A Critical Introduction to Social Inequality and Institutions
Transcript of A Critical Introduction to Social Inequality and Institutions
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SOCIOLOGY I
2021: Term 2
A Critical Introduction to Social Inequality and Institutions
LECTURERS Thoko Sipungu ([email protected])
Tarryn Alexander ([email protected])
Department of Sociology & Industrial Sociology Prince Alfred Street, Makhanda, 6139, South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 46 603 8361/7544 www.ru.ac.za/sociology
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INTRODUCTIONWelcometothecourseonsocialinstitutionsandinequality!Havingmadeitthroughthefirstterm,youshouldhaveagoodunderstandingofwhatsociology is,andsomeof the issueswhichareimportanttosociologists.Thiscoursebuildsonthematerialcoveredinthepreviouscourse,soyouwillbeexpectedtoapplyyourgeneralunderstandingofsociologytotheareasunderscrutiny.Thecoursecoverstwoimportantandinter-relatedareasofsociology:socialinequalityandsocialinstitutions.Socialinequalityinvolveslarge-scaleinequalitywithinsociety.Inthiscourse,wewillfocuson class inequality, global inequality, gender inequality and racism. All these forms ofinequalityaremanifestinandtovaryingdegreesreproducedthroughsocialinstitutionsthataffectourdailylives.Forthisreason,socialinequalityandinstitutionswillbestudiedinanintegralmanner,wherebywelookateachformofsocialinequalityinconjunctionwiththeinstitutions associated with it. We also consider the interrelationship between differentforms of social inequality. The institutions that will be included in this focus are thefamily/household,theworkplace,education,familyandmedia.Oneaspectofthecoursethatmustbestressedisthatnoformofinequalityorinstitutioncanbeeffectivelystudiedinisolation.Societyisahugelycomplexandfluidentity,whichisinaconstantstateofchange,attimesweneedtoholdoneormorevariablesconstantinordertoinspectaparticularrelationship(forexample,betweeneducationandracismorbetweenadvertising,racismandsexism).Wedothis,however,withtheknowledgethatrealitycannotbeholisticallysummed-upbysuchpractices.Youwillnotice,duringthecourse,thatnoissueisleftontheshelfoncewehavedealtwithit.Issueswillkeepreappearingaswemovealong–notonlyinthiscourse,butthroughoutyoursociologycareer.Theissuescoveredinthiscoursearebothimportantandrelevanttoourunderstandingofoursociety,andwillbepresentedthroughamulti-mediaapproach,incorporatinglectures,videos, the Internet and printed material. It is hoped that you will respond by activelyengagingwiththecoursematerial,askingquestionsandopeningupconversationsonissuescovered.HOWTOPREPAREFORTHISCOURSEDueto theCOVID-19pandemic, thiscourse is tobeconducted largelyonline. If forsomereasonthepandemicisbroughtundercontrolandwecanresumeface-to-facelectures,thenwewilldoso.Therecordedvideoand/oraudiolectureswillbeuploaded,togetherwiththelectureslides,onRUconnected.MrsJuanitaFuller,ourdepartmentaladministrator,willsendyou the key. The necessary reading materials will also be uploaded on RUconnected.AssessmentsandtutorialsubmissionswillbedoneviaRUconnected/email.
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Itisinyourintereststoreadtherelevantreadingpriortoeachlecturebeinguploadedsothatyouhavesomeideaastowhatthelecturewillcover.Ifyoureadpriortothelectureyouwillrealisethatalotofthethingscoveredinthelecturesarenotnewtoyou.Youcanthendofurtherreadingaroundthesesectionsof thework.Pleasedonothesitatetocontactusshouldyouhaveanyquestionsorseekfurtherclarificationregardingthecoursematerial.Forthetutorialassignments,termessayandexaminationyouareexpectedtoknowwhathasbeencoveredinlectures,butyoualsoneedtoprovideevidenceofhavingreadrelevantsociologicalmaterial.Youwillberewardedforevidenceofreading,especiallyindependentreadingofmaterialnotrecommendedinthecourseoutline.Justmakesurethatthereadingsyou consult are froma reliable sociological source suchas apublishedbook, a sociologydepartmentwebsiteorarefereedjournalarticle.PART1:INTRODUCTIONTOSOCIALINSTITUTIONS,ANDINEQUALITY
This section introduces the course. Students will be introduced to sociological
understandingsofsocialinstitutionsandsocialinequality.Attheendofthissection,students
should be able to: (i) identify and define institutions and inequalities; (ii) distinguish
between social institutions and organisations and; (iii) should be able to determine and
explain the different types of institutions and inequalities. The following readings are
compulsory:
• Gelderblom,D.(2004).IntroductiontoSociology.Socialinstitutions,pp.2-9.Cape
Town:OxfordUniversityPress.
• Korgen,K.O.&White,J.M.(2014).Theengagedsociologist:Connectingtheclassroom
tothecommunity(fifthedition),pp.73-76.Bentley:SAGEPublications.
• Deghaye,N.,McKenzie,T.&Chirawu,P.(2014).InequalityinSouthAfrica:Atwo-part
documentonthecurrentunderstandinganddimensionsofinequalityinhealth,gender
andlivelihoods,pp.7-10.Oxford:Oxfam.(OnRUconnected).
PART2:GENDERINEQUALITYANDSEXISM
Thissectionbeginsby introducingstudents tohome/household/familyas theoldestand
mostfundamentalsocialinstitution.Themaingoalofthissectionistodemonstratetheways
in which the home, as a social institution, is deeply implicated in the creation and
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perpetuationofgenderinequalitiesinsociety.Attheendofthissection,studentsshouldbe
ableto:(i)defineandidentifyhomeasasocialinstitution;(ii)demonstrateanunderstanding
ofhowthehome,throughgendersocialisation,createsgenderinequalities;(iii)Describeand
evaluatetheways inwhichthehomereproducesgender inequalities,and;(iv)beableto
explainandapplythedifferenttheoreticaltraditionsaboutgenderinequality.Thefollowing
readingsarecompulsory:
TheFamily/HouseholdasaSocialInstitution• Gelderblom,D.(2004).IntroductiontoSociology.Socialinstitutions,pp.11-32.Cape
Town:OxfordUniversityPress.
• Rabe,M.(2014).Familyandhouseholds.In:P.Stewart&J.Zaaiman(eds.)Sociology:
ASouthAfricanintroduction,pp.227-231.CapeTown:Juta.
Home/HouseholdasthePlantationofPatriarchyandViolentMasculinities
• Hooks,B.(2004).Thewilltochange:Men,masculinity,andlove.pp.17-32.NewYork:
Beyond Words/Atria Books. (Chapter 2: Understanding patriarchy). (On
RUconnected).
• Helman, R. & Ratele, K. (2016). Everyday (in) equality at home: Complex
constructionsofgenderinSouthAfricanfamilies.GlobalHealthAction,Vol.9(1),pp.
1-5.(OnRuconnected).
GenderInequalityandOppressionintheFamily/Household• Adams,M.&Coltrane,S.(2005).Boysandmeninfamilies:thedomesticproduction
of gender, power and privilege. In:M. Kimmel. & J. Hearn, & R.W. Connell. (eds.).
Handbookofstudiesonmenandmasculinities,pp.230-248.ThousandOaks,CA:SAGE
Publications.
• Morettini, F.M. (2016). HegemonicMasculinity: How the DominantMan subjugates
otherMen,WomenandSociety.
GenderInequality:OverviewofTheoreticalContributions• Rabe,M.(2015).Gender.In:P.Stewart&J.Zaaiman(eds.)Sociology:AconciseSouth
Africanintroduction,pp.158-163.CapeTown:Juta.
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SexualViolenceandInstitutions(Home,Police,Schooling)• Wood,K.&Jewkes,R.(1998).'Loveisadangerousthing':Micro-dynamicsofviolence
insexualrelationshipsofyoungpeopleinUmtata.CERSA(Women'sHealth),Medical
Research Council. Available at: http://196.21.144.194/gender/finallove.pdf (NB:
Thisreadingisforyourassignment/tutorial)
PART3:CLASSINEQUALITY
This section introduces students to the concept of class and class inequalities. The
institutions throughwhich class inequalities are examined are themedia and the health
system.Attheendofthissection,studentsshouldbeabletoidentifyanddefineclassand
class inequality, (ii) demonstrate an understanding of Marx and Weber’s theoretical
understandingsofclass, (iii)explainandapplyRalphMiliband’s theoryof legitimation in
relationtoadvertising,and(iv)assessclassinequalitieswithinthehealthsysteminrelation
totheCovid-19pandemic.Thefollowingreadingsarecompulsory:
IntroductiontoClass
• Stewart,P.&Greenstein,R.(2015).Class.In:P.Stewart&J.Zaaiman(eds.)Sociology:
AconciseSouthAfricanintroduction,pp.197-199.CapeTown:Juta.
TheoreticalContributionstoClass:MarxandWeber
• Stewart,P.&Greenstein,R.(2015).Class.In:P.Stewart&J.Zaaiman(eds.)Sociology:
AconciseSouthAfricanintroduction,pp.199-208.CapeTown:Juta.
LegitimationandAdvertising(thepromotionofcapitalistsocialrelations)(Media)
• Miliband,R.(1973).Thestateincapitalistsociety,pp.189-195.London:QuartetBooks.
• Miliband,R.(1991).Dividedsocieties,pp.145-150.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.
ClassInequalitiesintheTimeofCovid-19(Health)
• Pretorius,E.(2015).MedicineandHealth.In:P.Stewart&J.Zaaiman(eds.)Sociology:
AconciseSouthAfricanintroduction,pp.409-411,420-423.CapeTown:Juta.
• Mahlatsi,M.(2020).Covid-19exposesclass,racialinequalitiesinSA.SowetanLive,18
March. Available at: https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2020-03-
18-covid-19-exposes-class-racial-inequalities-in-sa/
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• Jacub, A. (2020). The coronavirus and Africa: Exposing our vulnerabilities and
inequalities.Mail&Guardian,22March.Availableat:https://mg.co.za/africa/2020-
03-22-the-coronavirus-and-africa-exposing-our-vulnerabilities-and-inequalities/
(accessedon3April2020).
PART4:GLOBALINEQUALITIES
Thissectionbeginsbytracingtheoriginsanddevelopmentoftheworldcapitalistsystem
and looks at the various forceswhich resulted in a specific instantiationof capitalism in
SouthAfrica,definedas‘racialcapitalism’.Attheendofthissection,studentsshouldbeable
todescribe(i)capitalismasaglobalsystem,(ii)howthediscoveryofgoldledtoaspecific
formofracialcapitalisminSouthAfrica,(iii)theviolentattemptstodenythecultureofthose
oppressedbyracial capitalism,and(iv) theroleplayedby the institutionofeducation in
perpetuatingcolonialandclassinequalities.
Imperialism:OriginsofGlobalCapitalistExpansion
• Szymanski, A. (1979). Capital accumulation on aworld scale and the necessity of
imperialism.CriticalSociology,Vol.7(2),pp.35-53
ColonialisminSouthAfrica
• Callinicos,L.(1985).Goldandworkers.Johannesburg:RavanPress.
CulturalAssimilationandCulturalStruggle
• Biko,S.(1988).IwritewhatIlike,pp.115-119.London:Penguin.
TheoreticalApproachestoCapitalismandEducation:Functionalism,Marxismand
Interactionism
• Rugunanan,P.(2014).Education.InP.Stewart&J.Zaaiman(eds.)Sociology:ASouth
AfricanIntroduction,pp.249-250.CapeTown:Juta.
• Haralambos, M. & Holborn, M. (2008). Sociology: Themes and perspectives (7th
edition),pp.602-605.London:Collins.
Capitalism,ColonialismandEducation
• Carnoy,M. (1974).Educationas cultural imperialism, pp. 15-20,69-72.NewYork:
Longman.
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• Magubane,Z.(2004).Apigmentoftheimagination?Race,subjectivity,knowledgeand
theimageoftheBlackintellectual.In:R.O.Mabokela&Z.Magubane(eds.)Hearour
voices:Race,genderandthestatusofblackSouthAfricanwomenintheacademy,pp.
41-58.Pretoria:UnisaPress.
PART5:RACEANDRACISM
Inthissection,youwillbeintroducedtovarioussociologicalapproachestounderstandinga
crucialinequalityofmodernsociety,thatis,racism.Attheendofthissection,youshouldbe
able to (i) discuss sociological perspectives on the connection between race, racism and
modernity;and(ii)explainthenationallegacyofracialcapitalismasreflectedinpresentday
post-apartheideducationsystems.
IntroductiontoRaceandRacism
• Greenstein,R.(2014).Race.In:P.Stewart&J.Zaaiman(eds.)Sociology:ASouth
Africanintroduction,pp.173-180.CapeTown:Juta.
RacismandColonialism
• Greenstein,R.(2014).Race.In:P.Stewart&J.Zaaiman(eds.)Sociology:ASouth
Africanintroduction,pp.180-183.CapeTown:Juta.
Race,ClassandEducationinPost-ApartheidSouthAfrica
• Rugunanan,P.(2014).Education.In:P.Stewart&J.Zaaiman(eds.)Sociology:A
SouthAfricanintroduction,pp.249-250,253-265.CapeTown:Juta.
• Soudien,C.(2008).TheintersectionofraceandclassintheSouthAfricanuniversity:
Studentexperiences.SouthAfricanJournalofHigherEducation,Vol.22(3),pp.662–
678.
• Nordling,L.(2019).RacismrifeattopSouthAfricanUniversity,saysreport.Nature.
9April.Availableat:https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01129-2
FORMSOFASSESSMENT
• TutorialAssignments
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Youarerequiredtocompleteandsubmittwocompulsorytutorialassignments.Ifyoufailto
submitanassignmentwithoutavalidreasonthatwouldnecessitateaLeaveofAbsence(LOA)
certificate, youwillputyourDulyPerformed (DP) certificate in jeopardy.LOA formsare
available in the department – please consult with the departmental secretary
([email protected])inthisregard.AnapplicationforanLOAmustbeaccompanied
byrelevantsupportingdocumentation(doctor’scertificate,letterfromwarden,letterfrom
psychologist,etc.).Youmustfindoutifyourapplicationhasbeenapproved,asthegranting
ofanLOAbytheHeadofDepartmentisnotautomatic(seeHandout1fordetails).
• Tests
Therewillbetwotestsforthiscourse.Thetestsconstitute100%(each50%)oftheterm
mark(which,inturn,constitutes30%ofyouroverallmarkforthiscourse).
Test1:24May2021
Test2:14June2021
• JuneExamination
Youwillwriteanexaminationonthefirstsemester’sworkinJune.Thisexamwillcountfor
70%oftheoverallmarkforthiscourse.
Tutorial Assessment 1:
(Due date: 21 May 2021)
Beforeansweringthefollowingquestions,refertopage15ofHandout1foranexplanation
ofthetermsusedwhenphrasingquestions.Thiswillenableyoutoanswerthesequestions
adequately.Youranswersshouldnotbelongerthanoneparagraph.
1. Definesocialinstitutions.
2. Describethemainpurposeofsocialinstitutions.
3. Listfivesocialinstitutions.
4. Illustratethedistinctionbetweenasocialinstitutionandasocialorganisation.
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5. IntheIntroductiontoSociologyinthefirsttermyoulearnedaboutprimaryand
secondary socialisation. Discuss one institution responsible for primary
socialisationandoneinstitutionresponsibleforsecondarysocialisation.
6. Defineinequality.
7. Explainthedifferencebetweeninequalityandinequity.
8. Listfivetypesofinequalitiesprevalentinsociety.
9. Whenyoulearnedaboutthesociologicalimaginationinthefirstterm,youwere
introducedtothedistinctionbetweenpersonaltroublesvspublicissues.Explain
whetheryouwouldclassifygenderinequalityandtheoppressionofwomenasa
publicissueorpersonaltrouble.
10. Defineclassinthesociologicaltradition.
11. OutlineandcompareMarxandWeber’stheoriesinrelationtoclassinequality(not
morethantwoparagraphs).
12. Whichsocialinstitution,accordingtoyou,breedsclassinequalitiesinSouthAfrica
andwhy?(Oneparagraph)