Sociology 3321F/G Lecture Notes - Social Class In The United States, Social Stratification, Endogamy
1 Feb 2013
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Major stratification systems: caste system a closed system based on ascribed status (birth) Nothing can be done to affect mobility and there are no chances of changing one"s social position. Such societies also recognize ritual pollution (i. e. , certain types of interaction between people of different castes are prohibited because they tend to contaminate members of the higher caste) Contrary to popular assumption, slavery was not usually based on racism, but on one of three other factors: debt, crime, war and conquest. It was extremely rare for a person to move out of this estate: class system an open system of stratification based primarily on economic and occupational roles. It is possible for individuals to rise above or fall below the position of their parents, and to marry someone of another class. Individuals tend to have some control over their class position: the american class structure:
