SOCB47H3 Lecture Notes - Meritocracy, Post-Structuralism, Metanarrative
Document Summary
Valerie zawilski proposes that social inequality is inevitable in societies. There has always been structural differences, different thing affect this like opportunity and chances. In addition to inequality there has always been resistance where people push and protest, and gained rights. However sometimes social hierarchy makes us believe that things are supposed to be this way. But social structure is created by people. Power is the ability to control people, those with high status, people with influence, someone with a charismatic personality, knowledge is power (those who have the knowledge and who produces knowledge. There are a lot of power relations that affect who has the knowledge, who can receive knowledge etc. There is power within the family, workplace, schooling, political institution (any place with an authority figure. Power is socially created, it is produced rather than natural. Power is never natural, we cannot understand power without the social structure.
