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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes

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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 1 preview imageSocial Problems ina Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsonEPILOGUEHow Can Social Problems Be Solved?CHAPTER SUMMARYAttempting to reduce or solve a social problem is a complex undertaking, which typicallyinvolves many obstacles, delays, and sometimes, high costs. If the functionalist approach isapplied toreducing social problems, then maintaining the status quo, preventing rapid socialchanges, and restoring order are central factors. By contrast, the conflict perspective states thatthe root causes of social problems-such as patriarchy, capitalism, and spending priorities thatplace corporate tax breaks and military spending ahead of social services-would have to beradically altered or eliminated altogether. Feminist approaches suggest that in order to eliminatesocial problems, we need to look at the ways that oppressions are interconnected, simultaneouslydealing with our own prejudices while working with others to eliminate social injustice. Someanalysts believe we need to develop a “human agenda” that focuses on the needs of people overprofit. To create a human agenda, critical social analysis is a key foundation for effective socialaction. A shared vision, shared values and free and full participation in social life are alsonecessary components for creating critical mass.LEARNING OBJECTIVESAfter reading the Epilogue, students should be able to:1.Explain how adherents of each of four theoretical perspectives would describe socialproblems and suggest eliminating them.2.Evaluate their personal tendency toward critical social analysis and understand what thismeans.3.Begin thinking about the kind of world they hope to take part in creating.CHAPTER OUTLINEI. A REVIEW OF MAJOR SOCIAL THEORIES ON SOCIAL PROBLEMSA.Functionalist Perspectives1)According to the functionalist perspective, society is a stable, orderly systemcomposed of interrelated parts, each of which performs a function that contributesto the overall stability of society. From the functionalist perspective, socialproblems arise when social institutions do not fulfill the functions they aresupposed to perform or when dysfunctions (undesirable consequences of anactivity or social process that inhibit a society’s ability to adapt or adjust) occur.Dysfunctions create social disorganization, causing a breakdown in traditionalvalues and norms that serve as social control mechanisms.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 2 preview image
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 3 preview imageSocial Problems ina Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompson2)If the functionalist approach is applied to reducing social problems, thenpreventing rapid social changes, maintaining the status quo, and restoring orderare central factors.B.Conflict Perspectives1)Theconflict perspective is based on the assumption that conflict is natural andinevitable in society. From this approach, root causes of social problems wouldhave to be radically altered or eliminated altogether.2)To reduce social problems, conflict theorists suggest proposals that are not alwaysviewed positively in societies where economic prosperity based on individualattributes, rather than collective activities, is highly valued as a mark of personaland social achievement. The interlocking nature of racialized, class, and gender assystems of domination and subordination are also central concerns to someconflict theorists. To reduce or eliminate social problems that are embedded inracialized and ethnic relations, class relationships and gender inequalities wouldalso require dramatic changes in society.C.Interactionist Perspectives1)The interactionist perspective focuses on how people act toward one another andmake sense of their daily lives. From this approach, society is viewed as the sumof the interactions of individuals and groups. Interactionists often study socialproblems by analyzing the process whereby certain behaviour is defined as asocial problem and how individuals and groups come to engage in activities that asignificant number of people view as a major social concern.2)Theories of deviance emphasize that inadequate socialization or interacting withthe “wrong” people may contribute to deviant behaviour and crime. Similarly,interactionists who use the labeling framework for their analysis study howpeople label behaviour, how they respond to people engaged in such behaviour,and what the consequences are of their responses.D.Feminist Perspectives1)Feminist theorists concentrate on both macro and micro levels of interaction.Society is seen as a matrix of oppression, organized according to specific relationsof domination and subordination.2)Analysts study how forms of oppression work to reinforce a paradigm ofoppression, competition, and hierarchy. Radical changes in these relations,structures, and ideologies of domination and subordination are sought throughparadigm shifts.II.HOW CAN SOCIAL PROBLEMS BE SOLVED?A.According to some analysts we need to develop a human agenda that puts people’s needsand priorities before those of corporations, business and profits. In order to create ahuman agenda and solve social problems, we need to develop good social analyses,shared visions, shared values and ways for people to participate fully and freely in sociallife.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 4 preview imageCONTENTSPrefaceChapter 1: Taking a New Look at Social ProblemsChapter 2: Poverty in the Canadian ContextChapter 3: Racism and Ethnic InequalityChapter 4: Gender InequalityChapter 5: Inequality Based on AgeChapter 6: Inequality Based on Sexual OrientationChapter 7: The Sex Trade in CanadaChapter 8: AddictionsChapter 9: Crime and Criminal JusticeChapter 10: Health, Illness, and Health Care as Social ProblemsChapter 11: The Changing FamilyChapter 12: Problems in EducationChapter 13: Problems in the Globalized EconomyChapter 14: Problems Related to MediaChapter 15: Population, Urbanization, and the Environmental CrisisChapter 16: Global Social ProblemsEpilogue How Can Social Problems Be Solved?
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 5 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsoPREFACEThis Instructor’s Manual has been designed to make teaching usingSocial Problems in a DiverseSociety,Third Canadian Edition, by Diana Kendall, Vicki L. Nygaard, and Edward G. Thompsonmore interesting and enjoyable for you and your students. For your convenience, this Instructor’sManual provides you with tools for classroom discussion, assignments, and recommendations forrelated films and reading. A test bank, consisting of multiple-choice, true/false, and essayquestions is also available.The Instructor’s Manual contains the following sections for each chapter:•The CHAPTER SUMMARY briefly explains the purpose of the chapter and identifies themain themes.•The LEARNING OBJECTIVES point out the key concepts and topics that students shouldbe able to master after learning the material in the chapter.•The KEY TERMS section lists important concepts introduced in the chapter.•ACCESSING THE REAL WORLD: ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT activities are provided toassist you in preparing a variety of student learning activities that promote engagement with(1) community action, (2) theoretical analysis, and (3) media.•APPLYING CRITICAL THINKING THROUGH DISCUSSION questions are designedmainly for classroom or homework use but could also be used for testing purposes. Thequestions are designed to foster critical thinking and to assist in the development of newinsights pertaining to the causes, effects, and possible solutions for the range of socialproblems discussed in the text.•AUDIO-VISUAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION suggestions provideinformation on some, mainly current, audio-visual media that may be helpful for furtheringexploration, discussion and/or understanding of issues.•CRITICAL READINGS include just a few of the many outstanding and helpful referenceson some of the issues covered in each chapter.NOTE FROM THE AUTHORSAs the authors of the Third Canadian edition ofSocial Problems in a Diverse Societyand theaccompanying Instructor’s Manual, Test Bank, PowerPoint Presentations, and MySocKit Site, itis our hope that we have provided a text and ancillary materials that will make teaching socialproblems a rewarding experience for you and a positive learning experience for your students.Although we live in challenging times, the social problems course may appear irrelevant tostudents if it focuses on issues that students believe are unrelated to their daily lives.Consequently, we wrote the textforthe students, focusing on topics that our own students havefound interesting and relevant and using the personal narratives of realpeople to illustrate howthese concerns impact individuals, how they affect entire societies, and the importance ofapplying the sociological imagination when examining the causes, effects, and possible solutionsto the most pressing problems of the twenty-first century. Although many of the issues raised aredaunting, as people’s awareness grows, so too does our collective ability to address the issues ina humane and sustainable way. Vive!
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 6 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsonCHAPTER 1Taking a New Look at Social ProblemsCHAPTER SUMMARYSocial problemsare social conditions or patterns of behaviour that people believe warrant publicconcern and collective action to bring about change. An example of a social problem isviolence—the use of physical force to cause pain, injury, or death, or damage to property and isrelational. Social problems such as violence often involve significant discrepancies between theideals of a society and their actual achievement. Sociologists study many types of socialproblems to determine their causes, effects, and possible solutions.Sociologyis the academicand scholarly discipline that engages in systematic study of human society and socialinteractions. Using thesociological imagination, we can place seemingly personal problems intoa larger context. Sociologists make connections between personal and public issues throughmicrolevel(focused on small-group relations and social interaction among individuals) andmacrolevel(focused on socialprocesses occurring at the societal level)analysis. Sociologistsuse four primary theoretical perspectives to examine social life and social problems: (1) thefunctionalist perspective; (2) theconflict perspective; (3) theinteractionist perspective; and,(4)feminist perspectives. Microlevel, mid-range and macrolevel attempts to solve socialproblems differ considerably.At the microlevel, the interactionist perspective focuses on howindividuals operate withinprimary groupsto try to remedy a problemthat affects them, theirfamily, or friends. Mid-range attempts focus onsecondary groupsand formal organizations,looking at how they can assist individuals in overcoming problems such as drug addiction ordomestic violence. Macrolevel analysis of solutions to social problems focuses on how large-scale social institutions such as the government and the media may become involved inremedying social problems.Collective behaviour, social movements,andspecial interestgroupsare among the methods people use in their attempts to reduce social problems.LEARNING OBJECTIVESAfter reading Chapter 1, students should be able to:1.State the sociological definition of a social problem and distinguish between subjectiveawareness and objective reality of social problems.2.Distinguish between microlevel, mid-range and macrolevel analyses of social life.3.Explain the functionalist perspective on society and state how functionalist theorists believethat social problems arise.4.Explain the conflict perspective on societyand state how conflict theorists (using differentapproaches under this perspective) believe that social problems arise.5.Explain the interactionist perspective on society and state how interactionists believe thatsocial problems arise.6.Explain feminist perspectives on society and state how feminist theorists believe that socialproblems arise.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 7 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompson7.Discuss, and distinguish between, microlevel, mid-range and macrolevel attempts to reduceor solve social problems.8.Describe how sociological theories can be used to analyse social problems such as violence.9.Describe the part that primary groups and secondary groups play in reducing social problems.10.Compare and contrast grassroots groups and special interest groups, and discuss how eachseeks to bring about positivesocial change.11.Describe ways in which collective behaviour may be used to address a perceived socialproblem.12.Identify the five major categories of social movements and note the types of social problemsthat each is most likely to address.KEY TERMScapitalismprimary groupscivil disobedienceself-fulfilling prophecycollective behavioursituational approachconflict perspectivesocial changediscriminationsocial disorganizationdominant groupsocial movementfunctionalist perspectivesocial problemgrassroots groupssocietyhate crimesociological imaginationindustrializationsociologyinteractionist perspectivesubordinate grouplifestyle-routine activity approachtheorymacrolevel analysisurbanizationmicrolevel analysisvaluesnormsviolenceperspectiveCHAPTER OUTLINEI.WHAT IS A SOCIAL PROBLEM?A.Asocial problemis a social condition or a pattern of behaviour that people believewarrants public concern and collective action to bring about change.B.Social conditions or patterns of behaviour such asviolencebecome defined as socialproblems when they systematically disadvantage or harm a significant number of peopleor when they are seen as harmful by a number of “significant people” who wield power,wealth, and influence ina group or society.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 8 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsonC.Insociology, examination of social problems primarily focuses onsociety.1)Some social problems (e.g., violence and crime) are commonly viewed asconditions that affect all members of a population.2)Other social problems (e.g., racialized discrimination and sexual harassment) maybe viewed (correctly or incorrectly) as conditions that affect some members of apopulation more than others.D.Social problems often involve significant discrepancies between the ideals of society andtheir actual achievement. One example isdiscrimination(actions or practice ofdominant groupmembers that have harmful effects onsubordinate groupmembers),which heightens existing inequalities along class, racialization, gender, and age lines. Itmay be directed against subordinate group members whose sexual orientation, religion,nationality, or other characteristics are devalued by those who discriminate against them.This type of discrimination, when acted out in the form of violence, is known as ahatecrime.E.Why Study Social Problems?1)Studying social problems helps us understand the social forces that shape ourlives on both the personal and societal levels.2)We learn to take a sociological approach as opposed to a commonsense (“whateverybody knows”) approach. Many commonsense notions are “myths” and maybe widely and publicly accepted, even when erroneous.3)A sociological examination of social problems also enables us to gain newinsights into ourselves and to develop an awareness of the connection betweenourown “world” and those of other people.4)A global perspective reveals that the lives of all people are closely intertwined,that and any one nation’s problems are part of a larger global problem.II.THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND SOCIAL PROBLEMSA.Sociologists use systematic research techniques and report their findings to other socialscientists for consideration. Sociologists strive to beobjective, although completeobjectivity may not be attainable or desirable.B.According to sociologist C. Wright Mills, thesociological imaginationis the ability tosee the relationship between individual experiences and the larger society.1)The sociological imagination enables us to connect personal troubles to publicissues.2)Personal troublesare private problems of individuals and the networks of peoplewith whom they associate regularly. For example, one person’s unemployment isa personal trouble facing the individual, other family members, and friends.3)Public issuesare matters beyond a person’s control thatoriginate at the regionalor national level and can be resolved only by collective action.4)The sociological imagination helps us place seemingly personal troubles, such asbeing a victim of violence, into a larger social context and see how personaltroubles may be related to public issues.5)A clearer understanding of our situations may allow us to develop more effectiveand better preventions and interventions.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 9 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsonC.Sociologists make connections between personal and public issues in society throughmicrolevelandmacrolevel analysis. Using microlevel analysis, a sociologist mightinvestigate how fear of unemployment affects workers and their immediate families. Amacrolevel analysis might examine how globalization, and the attendant labour marketrestructuring, has impacted Canadian workers and their families.III.SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL PROBLEMSA.How Sociologists View Society1)Sociologists developtheoriesand conduct research to determine how social life isorganized. Theories help us interpretsocial reality in a distinct way by giving us aframework for organizing our observations and may allow us to describe, explainor possibly even predict social events.2)Sociologists refer to a theoretical framework as aperspective, an overall approachorviewpoint toward some subject.B.The Functionalist Perspective1)According to thefunctionalist perspective, society is a stable, orderly systemcomposed of a number of interrelated parts, each of which performs a functionthat contributes to the overall stability of society.2)These interrelated parts are social institutions (such as families, the economy,education, and the government) that a society develops to organize its mainconcerns and activities so that social needs are met. Each institution performs aunique function, the contribution that each part makes to the overall stability ofsociety and the well-being of individuals.3)Manifest and Latent Functions:Social institutions perform two different types of societal functions:manifest functions(theintended and recognized consequences of an activity orsocial process) andlatent functions(the unintended consequences of an activity orsocial process that are hidden and remain unacknowledged by participants).4)Dysfunctions and Social Disorganization:From the functionalist perspective, social problems arise when social institutionsdo not fulfill the functions they are supposed to perform or whendysfunctions(undesirable consequences of an activity or social process that inhibit a society’sability toadapt or adjust) occur.a.According to functionalists, dysfunctions in social institutions createsocial disorganization, causing a breakdown in traditionalvaluesandnormsthat serve as the social control mechanisms that, under normalcircumstances, keeppeople from engaging in nonconforming behaviour.Although values provide ideas about behaviour, they do not stateexplicitly how we should behave; normsdostate explicit rules ofbehaviour or standards of conduct.b.Social disorganization is intensified byrapid social change that disruptsthe stability of society. Early sociologists examined the relationshipbetween social problems andindustrializationandurbanizationinBritain, Western Europe, and the United States in the late nineteenth andearly twentieth centuries.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 10 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompson5)Applying the Functionalist Perspective to Problems of Violence:Functionalists provide several explanations for violence in societies. Oneapproach believes that violence arises from a condition of anomie, in which manyindividuals have afeeling of helplessness, normlessness, or alienation. Anotherfunctionalist explanation of violence is thelifestyle-routine activity approach, inwhich the patterns and timing of people’s daily movements and activities are thekeys to understanding violent personal crimes as well as other types of crime.C.The Conflict Perspective1)Theconflict perspectiveis based on the assumption that groups in society areengaged in a continuous power struggle for control of scarce resources.2)According to conflict theorists, certain groups of people are privileged whileothers are disadvantaged through the unjust use of political, economic, or socialpower. This perspective consists of a variety of related approaches that holddiffering views regarding the most important form of conflict.3)The Value Conflict Perspective:According tovalue conflicttheorists, social problems are conditions incompatiblewith group values.a.Value clashes are ordinary occurrences in families, communities, and thelarger society, where peoplecommonly hold many divergent values.Although individuals may share certain core values, they do not share allvalues or a common culture (the knowledge, language, values, customs,and material objects that are passed from person to person and from onegeneration to the next in a human group or society).b.Discrepancies betweenideal(the values and beliefs people claim theyhold) andrealculture (the values and beliefs they actually follow) are asource of social problems in all societies.4)Critical-ConflictPerspective:According tocritical-conflicttheorists, social problems arise out of majorcontradictions inherent in the way societies are organized.a.Some of these approaches focus on class inequalities resulting fromcapitalism, while others focus on inequalities based onracialization/ethnicity or gender.b.According to early German economist Karl Marx, members of thecapitalist class(thebourgeoisie) control the means of production (e.g., theland, tools, factories, and money for investment) and are atthe top of asystem of social stratification that affords them different lifestyles and lifechances from the members of theworking class(theproletariat), whomust sell their labour power (ability to work) to capitalists. In the process,the capitalists derive excessive profit from the workers’ labour.c.Marx believed that capitalism led workers to experience increased levelsof poverty andalienation, feelings of powerlessness and estrangementfrom other people and from oneself. He predicted the workerswouldeventually overthrow the capitalist economic system.5)Some critical-conflict approaches focus on racialized and gendered subordinationinstead of on class-based inequalities. Theorists who emphasize discriminationand inequality based on racializationor ethnicity note that many social problems
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 11 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompsonare rooted in the continuing exploitation and subordination of people of colourand Indigenous people by White people and White-dominant systems.6)Applying the Conflict Perspective to Problems of Violence:Critical conflict theorists believe that in capitalist societies the wealthy mayengage in some forms of violence to further their economic interests (e.g., theabuse of police or military power to protect property) whereas people living inpoverty may engage inother forms of violence as a reaction against the unjustsocial and economic conditions they experience daily.D.The Interactionist Perspective1)Theinteractionist perspectivefocuses on a microlevel analysis of how people acttoward one another and make sense of their daily lives, viewing society as thesum of the interactions of individuals and groups.2)Most interactionists study social problems by analyzing the process wherebycertain behaviour is defined as a social problem and how individuals and groupscome to engage in activities that a significant number of people view as a majorsocial concern.3)A founder of the interactionist approach, German sociologist Georg Simmel,investigated the impact of industrialization and urbanization on people’s valuesandbehaviour within small social units. He noted that rapid changes intechnology and dramatic growth of cities produced new social problems bybreaking up the “geometry of social life.”4)According to Simmel, alienation is brought about by a decline in personal andemotional contacts. How peopleinterpretsubjective messages they receive fromothers, as well as the situations they encounter in their daily life, stronglyinfluences their behaviour and their perceptions of what constitutes a socialproblem.5)Labelling Theory and the Social Construction of Reality:Other interactionists examine how people impose meanings on others. Accordingto sociologist Howard Becker,moral entrepreneursare persons who use theirown views of right and wrong to establish rules andlabelothers as deviant.a.Labelling theorysuggests that deviants are people who have beensuccessfully labelled as such by others.b.It raises questions about why some individuals and types of behaviour arelabelled deviant but others are not.c.Accordingto some interaction theorists, many social problems can belinked to thesocial construction of reality, or the process by whichpeople’s perception of reality and their subsequent reaction, if any, isshaped largely by the subjective meaning that they give to an experience.d.A related approach that some interactionists favour is thedefinition of thesituation approach,often called theThomas Theorumafter sociologistsDorothy S. Thomas and William I. Thomas. The Thomas Theroumsuggests that how people define a situation determines their reaction to it.If a situation is perceived as real, itisreal in its consequences.e.Sociologist Robert Merton has suggested that when people view asituation in a certain way and act according to their perceptions, theendresult may be aself-fulfilling prophecy.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 12 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompson6)Applying Interactionist Perspectives to Problems of Violence:a.To analyze the problem of violence, interactionists focus on socialinteraction, and note that human behaviour is learned through interaction.For interactionists, violence is a learned response, not an inherentcharacteristic.b.Interactionists also look at the types of social interactions that commonlylead to violence. Thesituational approachsuggests that violence resultsfrom a specific interaction process, termed a “situational transaction.”c.According to interactionists, reducing violence requires changing thosesocietal values that encourage excessive competition and violence.E.Feminist Perspectives1)Feminist theorists begin their analysis by pointing out that mainstream sociologicalthought and theory is bothandrocentricandEurocentric, in that most sociologicaltheory is based on the experiences, ideas, and issues of concern for males,particularly those males of European/Western extraction.2)There are no “feminist issues”per sesince every issue is a feminist issue. Whenfeminist theorists engage in analysis, they “gender” the issues under study bylooking at the differential impacts of social phenomena for men and women, andmore recently fortransgendered and/or non-gendered people as well.3)Feminist theories typically examine dynamics of power in relationships betweenindividuals, roles, and structures. This focus on power differentials is shared withconflict and Marxist theories, but feminist theories add a focus on gendered powerand patriarchy. These theories generally begin an analysis from a particular“standpoint” by examining social life from the situated vantage points of theindividuals and/or groups involved.4)A classification systemthat categorizes various feminist theories includes:a.theories of difference (men and women experience different realities);b.theories of inequality (women’s experiences are less privileged or aredisadvantaged relative to men’s); andc.or, theories of oppression (women are actively subordinated and keptdisadvantaged, both by patriarchal structures and individuals reinforcingsexist socialization and ideologies).5)Modern-day feminist theories, if they are reflexive, turn the lenses back uponthemselves. Many contemporary feminists spend a good deal of timedeconstructing the theories they favour, the underlying assumptions, theexclusions, the inclusiveness, the intersections and the impacts of the analysis.6) Applying Feminist Perspectives to Problems ofViolence:a.Feminist perspectives of violence highlight issues of dominance andpower, and suggest that inequalities between groups result in violence.They conclude that people who enjoy power and privilege likely commitas many acts of violence as those who are disenfranchised, and that maindifference between groups is that those without power aredisproportionately targeted as the perpetrators or viewed as bringing it onthemselves.b.One feminist perspective suggests that violence against women is a meansof reinforcing patriarchy. Gender stratification is reinforced by powerful
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 13 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompsonphysical, psychological, and social mechanisms of control, including forceor the threat of force. Fear of violence forces women to adapt their waysof being in and navigating thesocial world in order to ensure they are notin a position to be victimized by men.IV.SOCIAL CHANGE AND REDUCING SOCIAL PROBLEMSA.The concept ofsocial changeis important to our discussion of reducing social problems.Social change often occurs over time. Some efforts to deal with social problems areshort-termstrategies, whereas others aremiddle-termremedies, and still others constitutelong-termefforts to alleviate the root causes of a social problem. For example, efforts toalleviate individual unemployment or reduce unemployment rates in a community have adifferent temporal dimension than long-term efforts to change the political economy insuch a manner that high levels of employment and greater wage equity are brought aboutthroughout a nation or nations. Some discussions of social change sound idealistic orutopian; however, for most social problems, a combination of strategies will be requiredto reduce them (for example, unemployment would need multi-level strategies toeffectively prevent it).V.MICROLEVEL ATTEMPTS TO SOLVE SOCIAL PROBLEMSA.Seeking Individual Solutions to Personal Problems1)Microlevel analysis of solutions to social problems focuses on how individualsoperate within small groups to try to remedy a problem that affects them, theirfamily, or friends. In this case, most people turn to theirprimary groups. Primarygroups include one’s family, close friends, and other peers with whom oneroutinely shares the more personal experiences in life (such as school-or work-related peer groups).2)According to sociologists, members of our primary groups are usually there tosupport us even when others are not. Consequently, many people turn first tofamily members and friends. For example, some analysts believe that we havemany more people who are without a domicile (who are technically “homeless”)than current statistics indicate: whenever possible, homeless individuals may livewith relatives or friends, many of whom may already live in overcrowded andsometimes substandard housing. When people seek such short-term solutions topersonal troubles, most believe the situation will be temporary. However,problems that are widespread or embedded in the larger society may stretch intomonths or years without resolution. At best, individualized efforts to reduce aproblem are short-term measures, which some critics refer as the “band-aidapproach” because such efforts most often do not eliminate the causes of theproblem.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 14 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompson3)Some microlevel approaches to reducing social problems focus on howindividuals can do something about the problems they face. For example, a personwho is unemployed or among the “working poor” because of low wages, seasonalemployment, or other factors may be urged to get more education or training andwork experiencein order to find a “better” job and have the opportunity forupward mobility.VI.MID-RANGE ATTEMPTS TO SOLVE SOCIAL PROBLEMSA.Groups That Help People Cope With Their Problems1)Groups that attempt to reduce a social problem by helping individuals copewithit, or to eliminate it from their own lives, are commonplace in our society (e.g.Alcoholics Anonymous or “AA”). The basic assumption of most mid-rangeapproaches to reducing social problems is that prevention and intervention aremost effective at the personal and community levels.2)Typically, self-help groups bring together individuals who have experienced thesame problem and have the same goals-quitting the problematic behaviour. Anunderlying assumption of this approach is that some social problems can best bereduced by reaching one person at a time. Volunteers who have had similarproblems (and believe they are on the road to overcoming them) often act as rolemodels for newer members.3)Mid-range approaches may bring changes in the individual’s life; however, suchgroups typically do not systematically address the larger structural factors (suchas unemployment, work-related stress, and aggressive advertising campaigns) thatmay contribute to the problems. As a result, larger, societal interventionisnecessary to reduce the underlying problems that contribute to individualbehaviour. For example, AA typically does not lobby for more stringent lawspertaining to drunk driving or the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages.B.Grassroots Groups That Work for Community-Based Change1)Somegrassroots groupsfocus on bringing about a change that may reduce oreliminate a social problem in a specific community or region. From this approach,people learn how to empower themselves against local, provincial,territorial, andnational government officials; corporate executives; and media figures whodetermine what constitutes the “news” in their area.2)Social analysts suggest that more community dialogue is needed on social issues,and more people need to become involved in grassroots social movements.Becausesocial movementshave not become institutionalized and are outside thepolitical mainstream, they empower outsiders by offering them an opportunity tohave their voices heard.3)Grassroots organizations andother local structures are crucial to national socialmovements because these movements must recruit members and gain theeconomic resources necessary for nationwide or global social activism.Numerous studies have shown that the local level constitutes anecessary micro-foundation for larger-scale social movement activism.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 15 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompson4)Some social movements participate in what has been defined ascounter-hegemonic practiceby Canadian sociologist William K. Carroll. Counter-hegemonic practice refers to creating truealternatives to hegemony, althoughcounter-hegemonic social movements need to be aware of the movement’spotential to create new injustices by defining its own issues as “the” issues.VII.MACROLEVEL ATTEMPTS TO SOLVE SOCIAL PROBLEMSA.Working ThroughSpecial Interest Groups for Political Change1)Examples ofspecial interest groupsinclude the Canadian Labour Congress, theReform Party, and REAL Women. They are often referred to aspressure groupsorlobbies, and may be categorized on the basis of fourfactors:2)Issues.Some groups focus onsingle issues(such as abortion, gun control, orteaching acceptance for family diversity in Canadian schools); others focus onmultiple issues(such as equal access to education, employment, and health care).3)View ofthe present system of wealth and power. Some groups makeradicaldemandsthat would involve the end of patriarchy, capitalism, governmentalbureaucracy, or other existing power structures; others do not attack thelegitimacy of the present system of wealth and power but insist on specific socialreforms.4)Beliefs about elites. Some groups want toinfluenceelites (or incorporatemovement leaders into the elite); others want toreplacethe existing eliteswithpersons whom they believe share their own interests and concerns.5)Type of Political Action.There are often many different groups, all of whom donot entirely agree on the nature or extent of the problems of proposed solutions,who may try to gain recognition from elected officials or bureaucratsfor theiragendas.B.Working through National Social Movements to Reduce Problems1)Collective behaviorand national social movements are significant ways in whichpeople seek to resolve social problems. Examples of collective behavior includepublic demonstrations and riots.2)Beginning with the 1919 Egyptian revolution against British occupation, anincreasingly popular form of public demonstration iscivil disobedience. Peopleoften seek to bring about change through actions such as sit-ins, marches,boycotts, and strikes. When people refuse to abide by a policy or law andchallenge authorities to do something about it, they are demanding social changewith some sense of urgency. Sometimes referred to asprotest crowds, thesegroups engage in activities that they hope will achieve specific political goals.3)National social movements are divided into five major categories:a.Reform movementsseek to improve society by changing some specificaspect of the social structure. Environmental groups and disability rightsgroups are examples of groups of people who seek to bring about a changethat they perceive will benefit themselves and others.Activists in reformmovements typically seek to bring about change by working within theexisting organizational structures of society.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 16 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompsonb.Revolutionary movementsseek to bring about a total change in society.Examples include utopian groups and radical terrorists who use fear tacticsto intimidate and—at least briefly—gain concessions from those withwhom they disagree ideologically.Some radical terrorists may kill peoplein their pursuit of a society that more closely conforms to their ownworldview.c.Religious movements(also referred to asexpressive movements) seek torenovate or renew people through inner change. For this reason, religiousmovements are often linked to local and regional organizations that seekto bring about changes in the individual’s life. National religiousmovements often seek to persuade political officials to enact laws that willreplace or eliminate what they perceive to be social problems.d.Alternative movementsseek limited change in some aspects of people’sbehaviour and currently include a variety of “New Age” movementswhich emphasize such things as the development of a new nationalspiritual consciousness.e.Resistance movementsseek to prevent change or undo change that hasalready occurred. In public debates over social policies, most socialmovements advocating change will face resistance from the members ofreactive movements that hold opposing viewpoints and want social policyto reflect their own beliefs and values. Examples of resistance movementsinclude those which oppose same sex marriage, anti-abortion groups, suchas “Operation Rescue,” which seek to close clinics which provideabortions and to recriminalize abortion; and anti-immigrant groupsseeking to close Canadian borders to outsiders or to place harsherdemands on immigrant workers.TEACHING SUGGESTIONS FOR ACTIVE LEARNINGProfessor Kathleen McKinney, one of the recipients of the Hans O. Mauksch Award fordistinguished contributions to undergraduate sociology, is an advocate of active learning and hasprovided outstanding suggestions for classroom techniques to encourage students to do morethan simply listen to a lecture. Accordingto McKinney, active learning techniques are mostlikely to succeed when instructors prepare students in advance by providing specific objectivesfor the activities and explaining how using active learning techniques will benefit them. It isimportant to solicit student feedback afterwards in order to improve the activity in the future.Four of McKinney’s suggestions are summarized here because they are incorporated intoteaching suggestions throughout this manual:1.Think-Pair-Share:After giving students aquestion or problem to solve, give them a fewminutes to think about the problem alone. Then have them discuss their ideas with theperson sitting next to them. Finally, have student pairs share their ideas with the wholeclass or a larger group. This canbe done in any size class, including those meeting inlecture halls with permanently fixed seating.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 17 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompson2.Collaborative Learning Groups: Students work in groups to fulfill a task. Each groupchooses a leader and someone to take notes, and the group presentsa response or a paperto the entire class. This requires flexibility in classroom space or having some otherlocation or time when students can confer with each other.3.Analysis or reaction to videos:Before showing a video, prepare students with questionsor ideas on which to focus. After the video, ask them to answer the questions or write areview or reaction, applying sociological concepts and perspectives. Have the studentspresent their ideas to the class.4.Student debates:Having students prepare for and present debates on the social issuesdiscussed in the text and in class provides an outstanding opportunity to expose them tomore than one viewpoint. Students should be given advance assignments, suggestedresources, and a game plan for how toapproach the debates so they can take a position,gather data, and support their viewpoints.Kathleen McKinney, Sociology, Illinois State University,Normal, Il, kmckinne@ilstu.eduACCESSING THE REAL WORLD: ACTIVEENGAGEMENT WITHPROBLEMS RELATED TO VIOLENCEFocus on Community ActionHave a class discussion about prevention and intervention strategies for reducing youth violenceand gang participation in your community.Although people have initially laughed at ideassuchas midnight basketball,bowling, or dances,some social analysts believe that activities such asthis keep some young people out of trouble.What other types of activities and training might beuseful in reducing youth-related violence inthecommunity?Separate students in to smallgroups and have studentsinvestigate the current programs in placeto deter youth from engaging in violence. Have these programs or initiatives been effective intheir communities? Why or why not? Next, have themdevelop a set of suggestions forprograms that might provide other opportunities for young people or activities that mighthelpyouth make better life choices.What resources would be necessary to bring such programs intobeing? How would the costs of these programs compare with the cost of processing peoplethrough the justice system and following up with young offenders?Each group should prepare asmall report on their findings and share it with the rest of the class.Focus on Theoretical AnalysisBased on Chapter One or other information you might wish to provide to students, have the classdecideon asocial problem(such as youth violence)they would like to analyze during the nextclass meeting. Set up four collaborative learning groups and determine which group will be the“experts” oneach of the major theoretical perspectives. Students should bring notes to turn in totheir note-taker on the following: (1) key factors involved in the theoretical perspective, (2) howthat approach might explain the social problem under consideration, (3) how that approach might
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 18 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompsonsuggest resolving the problem, and (4) major strengths and weaknesses of the theoreticalperspective as applied to that problem.Have students meet in their collaborative learning groups for about 20-30 minutes (depending onthe length of your class) to compile their notes and prepare a presentation for the entire class.Then, ask group leaders to appoint other people in their group to do various aspects of thepresentation, so that other members do not become dependent on the leader doing most of thegroup’s work and talking.Focus on Media EngagementAsk students to do a content analysis of television programs such as Saturday morning cartoons,prime-time police and hospital shows, college and professional sporting events, andInternetwebsites which are likely to depict violent acts. Also have students go to web sites such as MediaWatch(http://www.mediawatch.com) and Media Awareness Network (www.media-awareness.ca) to get the latest “Television and Internet Statistics” on how many hours childrenspend watchingtelevisionand surfing the Internetand what perceptions they have about violenceinmedia. For example, a2005 Canadian study found this in regard to children and Internetusage:•Almost one-third of the 50 favourite Web sites listed by kids incorporate material that isviolent (28 percent) orhighly sexualized (32 percent). Kids in Grades 8 and 9 include thesesites in their list offavourites most frequentlyvisited.•Two sites that appear in the top four most popular sites with students in Grades 8 to 11–NewgroundsandeBaumsworld–contain mature content. These sites also appear on the listof favourites for Grade 6 and 7 students.Students should take note of the frequency of violent acts on television programs and theInternet. As well, they should write about the gendered, racialized and class dimensions of eachviolent act depicted. Were they surprised with their findings? Why or why not?Have studentsbring their notes on what they observedon the television and Internetso they can shareinformation withthe rest of the class.APPLYING CRITICAL THINKING THROUGH DISCUSSION1.How can the sociological imagination help us as we deal with social problems that affect uspersonally? What kinds of insights might advanced sociological training provide for a personwho wants to engage in problem solving in politics, government, education, the military, orother social organizations and institutions?2.Has Canada’s adoption of harsher penalties for people convicted of hate crimes had anyimpact for victims or perpetrators? What, if any, impacts might these penalties have had sofar?
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 19 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompson3.Some critical-conflict theorists believe that social problems arise from the majorcontradictions inherent in capitalist economies. What roles does violence play in a capitalisteconomy?4.How might labelling theory work with the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy to increaseor decrease the life chances of a youth who is suspected of committing a deviant act?5.Some feminist theorists suggest that the use of violence against women is one way that menuse to maintain and reinforce patriarchal oppression throughout society. Construct argumentsthat support and/or refute this position.6.Suppose that you were given the economic resources and political clout to reduce a majorsocial problem. Which problem would you choose? What steps would you take to alleviatethe problem? How would you measure your success or failure in reducing or eliminating theproblem?7.Do governments at all levels in Canada listen to their constituents about social issues? Whatevidence can you find to support that they do or do not? Why is the situationthe way it is?AUDIO-VISUAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER EXPLORATIONAfrican Canadian Issues Collection—This 5-part collection of NFB titles illustrates that there isa life beyond the streets for inner city youth. A gritty focus on the serious problems of poverty,drug abuse, violence and street gangs. 2006. Varying clip lengths. National Film Board ofCanada,www.nfb.ca.Charting New Waters: Responding to Violence against Women with Disabilities—This is a videoand a study guide about violence against womenwith disabilities. 1996. 38 mins. National FilmBoard of Canada,www.nfb.ca.Cheating Death—This documentary tells the story of a young Toronto man and the littleunderstood world of guns, gangs and drugs. 2004. 24 mins. National Film Board of Canada,www.nfb.ca.Cultivating Peace in the 21st Century—The four films inCultivating Peace in the 21st Centuryprovide teachers with tools to engage students to search for a “culture of peace” in our homes,schools, neighbourhoods and global communities. 2002.100 mins. National Film Board ofCanada,www.nfb.ca.Exiles in Lotusland—This video is gritty look a the life of Canadian youth living on the edge,suicide and “street kid” culture. 2005. 71 mins. National Film Board of Canada,www.nfb.ca.It’s a Girl’s World—This film looks at bullying and social power in a clique of 10 year old girls.2004. 54 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 20 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsonKids inJail—This partially animated documentary shares the experiences of several incarceratedyouths as theyreflect upon their lives, on what led to incarceration and on their futures. 2008. 57mins. National Film Board of Canada,www.nfb.ca.Still Longshots—This documentary follows four “at-risk” young people through a weekend longvideo making workshop. 2007. 52 mins. National Film Board of Canada,www.nfb.ca.The Line—A young woman is raped when a one-night stand far from home goes terribly wrong.In the aftermath, as she struggles to make sense of what happened, she decides to make a filmabout the relationship between her own experience and the tangle of political, legal, and culturalquestions that surround issues of sex and consent. 2010. 24 mins. Media Education Foundation,www.mediaed.org.Tough Guise: Violence,Media, & the Crisis in Masculinity—While the social construction offemininity has been widely examined, the dominant role of masculinity has until recentlyremained largely invisible.Tough Guiseis the first educational video geared towardsystematically examiningthe relationship between pop-cultural imagery and the socialconstruction of masculine identities in the U.S. at the dawn of the 21st century. 1999. 82 mins.Media Education Foundation. www.mediaed.org.CRITICAL READINGSAgnew, Vijay (Ed.). 2009.Racialized Migrant Women inCanada: Essays on Health, Violence,and Equity.Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.Blyth, Maggie and Enver Solomon (Eds.). 2009.Prevention and Youth Crime: Is EarlyIntervention Working?Bristol, UK: Policy Press.Carroll, William K. (Ed.). 1997.Organizing Dissent: Contemporary Social Movements in Theoryand Practice.Toronto, ON: Garamond Press.Jiwani, Yasmin. 2006.Discourses of Denial: Mediations of Race, Gender and Violence.Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.Johnson, Allan G. 1991.The Forest for the Trees: An Introduction to Sociological Thinking.Toronto, ON: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.Kutner, Lawrence. 2008.Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth about Video Games andWhat Parents Can Do.Toronto, ON: Simon and Schuster.Mills, C. Wright. 1959.The Sociological Imagination.New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Minaker, Joanne C. and Bryn Hogeveen. 2009.Youth, Crime and Society: Issues of power andJustice.Toronto, ON: Pearson Prentice Hall.Schneider, Steven. 2009.Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada.Mississauga, ON: J.Wiley and Sons Canada.Totten, Mark D. 2001.Guys, Gangs, and Girlfriend Abuse.Peterborough, ON: Broadview PressLtd.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 21 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsonCHAPTER 2Poverty in the Canadian ContextCHAPTER SUMMARYCanadians believe they live in ameritocracy, where success is possible for anyone who workshard enough. Many Canadians, along with more than 1.3 billion people worldwide live inabsolute povertytoday,a life threateningcondition. In fact, more than 600 million peopleglobally suffer from chronic malnutrition, an estimated 40 million of which die each year fromhunger-related conditions.Social stratificationrefers to the hierarchical arrangement of largesocial groups based on their control over basic resources. Stratification in Canada—which isbased on theclass system—is linked with global systems of stratification that affect people’slifechances. A person’s position in a class system isdetermined by thewealth, power,andprestigethat the person has. Stratification also exists on a global basis. Among the aspects of theCanadian class system that sociologists study are the classes themselves and the unequaldistribution of people—by age, racialization/ethnicity, gender, and household composition—across those class divisions. Sociologists also study the consequences of living in poverty,including poor health and nutrition, housing, and education. Explanations for poverty includeindividualistic, cultural, and structural.LEARNING OBJECTIVESAfter reading Chapter 2, students should be able to:1.Analyse poverty in Canada within a global context.2.Understand wealth and income inequalities, with particular emphasis on understandingthesituations of the lower classes in Canada.3.Describe the situation of poverty in Canada, and be able to differentiate between relative andabsolute poverty.4.Discuss the consequences of poverty for people in Canada with regard to health, nutritionand housing.5.Critically analyse how Canada deals with poverty.6.Explain the system of social welfare in Canada and demonstrate how neoliberal policies haveimpacted the Canadian welfare state since the 1970s.7.State the individual, cultural, andstructural explanations of poverty, and explain whysociologists prefer structural explanations.8.Discuss various ways that poverty can be reduced in Canada including being able to criticallyexamine proposed poverty reduction strategies.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 22 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsonKEY TERMSabsolute povertylife chancesrelative povertyblaming the victimmeritocracysocial stratificationcultural capitalpoverty ratewealthfeminization of povertypowerwelfare stateincomeprestigeCHAPTER OUTLINEI.POVERTY IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVEA.Canadians view themselves as living in ameritocracy. But do all people in this nationsand other part of the world really have an equal opportunity for success? What kinds ofinequalities exist in the Canadian and worldwide class system today? Sociologists studyinequality and poverty in aclass system.A primary characteristic of the class system issocial mobility, the upward or downward movement in the class structure that occursduring a person’s lifetime and from one generation to another.B.Comparisons between nations reflect the growing gap between the rich and the poor, bothwithin and among nations.C.Disparity in life chances between high-income and low-income nations also is apparent.1)Today, more than 1.3 billionpeople live inabsolute poverty,which is often lifethreatening, as when people suffer from chronic malnutrition or die from hunger-related diseases.2)Over 600 million people suffer from chronic malnutrition; 40 million annually diefrom hunger-related diseases.II.ANALYZING INEQUALITY IN CANADAA.One of this country’s most persistent social problems is that Canada has a high degree ofsocial stratification. Today, the gap between the rich and the poor in this nation is widerthan it has been for decades. Throughout the world, the wealthiest and poorest people areliving in increasingly separate worlds. The widening gap between rich and poor has adramatic impact on everyone’s life chances. As one might predict, affluent peopletypically have better life chances than the less affluent.B.Most contemporary research on class is influenced by the theories of Karl Marx and MaxWeber, and more recently by modifications to these theories by sociologists like ErikOlin Wright.1)Marx’smeans of productionmodel:capitalist societies are divided into twoclasses—the capitalist class (bourgeoisie) that owns the means of production andthe working-class (proletariat) that sells its labour power to the capitalists.According to Marx, inequality and poverty inevitablyresult from the exploitationof the workers.2)Weber’smultidimensional model:economic factors are important in determiningclass location and studying social inequality, but other factors also are important.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 23 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsonThe model focuses on the interplay ofwealth,power, andprestigeasdeterminants of people’s class position.3)Wright modified Marx’s and Weber’s models so that placement in the classstructure is based on four criteria (1) ownership of the means of production(capitalist class); (2) employing others (managerial class); (3) supervising otherson the job (small business class); and (4) being employed by someone else(working class).C.Wealth and Income Inequality1)The richest Canadian in 2009, Kenneth J. Thomson, has a net worth of $13 billion(USD) or approximately $15 billion dollars, Canadian. The vast majority ofCanadians will never amass even a fraction of this type of wealth, however evenbillionaires lose money–in 2009 the average net worth of billionaires worldwidewas down 23%.2)The face of poverty is increasingly diverse with regard to family type, as moreCanadians experience layoffs, lack of real wage gains, and reduced work hours.3)Wealth is a particularly important indicator of individual and family access to lifechances.4)Incomeis extremelyunevenly divided in Canada. The gap between the richestand poorest Canadian households continues to widen. In 2003, the highest quintilehad 46.5% of all the income while the lowest quintile had 4.3%.D.The Canadian Lower Classes1)The lower class in Canadamakes up about 20% of the population. It is comprisedof the working poor and the chronically poor.2)The working poor comprise those who work full-time in positions such asunskilled labour, seasonal or migrant agricultural jobs, or the lowest-paid servicesector jobs, but still remain at the edge of poverty.3)Although the poor constitute between 11 and 16 percent of the Canadianpopulation, depending on the measures used, they receive only about 5 percent ofthe overall Canadian income.4)Minimum wages in Canada do not function to keep Canadians out of poverty anymore, even if people work full time, full year.5)Overrepresented in these lower classes are people who are unable to work becauseof age or disability and lone-parent female head of households, along with theirdependent children.III.POVERTY IN CANADAA.The fact that Canada is such a wealthy nation, but one in which such a high proportion ofthe population lives in low income and poverty situations, has made Canada the target ofinternational criticism, particularly by the United Nations.B.There are between 150,000 and 300,000 homeless people living in Canada, includingthenew poor,families, women, new Canadians, children and students.C.People living in poverty face two critical issues–housinginsecurity and food insecurity.There is a dearth of affordable housing in Canada. People must often chose between aroof over their heads or food in their bellies. Further, being employed does not preventpeople from needing to access food banks: in 2008,14.5% of people who accessed
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 24 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompsonincreasing numbers of Canadian food banks were employed. Food banks feed an averageof 700,000 Canadians, approximately 40% of whom are children, each month.D.While the past decade demonstrated strong economic growth (prior to the recentrecession), governments continued to make severe cuts to social programs.E.Sociologists distinguish betweenabsolute povertyandrelative poverty. Canada has ahighpoverty ratecompared with other advanced industrial nations. The number offamilies who live below the unofficial poverty (LICO) line in Canada increasedthroughout the 1980s and 1990s, although since 1996, the numbers have droppedmarginally each year, signifying better overall economic conditions in the late 1990s andinto the 2000s for some groups of people (prior to the most recent recession).F.The Canadian Poverty Line: LICOs1)Though there is no established formal “poverty line,” the Canadian government,through Statistics Canada, has established a low-income cut-off line that iscommonly used to measure poverty in Canada.2)A Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) line allows us to see how many people in Canadaspend significantly more than the average on the necessities of life, as well asseeing how low below the cut-off some people live.3)LICOs are not measures of poverty, although they are typically used as such, asthey do indicate relative circumstances for citizens.4)The lack of a formal governmental measure of poverty suggests that the Canadiangovernment does not wish to officially recognize that poverty is a significant andongoing issue in Canada.G.Consequences of Poverty1)Health and Nutritiona.Good nutrition, which is essential to good health, depends on the foodpurchased, and when people are poor, they are more likely to purchasecheap but filling foods that may not meet all daily nutritionalrequirements. Poor children are especially at risk.b.Increasing numbers of people annually are relying on food banks to meettheir needs. Approximately 40 percent of food bank users are children.c.Rural food banks serve more children and seniors than urban food banksdo and rural food banks make up nearly one half of the nation’s foodbanks.d.The nutritional content of food bank hampers is dubious and at best,provides only five days food. Most foodbanks only allow once per monthaccess to a hamper.e.Nutritional analysis of the food bank hamper contents demonstrates thatdonated goods do not meet basic nutritional requirements. Unsurprisingly,40% of children living in poverty consume significantlyless than therecommended guidelines for caloric and nutritional intake.2)Housinga.Many regions of Canada lack affordable housing and has reached crisisproportions.The problem is even greater for individuals and familiesliving in poverty because the number of low-cost housing units isdecreasing and being replaced by expensive condominiums through aprocess of “gentrification.”
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 25 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompsonb.When low-income housing is available, it may be located in high-density,often over-crowded areas. The housing oftenhas inadequateheating/plumbing facilities, insect and rodent infestation, and dangerousstructural problems due to faulty construction or lack of adequatemaintenance.c.24% of Canadians in 2001 and 30% of food bank users in 2001 spent morethan 30%of their gross income on shelter, a situation that puts them at riskfor homelessness.d.In recent years, increasing rates of homelessness reflect one of the mostdevastating effects of poverty. The composition of the homelesspopulation has shifted to include many more families, young children,youth, and elderly. At least one-third of de-housed people in Canada todayare families and one-third are youth, aged 16-24. One of every sevenshelter users in Canada is a child.H. How Canada Deals with Poverty1)In Canada, as part of an overall retrenchment of government programs andservices, structural poverty is dealt with as though it is an individual problem.Rather than examine ways of eliminating poverty or dealing with poverty at asocietal level, weoffer temporary assistance, not through our governments, butthrough charity--both through individual charity and through charitableorganizations.2)Canada had zero food banks in 1980 and today has thousands–a clear measure ofwelfare state retrenchment.3)Despite overall economic growth in the 1990s, poverty did not decrease on par.Further, the current recession has significantly and negatively impacted thosemost vulnerable. We continue to temporarily fund shelters and food banks asthough the problemsassociated with poverty in our nation were fleeting. Statewelfare programs, such as Employment Insurance (EI) and Social Assistance,continue to be retrenched, resulting in heightened risks of poverty for income-insecure individuals.IV.SOCIAL WELFARE IN CANADAA.Canada, like many other advanced capitalist nations, is awelfare state. Most benefits ofthe Canadian welfare state are taken for granted by most Canadians. Under the mantle ofthe welfare state come all our social programs, such as universal health care, education,pension plans, worker’s compensation, minimum wage, employment standards,environmental regulations, health and safety standards, social or income assistance, andchild tax benefits, to name a few.B.The modern welfare state, or Keynesian welfare state, came into existence in Canadafollowing World War II. One of the unintended, but useful, consequences of the welfarestate has been to ameliorate the worst contradictions created by capitalism’s normal “ebband flow” cycle.C.In the early 1970s, capitalism shifted from a national to an international economicsystem; in short, capitalism became global. Capitalist enterprises were no longer relianton the purchasing power of any particular nation-state when a whole world was now the
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 26 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/Thompsonmarket. Under various trade agreements, capitalists sought to level or “harmonize” socialand economic policies between nations so as to facilitate easier, and more profitable,trade.V.PERSPECTIVES ON POVERTY AND CLASS INEQUALITYA.The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective1)Symbolic interactionists examine poverty from the perspective of meanings,definitions, and labels. Workfare programs for social assistance recipients arebased on individualistic explanations for poverty. Most sociologists, however, feelthat individual explanations of poverty amount toblaming the victim.2)Symbolic interactionists are also interested in what it means to people to be poorand the impact of stigma on people’s self-concepts. Some researchers havefocused on how cultural background affects people’s values and behaviour.a.According to the much criticized “culture of poverty” thesis, some, but notall, poor people develop a self-perpetuating system of beliefs and values(e.g., inability to defer gratification or plan for the future,feelings ofapathy, hostility, and suspicion, and deficient speech/ communicationpatterns) that keeps them poor. This thesis has been critiqued aspaternalistic, based on stereotypes, and simply incorrect.b.More recent cultural explanations of poverty have focused on the lack ofcultural capital: low-income people do not have adequate cultural capitalto function in a competitive global economy. This approach has beencritiqued as victim blaming.B.The Structural Functionalist Perspective: Structural explanations for poverty focus on themacrolevel organization of society that an individual alone cannot change.1)According to functionalists, social inequality serves an important function insociety because it motivates people to work hard to acquire scarce resources, butchanges in the economy have dramatically altered employment opportunities.2)Functionalists also assert that it is functional to maintain a pool of more desperateworkers in order to fill the occupations that no one wants to do. Though this maybe “functional” for some perhaps, it is likely problematic for those who are forcedto work in unfavourable conditions for low wages.3)Poverty as an industry may be seen as functional for those who work within it(e.g. financial assistance workers).C.The Conflict Perspective1)Conflict theorists suggest that poverty is a side effect of capitalism. Corporatedownsizing and new technologies have enhanced capitalists’ profits andcontributed to the impoverishment of middle-and low-income workers bycreating a reserve army of unemployed people whom the capitalists use as asource of cheap labour and a means to keep other workers’ wages low.2)Corporations’ (shareholders) intense quest for profit results in low wages forworkers, a wide disparity in the life chances of affluent people and poor people,and the unemployment and impoverishment of many people. Conflict between thecapitalists and the workers has, in part, been ameliorated in past decades bywelfare state programs like EI or social assistance.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 27 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsonD.Feminist Perspectives1)Many feminist perspectives on poverty or class inequality focus on the genderedcharacter of stratification and poverty. Most of the people living in poverty arewomen and children. This is known as the “feminization of poverty.”2)In the foundational work for socialist feminism, Engels theorized that the fact ofprivate property was at the heart of patriarchy. Where private property is important(in capitalism), ensuring “legitimate” offspring to inherit this property is vital. Inorder to ensure aman’s children were his own, monogamy and the subjugation ofwomen became necessary. For Engels, this was “the world-historical defeat ofwomen.” Some critique this analysis for being too deterministic.3)More recently, instead of seeing women and men as oppositional classes, scholarshave analyzed the variety of ways that gender, racialization, and class intersectwithin a capitalist economic system, recognizing the complexities in an analysisof who is poor and who is wealthy, who is an oppressor and who is oppressed.VI.HOW CAN POVERTY BE REDUCED?1)Analysts who focus on individual causes for poverty typically suggest that low-income and poverty-level people should change their attitudes, beliefs, and workhabits if they want to get out of poverty.2)People who believe poverty is culturally based suggest that poverty can bereduced by enhancing people’s cultural capital (e.g., we should develop morejobtraining and school enrichment programs to enhance people’s cultural capital andcounteract negative familial and neighbourhood influences).3)Although some structural solutions suggest that poverty can be eliminated only ifcapitalism is abolished and a new means of distributing valued goods and servicesis established, others state that poverty can be reduced by the creation of a societywhere wealth is distributed more equitably.4)In a recent (2008) poll, 90% of Canadians felt that Canada needs strong politicalleadership to reduce poverty and that Canada needs a proper poverty reductionplan now.5)Povertyreduction plans that have been successful in jurisdictions outside Canadahave included the following characteristics: targets and timelimes; accountability;comprehensiveness; a focus on marginalized groups; and communityinvolvement.ACCESSING THE REAL WORLD: ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITHPROBLEMS RELATED TO POVERTYFocus on Community ActionHave a class discussion on the geography of public and private space in the student’scommunity. How are homeless people and people living in poverty affected by thedivision ofprivate and public space?
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 28 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsonNext,have the students design a short questionnaire pertaining to attitudes and beliefs aboutpovertyand publicversusprivate space. Suggest that theyinvestigatepopular stereotypes aboutpoverty, welfare, and welfare recipients. Students should administer the survey to other students,co-workers, or acquaintances and compile their results.After that have students go out andspeak with someone who is actually homeless or living in absolute poverty. Have the studentsfind out the person’s life story and how the division of public and private space affects her or hislife.Ask students toprepare a report anddiscuss their findingswith the rest of the class.How closelydothe answers given by their non-representative samplein the survey they administeredcorrespond to the facts presented in the text? Were they surprised with the information theyfound from talking to de-housed people? Did any of their attitudes or beliefs change as a resultof interviewing people in poverty?Focus on Theoretical AnalysisDivide the class into four collaborative learning groups (or 8 if the class is very large) andhavemembers of each group serve as experts on how functionalists, conflict theorists, feminists, orinteractionists explain poverty and how they would go about reducing or eliminating the growinggap between the rich and the poor in this country.Each group should choose political leaders(e.g. Stephen Harper, Gordon Campbell) or community organizations (e.g. Women’s ResourceCentres, Churches) that represent the sociological theory they have been assigned.One person from each group will be elected to participate in a political forum on poverty, roleplaying the political leader or community organization that ismost closely aligned with theirassigned sociological theory. The rest of the students will be tasked with asking challengingquestions for each political and community leader about how they explain inequality and how itcould be eliminated, making sureto include relevant information from each sociological theory.Was it possible to get consensus on how the issues of poverty, homelessness and inequalityshould be dealt with?Why or why not?Focus on MediaEngagementHave the classwatch at least three different “reality television” showsthatdepicthow wealth,power, prestige, and povertyinfluence people’s lives (Some good examples:Laguna Beach, Jonand Kate Plus 8, COPS, To Serve and Protect, What Not To Wear, Clean Sweep, Pimp My Ride,The Swan,Survival of the Richest, Brat Camp, The Simple Life, The Hills, The Rich Girls).Ifstudentsdo not have access to cabletelevision,they can use a website such aswww.tvshack.netorwww.episodecentral.comto watch streaming video ofrealitytv.Students should then prepare a brief report on what they have found, focusing on the visualimages, language used, subliminal messages, intended audience of each program. How dothesesupposed “reality television” shows influence our perceptions about poverty? Do they accuratelyreflect the reality of how wealth, power, prestige, and poverty influence people’s lives? Haveeach student provide a synopsis for their ownreal“reality television” show that would moreaccurately reflect the daily lives of both people living in poverty and with wealth. They shouldshare their “reality television” show ideas with the rest of the class.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 29 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsonAPPLYING CRITICAL THINKING THROUGH DISCUSSION1.Why do Canadians persist in their belief in Canada as a meritocracy? What evidence exists tosupport that view and what evidence exists to the contrary?2.Why are racialization/ethnicity, class, age, and gender important concerns for sociologistswho studysocial stratification and poverty in Canada and other nations?3.What suggestions can you make for alleviating the problems associated with the feminizationof poverty in this country?4.What will happen in Canada if the rich continue to get richer and the poor continue tobecome increasingly impoverished?5.Why does Canada not have a formal measure of poverty? Would having an official measurechange our approach to poverty in Canada? If yes, how?6.How do individual, cultural, and structural explanations for poverty differ? Whichexplanation best fits poverty in Canada? Why?7.If Canada implemented a poverty reduction strategy such as the one outlined in the chapter,what impact would that have on poverty? Why do you think Canada has not adopted this orany other similar strategy?AUDIO-VISUAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER EXPLORATIONA Call to Action—This film follows one activist through one of Toronto’s poorestneighbourhoods, funding cuts, housing shortages and political activism through OCAP.2004. 12 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca.A Far Cry from the Beach—A Swiss priest brings hope to the inhabitants of a squatter settlementliving in poverty in Sao Paulo. 18 min. 1993. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca.Capitalism: A Love Story—Examines the impact of corporate dominance on the everyday livesof Americans (and by default, the rest of the world). 120 mins. 2009. Overture Films andParamount Vantage.Come on Down: Searching for the American Dream—A Canadian man’s road trip into theheartof the American Dream. 2004. 45 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca.Neighbourhood Deliveries—A look at poverty in one of Montreal’s most impoverished areas,Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. 2006. 52 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 30 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsonSalvation—This documentary portrays the front-line street workers who serve the needy underthe umbrella of the Salvation Army. 2001.51 mins.National Film Board of Canada,www.nfb.ca.Them That’s Not—This video puts a human face on the statistics relating to women and poverty.54 min. 1993. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca.Turbulences—This film highlights the unprecedented power of the financial markets and thethreat they pose to democracy. 52 min. 1998. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca.Voices from the Shadows—This film examines Canada’s inequitable, often punitive, welfaresystem. 1992. 77 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca.Winning—This film tracks six Canadian lottery winners to see how their lives have changed, forbetter or for worse. 2004. 56 mins. National Film Board of Canada, www.nfb.ca.CRITICAL READINGSBeckett,Katherine and Steve Herbert. 2010.Banished: The New Social Control in UrbanAmerica.New York: NY: Oxford University Press.Crowe, Cathy.2007.Dying for a Home: Homeless Activists Speak Out.Toronto, ON: Betweenthe Lines.Hermer, Joe and Janet Mosher (Eds.). 2002.Disorderly People: Law and the Politics ofExclusion in Ontario.Halifax, NS: Fernwood Publishing.Kazemipur, Abdolmohammad and Shiva S. Halli. 2000.The New Poverty in Canada: EthnicGroups and Ghetto Neighbourhoods.Toronto, ON: Thompson Publishing Inc.Mirchandani, Kiran and Wendy Chan. 2007.Criminalizing Race, Criminalizing Poverty:Welfare Fraud Enforcement in Canada.Halifax, NS: Fernwood Publishing.Naiman, Joanne. 2008.How Societies Work: Class, Power and Change in a Canadian Context(Fourth Edition).Halifax, NS; Fernwood Publishing.Olsen, Gregg M. 2002.The Politics of the Welfare State: Canada, Sweden, and the UnitedStates.Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.Seccombe, Karen. 2007.Families in Poverty.New York, NY: Pearson Education Inc.Shragge, Eric. 1997. “Workfare: An Overview” inWorkfare: Ideology for a New Under-Class.Eric Shragge (Ed.). Toronto,ON: Garamond Press. Pgs. 17-34.Swanson, Jean. 2001.Poor-Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion.Toronto, ON: Betweenthe Lines.
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Social Problems In A Diverse Society, Third Canadian Edition Lecture Notes - Page 31 preview imageSocial Problems in a Diverse Society, 3CeKendall/Nygaard/ThompsonCHAPTER 3Racism and Ethnic InequalityCHAPTER SUMMARYRacialized and ethnicdiscriminationare among the most divisive social problems facingCanada. Aracialized groupis a category of people who have been characterized as a group onthe basis of arbitrarily chosen physical characteristics such as skin colour, hair texture, or eyeshape. By contrast, anethnic groupis a category of people distinguished, by others orthemselves, on the basis of cultural or nationality characteristics. Racialization andethnicityoften form the basis of ranking betweenmajority(ordominant)group members, who areadvantaged and have superior resources and rights, andminority(orsubordinate)groupmembers, who are subjected to unequal treatment by the dominant group.Prejudiceis a set ofnegative attitudes toward members of another group simply because they are members of thatgroup; it is rooted inethnocentrism, the assumption that one’s own group and way of life aresuperior to all others. Negative ethnocentrism ismanifested instereotypesandadversely affectsmany people.Some symbolic interactionists emphasizeracialized socialization, a process ofsocial interaction that contains specific messages and practices concerning one’s racialized orethnic status. Twofunctionalist perspectives,assimilationandethnic pluralism, focus on howmembers of subordinate groups become a part of the mainstream. Conflict theorists, on the otherhand, analyze racialized and ethnic inequality from class perspectives in terms ofinternalcolonialismorracial formation theory. Anti-racist feminists analyzegendered racism, theinteractive and interlocking effect of racism and sexism. Their theorizing differs from manymainstream feminist theorists, challenging the notion of a common experience that all womenshare under capitalism, and it focuses on the specific ways that class, gender, racializationandethnicity play out as interconnections.LEARNING OBJECTIVESAfter reading Chapter 3, students should be able to:1.Define “race,” racialization and ethnicity and explain their social significance, currently andhistorically.2.Explain the sociological use of the terms majority group and minority group and note howthese terms can be misleading.3.Discuss the concept of internalized dominance and list the many privileges that Whitenessconfers on people in Canada.4.Explain why stereotyping and generalizing are not the same thing and discuss which one ismore harmful and why.5.Discuss the differences between prejudice anddiscrimination and be able to distinguishbetween individual and institutional discrimination.6.Discuss the many forms of racism in Canadian society, including democratic racism.7.Discuss the differences between racism and anti-Semitism.
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