Business related!
• Corporations!
• Trade Associations!
• Labor!
• Professional!
• Non-economic groups!
• Demographic !
• Education
Single Interest Groups
• Narrow range of concerns!
• Intense interests!
• Dislike “bargaining, negotiation and
compromise”!
• Examples!
• NRA!
• NARAL
Strategies and Tactics
• Lobbying!
• Grass roots mobilization!
• Measure public opinion!
• Build coalitions!
• Litigation!
• Influence elections – endorsements, PACs!
• Rate voting records of legislators
Criticism
Interest Groups have been criticized for!
• Ignoring the wider interest of society!
• Producing confusion and deadlock in Congress!
• Generating so much emotion that they make
reasoned discussion difficult!
• Having too much influence

31. Lobbyists
• A lobbyist must be honest and truthful if he or
she wants to remain effective.!
• Access to lawmakers is critical !
• Lobbyists put their group's position in a
favorable light
How Does A Society Maintain
Control?
!
• Internal social control
!
• External social control
Internal Social Control
Conscience (the young are taught the cultural norms)
!
This is a society’s first line of defense against rule
breaking.
EXternal Social Control
1 – Informal External Social Control
scolding (most effective if the rule breaker
respects the opinions of the authority figure)

32. EXternal Social Control
1 – Informal External Social Control ( cont.)
gossip
i- fear of being gossiped about may deter.
ii- hearing gossip is a cautionary tale.
EXternal Social Control
2- Formal External Social Control
a- Laws
b- Criminal Justice System
(cops, court, jail)
Mediation:
Another way to gain conformity
• The process requires a third party working
with the two adversaries. This third party has
NO power to force an outcome, but uses skills
of persuasion to try and resolve the problem.
Mediation
• Family intervention (tough love)

33. Mediation
• Ho’o pono pono - the Hawaiian version of
restoring a family member back into the group
(prayer, confession, repentance).
Mediation
• Marriage counseling
ADJUDICATION
• Like mediation, adjudication involves a
third party working with adversaries, but
in this case the third party HAS POWER.
Normally the adjudicator is called a
JUDGE.
The American Form of Adjudication:
The Adversarial System
• Adversaries work against each other.
• In the U.S. court system, the adversaries are
whom?
Prosecution and Defense
The goal of both prosecution and defense is
what?
Justice? Truth?
NO – to win!

34. The Inquisitional System:
Another Form of Adjudication
• An inquisitional system does not assume
innocence of the accused.
• The accused is not represented by a defense
attorney.
• Often an inquisitional trial involves the
accused having to withstand some sort of
ordeal to prove innocence.
SUMMARY:
Politics and Social Control
• All societies function best when there is
harmony.
• All societies need decisions made in order to
remain productive and progress.
• Making decisions for the group, and
encouraging its members to conform to
cultural norms are primary tasks of the
political institution.
• In addition, if a society is to survive, it must be
able to defend itself from outside threats.
Like it or not, we are ALL
prisoners of our culture, and
must conform to some degree.
Chapter 12
Stratification: Class and Caste

35. Theories of Stratification
▪ Functionalism specifies that specific cultural
institutions function to support the structure of
society or serve the needs of individuals in
society.
▪ Conflict theory focuses on inequality as a
source of conflict and change.
Dimensions of Stratification
▪ Power is the ability to control resources in
one’s own interest.
▪ Wealth is the accumulation of material
resources or access to the means of
producing these resources.
▪ Prestige is social honor or respect.
Ascribed Vs. Achieved Status
▪ Ascribed Status
Social position into which a person is
born. (sex, race, kinship group)
▪ Achieved Status
Social position that a person chooses or
achieves. (professor, criminal, artist)
Social Class in the United States
▪ Status depends on occupation, education, and
lifestyle.
▪ “The American Dream,” is based on the
democratic principle of equality and
opportunity for all.

36. 17
❑ Class largely viewed as a statistical category
based on
■ Education
■ Occupation
■ Income
■ Place of residence
Prestige: respect and
admiration an occupation
holds in society
Measuring Social Class
■ Objective Method
Esteem: reputation specific
person has earned within
an occupation
Prestige Rankings of Occupations
What is America?
• Land of Opportunity
– Anyone in America can become president, rich,
famous
– Jobs and education are open to everyone equally
• Social Class is achieved
– Individuals decide what class to belong to.
• Horatio Alger: rags to riches
– People of low class worked hard and rose to positions
of wealth and power
5 American Social Class
• Upper Class
– Percentage of Americans
.5%
– Wealth:
• A lot
• Ownership: They owns 50% stocks, 60% bonds; corporations,
property, inheritances
• Income: High income—mostly from investments
– Top 1% has 22 times the average wealth of the other 99%
– Power: From Ownership, lots of power
– Prestige: May not have jobs; prestige from family
name, resources

37. • Corporate Class
– Percentage of Americans
.5%
– Wealth:
• A lot, but not as much as upper class
• Ownership—no major ownership of companies
• Income—median CEO salary $10.83 million
– President of the U.S., $400,000
– Power: Heads of companies, government
– Prestige: high
• Middle Class
– Percentage of Americans
43%
– Wealth:
• Some
• Ownership—little property
• Income—mid to high income
– Engineer, $58,000
– Teacher, $34,000
– Professor, ??
– Power: Some
– Prestige: White collar jobs
• Working Class
– Percentage of Americans
43%
– Wealth:
• Little
• Ownership—little or no property
• Income—mid to low
– Factory worker, $24,000
– Machine operator, $23,000
– Power: Little
– Prestige: Blue collar jobs
• Lower Class
– Percentage of Americans
13%
– Wealth:
• Very little or none
• Ownership: none
• Income: low
– Poverty rate in 2001: 9.9%
– Only about 1/3 of poor get welfare
– Power: Low
– Prestige: Low

38. 22
Comparison of Distribution of Income and Wealth
in the United States
Household Income
in the United States, 2006
24
The U.S. Social Class Ladder. Source: Henslin 2004

39. 25
U.S. Minimum Wage Adjusted for Inflation,
1950-2005
Source: Author’s estimate and Bureau of the Census 2005a:413.
Stratification Systems
▪ Closed system
A system of stratification based primarily on
ascription.
▪ Open system
A system of stratification based primarily on
achievement.
▪ Class system
A form of social stratification in which the
different strata form a continuum and social
mobility is possible.
Social mobility
▪ Movement from one social class to another.
Life Chances
▪ Opportunities people have to fulfill their
potential in society.
▪ Include:
– chance of survival and longevity
– opportunities to obtain an education
– opportunities to participate in cultural life
– opportunities to live in comfort and security

40. Social Classes as Subcultures
▪ Many studies demonstrate that social class
correlates with differences in attitudes,
behavior, lifestyle, and values.
▪ A social class has aspects of a subculture:
– its members tend to share similar life experiences, occupational
roles, values, educational backgrounds, affiliations, leisure activities,
buying habits, religious affiliation, and political views.
Caste System
▪ System of stratification based on birth.
▪ Movement from one caste to another is not
possible.
▪ Castes are hereditary, endogamous, ranked in
relation to one another and usually associated
with a traditional occupation.
The Four Varna
These four castes—brahman,
kshatriya, vaishya, and
sudra—are the classical four
divisions of Hindu society. In
practice, however, there have
always been many
subdivisions (J'atis) of these
castes.
Where does this system come from?
The earliest known mention of caste is
found in the Aryan’s Vedic hymns, perhaps
dating from about 1000 B.C.E.
In a famous passage, the metaphor of the
human body was used to describe Indian
society.
The brahman, or priestly, caste represents
society's head; the kshatriya, or warrior,
caste are its arms; the vaishya caste—
traders and landowners—are the legs; and
the sudra caste—the servants of the other
three—are the feet.
This metaphor stresses the idea of
hierarchy as well as that of
interdependence.

41. • Reincarnation
A person is born,
lives, dies, and is
reborn again many
times. Souls are
reborn many times
until they are pure
enough to be with
the creator, Brahma
• Karma
A person’s social position in the
next life is determined by his
conduct in the present life.
• Dharma
• Code of behavior or
set of moral and
ethical rules that
govern the conduct
of each social class.
Each group has a
different set of rules
to live by.
Hindu Caste System
Four caste categories
1. Brahmins - priests and scholars
2. Kshatriyas - ruling and warrior caste
3. Vaisyas - the merchants
4. Shudras - menial workers and artisans
5. Harijans – “untouchables”
Changes in the Caste System
▪ There have been important changes in the
caste system in the past 50 years.
Chapter 13
Stratification:
“Race” and Ethnicity

42. © 2011 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.
Race and ethnicity are complicated
• Is the child of a biracial couple (black and
white) black or white? Mixed?
• Is Judaism a religion or an ethnicity? Both?
• Race and ethnicity are terms used every day but
rarely explored.
3
Introduction to Sociology: Race and
Ethnicity
166
□ This woman is
not real.
□ She was
created by a
computer from
a mix of
several races.
© 2011 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.
Defining race
• Race refers to an externally imposed system of
social categorization and stratification.
• No true biological races exist; rather, human
groups must be placed on a continuum.
• Typically, race refers to some set of physical
characteristics granted importance by a society.
• Race is socially constructed.
6
© 2011 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.
Defining ethnicity
• Ethnicity refers to the distinct cultural norms
and values of a social group.
• Characteristics of ethnic groups include (to
varying degrees):
– Shared history
– Religion and culture
– Kin or ancestry
– Sense of shared destiny
– Language
4

43. © 2011 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.
Racism
• Racism is a form of prejudice and/or
discrimination based on physical differences.
• There are many layers of racism
– Individual consciousness and behavior
– Ideologies of supremacy
– Institutional racism
8
Ethnicity
▪ Perceived differences in culture, national
origin, and historical experience by which
groups of people are distinguished from others
in the same social environment.
– Ethnic identity - The sense of self one experiences as a member of
an ethnic group.
Ethnic Conflict
▪ Extreme ethnic conflict is a product of
contemporary economic, political, and social
conditions.
▪ Ethnic violence, as described for the former
Yugoslavia, suggests that political
manipulation of cultural differences, not
ethnicity per se, is at the root of interethnic
violence.
U.S. Cultural Diversity
▪ From the 1880s through the 1920s, restrictive
and racist immigration laws gave preference
to immigration from European countries.
▪ In 1965, changes in American immigration
laws led to increasing immigration from a wide
diversity of nations and “races.”

44. © 2011 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.
14
65.9%
WHITE
(NON-HISPANIC)
198,420,355 people
15.1%
HISPANIC
OR LATINO
45,432,158 people
12.1%
AFRICAN
AMERICAN
36,397,922 people
4.3%
ASIAN
13,000,306 people
1.6%
TWO OR
MORE RACES
4,794,461 people
0.7%
AMERICAN
INDIAN AND
ALASKA NATIVE
2,041,269 people
0.1%
NATIVE HAWAIIAN
AND OTHER
PACIFIC ISLANDER
413,294 people
0.2%
SOME OTHER RACE
737,938 people
Note: This map is not geographically representative of population distribution.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of the Census 2008b.
Essentials Of Sociology,
3rd Edition
Copyright © 2011
W.W. Norton & Company
Racial and Ethnic Populations
Models of Adaptation
▪ Assimilation model
▪ Melting pot model
▪ Mosaic Model
Assimilation Model
▪ Immigrants should abandon traditions
and become absorbed in American
culture.
▪ Resulted in the building of urban
Settlement Houses, designed to teach
immigrants “American” ways.
Melting Pot Model
▪ Immigrants will melt together into a new
American culture.
▪ By the late 1950s, it was clear that the melting
pot theory had only limited application.

45. Mosaic Model
▪ Cultural diversity is a positive aspect of
American national identity.
▪ Arose in response to the swell of immigration
in the past 25 years.
Figure 10.3 Median Household Income by Race, 1980– 2008. Essentials Of Sociology, 3rd Edition
Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company
Introduction to Sociology: Race and
Ethnicity
179
Number of Executions and Race of
Prisoners Executed, 1976–2009
Introduction to Sociology: Race and
Ethnicity
180
Americans without Health Insurance
by Race, 2007

46. Introduction to Sociology: Race and
Ethnicity
181
U.S. Infant Mortality Rate, 2005
Introduction to Sociology: Race and
Ethnicity
182
Educational
Attainment Based on
Race, 2007
183
GENOCIDE
Nazis:
(1933-1945)
Jews, Gypsies,
gays & lesbians,
communists,
mentally ill
KILLED: @11
MILLION
Turks:
Armenians in
WWI
(1914-1918)
KILLED:@2
MILLION
MASS
MURDER
Slave Trade
(U.S. & many
W. European
countries):
@1600-1850
KILLED:@20
MILLION
Turks
Armenians,
1890s
KILLED
300-400,000
ETHNIC
CLEANSING
U.S. & Native
Americans
Pop. of NAs reduced
from about 2million to
500,000 over 300
years.
-- mass murder
-- starvation
-- war
-- forced removals
-- disease
Yugoslavia
Serbs in Bosnia
(1980s,1990s) --
terror, expulsion, and
thousands found in
mass graves
DISCRIMINATION
!
History of many non-
Northern European
groups in U.S.
-- Irish, Italians, eastern
Europeans, Jews,
African-Americans,
Latinos, Asians, etc.
Women around the
world
Hindu Caste system
examples of genocide, mass murder, ethnic cleansing and discrimination
184
Mass Murder and Genocide in the 20th Century
from R. J. Rummel, http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills
TOTALITARIAN REGIMES
USSR, 1917-1987 62,000,000
Chinese Communists, 1923-1987 39,000,000
Nazi Germany, 1933-1945 21,000,000
!
AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES
Chinese Nationalists, 1928-1949 10,000,000
Japan, 1936-1945 6,000,000
Turkey, 1909-1923 2,600,000
Cambodia, 1975-1980 2,000,000
!
!
Note: These numbers are best guesstimates. In most cases, because of denials,
secrecy, and coverups, it is impossible to know the exact number with
precision.

47. 185
Mass Killing is common in Africa
Congo
4 million deaths since 1998, prompted by endless fighting between armed gangs/
warlords.
!
Sudan (Darfur)
800,000 dead since 2002, in tribal/religious warfare/genocide
!
Uganda
Idi Amin (dictator) killed 400,000 of his own people in the 1970s and 1980s. (Last
King of Scotland)
Since 2002, another 100,000 dead from rebellion in North.
!
Nigerian Civil War (1970s)
400,000 dead
!
Rwanda (1990s)
800,000 dead (about half from gov’t-sponsored genocide)
(Hotel Rwanda)
Ethnic majority groups in the Balkans
•
The Balkans was once part of the Roman Empire and many people there are still
Christian
(Catholic or Orthodox)
•
Because the Balkans sits at a cultural crossroads, there are many ethnic groups in the area.
This has caused tension making the region a SHATTERBELT.
(Bosnia is about the size of Wyoming)

48. 2. Ethnic
divisions
CROATIA BOSNIA SERBIA KOSOVO
ETHNIC
MAJORITY
CROATS MUSLIMS SERBS ALBANIAN
ETHNIC
MINORITY
SERBS CROATS/
SERBS
MUSLIMS/
CROATS
SERBS
WRITING
SYSTEM
LATIN/ROMAN
(You are using it
now)
LATIN/
ROMAN
CYRILLIC/
RUSSIAN
LATIN/
ROMAN
HISTORICAL
ALLY
AUSTRIA/
GERMANY
OTTOMAN
TURKS
RUSSIA ALBANIANS
RELIGION CHRISTIAN/
CATHOLIC
ISLAM CHRISTIAN/
ORTHODOX
CHRISTIAN/
MUSLIM
Migrating populations, 1990-2000
2000: 175 million; >4x increase from 1975 ; 2050: 230 million; internal
migrants are three times that number
Population Action International 1994, IOM 2003

50. Chapter 14
Religion
Religion . . .
. . . is a cultural universal that
involves a belief in the
supernatural , and typically
includes the worship of a force or
forces.
!
. . . . involves faith, which cannot
be empirically demonstrated.
A Human Universal
▪ Religion dates back to the beginnings of the
human species.
▪ No religion is more evolved than another.
▪ E. B. Tylor,one of the founders of
anthropology, saw religion as beginning with
animism, animism, the notion that all objects,
living and non-living are imbued with spirits.
Functions of Religion in Society
1. Explains aspects of the physical and social
environment.
2. Helps people understand the world.
3. Preserves the social order.
4. Includes practices aimed at ensuring
success.

51. Religious Symbols
▪ Religious symbols are multivalent, they include many
different and sometimes contradictory meanings into a
single word, idea, or object.
– The Christian cross.
• The cross means life, death, love, sacrifice,
identity, history, power, weakness, wealth,
poverty, and much more besides.
• Because it carries so many meanings, it has
enormous emotional and intellectual power for
Christians.
God
▪ A named spirit who is believed to have created
or to control some aspect of the world.
▪ Gods understood as the creator of the world
and as the ultimate power in it are present in
only about half of all societies.
▪ In about 1/3 of these societies, such gods are
distant and withdrawn, having little interest in
people, and prayer to them is unnecessary.
God
▪ Religions may be polytheistic (many gods) or
monotheistic (one god).
▪ Polytheistic religions - many gods may be different
aspects of one god.
– In India, there are millions of gods; yet all Indians
understand that in some way they are all aspects
of one divine essence.
▪ Monotheistic religions - one god may have several
aspects.
– In Roman Catholicism: God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all part of a
single, unitary god.
Theories on Origins
and Functions of Religion (cont.)
• RELIGION BINDS PEOPLE TOGETHER
• Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) - French
• People who share strong religious beliefs are
bound together socially with a sense of
belonging. (congregation).

52. Theories on Origins
and Functions of Religion (cont.)
• EXPLANATORY FUNCTIONS
• Tylor and others
• Religion is a source of explanations about the
world.
• It answers the BIG
questions that are
beyond the reach of
science.
Theories on Origins
and Functions of Religion (cont.)
• RELIGION GIVES COMFORT TO BELIEVERS
• Faith that the forces unseen are more
important that those seen.
• Faith that the will of God is most important,
and whatever happens will be “for the best”
• Faith that there will be eternal rewards in the
next world.
Theories on Origins
and Functions of Religion (cont.)
• RELIGION HELPS WITH SOCIAL CONTROL.
• It teaches right from wrong (morality), and the
consequences of sinning (breaking the rules).
• The term animism (from Latin anima or
soul), commonly refers to belief systems
that attribute souls to animals, plants,
natural phenomena, and geographic
features, in addition to humans.
Animism – the earliest form of religion?

53. Other forms of religion
• Monotheism
-Christianity
-Islam
-Judiasm
!
Major tenet –
salvation and heaven
Other forms of religion
• Polytheism
- Hinduism
Major tenet - reincarnation
Rites of Passage: The Ceremonial Marking
Of A Transition To Another Life Stage.
• Bar Mitzvah
• Bat Mitzvah
• Quinceana
In U.S., there are secular rites of passage
marking the gradual change to adulthood.
• They include:

54. A Religious Pilgrimage: “Pilgrims” Visit
Significant Religious Sites to Demonstrate
Their Dedication
• Mecca for Muslims
A Religious Pilgrimage: “Pilgrims” Visit
Significant Religious Sites to
Demonstrate Their Dedication (cont.)
• Jerusalem and the Wailing Wall for Jews
A Religious Pilgrimage: “Pilgrims” Visit
Significant Religious Sites to
Demonstrate Their Dedication (cont.)
• Bethlehem and Calvary for Christians
Voudou (Voodoo) is a form of magic
• It originated in Africa, then spread to Haiti and
New Orleans

55. Navajo Healing: a Quest for
Harmony
• It is a combination of animism and magic using
dry painting (sand) and a
complex ritual to heal.
Wicca :
Modern nature worship and witchcraft
• There is a belief in a God or gods (many
variations).
• Rituals are performs, spells may be cast.
Baseball Magic (cont.)
• Can’t mention “no hitters” to anyone during
the game or pitcher will be jinxed.
Baseball Magic: the quirks of Turk
Wendell

56. A 2008 attempt to “hex” the Yankees during
construction of the new Yankee Stadium.
To tie up the subject of religion
into a neat bow, what can we say?
• It is a cultural universal. We can assume that
means that all societies find a need for it.
!
• Religion does perform a number of functions
(explanatory, comfort, social).
!
• Tylor thought that as science expanded, religion
would diminish until it disappeared completely.
He was presuming that it ONLY had the
explanatory function. Science has grown, but
religion remains.
Classification of Religions
■Monotheism --- belief in a
single deity
■Polytheism ----- belief in
many gods
!
■Universalizing Religions --
faiths that claim to apply
to all humans and seek to
transmit this to all lands
Judaism
■Belief in a single god
■Foundation of Christianity
and Islam
■Identified with a single
ethnic group
■Emerged about 3000 to
3500 years ago
■Dispersed throughout the
world by 500 ad.
■1948 creation of the
Jewish state, Israel

57. Christianity
■Origin in the life and
teachings of Jesus,
■began as a cult
"The Way“
!
■Promise of salvation to all,
not just a chosen people
■Mission: conversion of
the world, the hope it
provides led to rapid
growth
Islam
■ Islam = submission
■ Muslim = one who
submits
■ Qua’ran unchanged
since 650 b.c.
■ Unifying language of
Arabic
■ Standard & regulation
of faith leaves no
room for interpretation
Five Pillars of Faith
■ There is no god but Allah, and
Muhammad is his Prophet
■ A Muslim must pray five times
daily, facing Mecca
■ A Muslim must give alms to the
poor.
■ A Muslim must fast during
daylight hours in the month of
Ramadan
■ A holy visit to Mecca must be
undertaken by every Muslim who
can afford it during lifetime
Dome of the Rock

58. Mecca — Ka’ ba
The “Black Stone” Hinduism
■Forces of nature are
personified as gods &
goddesses
■150,000 gods
!
■Hindu pantheon
■Brahma --- the Creator
■Vishnu --- the Preserver
■Shiva --- the Destroyer

59. Key Concepts
■Dharma
■One’s social duty
!
!
■Karma
■Result of acting
against one’s dharma
Buddhism
■300 million followers
■Siddhartha Guatama --- 563 b.c.
■Buddha = Enlightened One
!
■Four Noble Truths
■All living beings suffer
■Suffering comes from desire to
live
■Goal of life is to escape
suffering and endless cycle of
rebirth --- Nirvana
■Nirvana is attained through
Eightfold Path
Eight-fold Path Confucius – Kung Fu tzu
■Troubles of society could be fixed, if
man would submit to political and
social order
!
■Five Types of Human Relationships
■father and son (loving / reverential)
■elder brother and younger brother
(gentle / respectful)
■husband and wife (good / listening)
■older friend and younger friend
(considerate / deferential)
■ruler and subject (benevolent /
loyal)

60. Taoism – Lao zi
■Opposite of Confucian
stress on world of man
■All nature follows the Tao
= “the Way”
■Relativity of all things
and dependence of
one thing on its
opposite
■Yin & Yang
Baseball Magic
• The use of Rally Caps -
“bottom of the 9th, one run down, two out”
MAGIC
• The belief that supernatural forces can be
controlled by the human shaman / magician.
• It involves using specific incantations or other
rituals, that, if followed properly, will guarantee
the desired outcome. (In religion, practitioners
beseech the supernatural, but accept whatever
outcome is desired by the supernatural. God can
say “NO”.)
• Magic involves arrogance, religion uses reverence.
An American Secular Pilgrimage
• If one is part of a TRUE American family, where
MUST that family make a pilgrimage sometime
before the children leave home for good?