Social Stratification-can be defined as structures inequalities between different groupings of people. It is useful to think of stratification as rather like the geological layering of rock in the Earth‟s surface. Societies can be seen as consisting of „strata‟ in a hierarchy, with the more favored at the top and the less privileged nearer the bottom.
The Four Basic Systems of Stratification:
1.Slavery- is an extreme form of inequality in which some individuals are literally owned by others as their property.
The legal conditions if save ownership have varied considerably between different societies.
2.Caste- is associated above all with the cultures of the Indian subcontinent. The term „caste‟ itself is not an Indian one, coming from the Portuguese casta, meaning „race‟ or „pure stock‟. Indians themselves have no single term for describing the caste system as a whole, but a variety of words referring to different aspects of it.
The two main ones being varna and jati. The varna consists of four categories, each ranked differently in terms of social honor. Below these four groupings are the „untouchables‟, those in the lowest position of all.
Brahmins represents the most elevated condition of purity. The jati are the locally defined group within which the caste ranks organized.
3.Estates-were part of European Feudalism, but also existed in many other traditional civilizations.
The feudal estates considered of strata with differing obligations and rights towards each other, some of these differences being established by law. In Europe, the highest estate was composed of the Aristocracy and gentry. The Clergy formed another estate, having lower status but possessing various distinctive privileges. The third estate were the commoners, serfs, free peasants, merchants, and artisans.
4.Class- is a large-scale groupings of people who share common economic resources, which strongly influence the type of lifestyle they are able to lead.
Why social inequality is considered as the heart of sociology?
Society -s composed of different individuals who possess different characteristics and are born in different circumstances. Thus, they have different attributes, as well as different levels of power, wealth, and prestige.
These could have adverse effects on the equality of members of a society.
And since, sociology is the study about people, thus, inequalities exist in all types of human society. Even in the simplest cultures, where variations in wealth or property are virtually non-existent, there are inequalities between individuals, men and women, the young and old.
The major classes that exist in Western societies are:
1.Upper Class- (the wealthy, employers and industrialist, plus top executives- those who own directly control productive resources).
2.Middle Class-(which includes most white-collar workers and professionals).
3.Working Class-(those in blue-collar or manual jobs).
4.Peasants- (people engaged in traditional types of agricultural production).
There are fields of Social science. These are;
Anthropology- is a behavioural science that deals with the study of culture. The components, characteristics, functions, modes of adaptation of culture as well as cultural value and practices are studied in Anthropology.
The word anthropology is derived from two Greek words “logos” which means Study and “anthropo”, which means man.
Sociology- is a behavioural science that deals with the study of society. The origin, evolution, characteristics and functions, dimensions and basic social functions are studied in sociology. The word Sociology was derived from twoterms; “logos”, which means study or science; and “socius”, which means group or partners.
Political science- It deals with the study of politics or government. it also deals with the foundations of state and the principles of government. In Political science, the way people govern themselves; the various forms of government, their structures and their relationship to other institution.
Goals of Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science.
1. Goals of Anthropology
Look at one’s own culture more objectively like an outsider.
Discover what makes people different from one another to understand and preserve diversity.
Discover what people have in common
Produce new knowledge and new theories about humankind and human behaviour.
2. Goals of Sociology
Obtain theories and principles about the society and aspects of human life.
Study the nature of humanity which leads to examining our roles in the society
Appreciate that all things are interdependent with other.
Expose our minds on the perspectives in attaining the truth.
3. Goals of Political Science
Education for citizenship.
Essential parts of liberal education.
Knowledge and understanding of government.
There are five rationales for studying Anthropology. These are follows:
Anthropology broadens your horizon and changes your perspectives.
Anthropology is relevant.
Anthropology is useful
Anthropology helps us to deal with complexity
Anthropology is interesting
There are (10)rationales for studying Sociology These are follows:
Sociology makes you a different person from the rest.
Sociology helps us understand that individuality and in dependence are highly valued in our society.
As a discipline, Sociology involves the description and explanation of social structures and processes
Sociological research also reveals the multifaceted nature of social reality, its multiple causes and multiple effects.
By studying Sociology, we can become aware of underlying social dimensions in political, economic and legal systems.
Understanding social behavior and social processes are important in a democratic country.
Sociology tell us that health is a human right.
Sociology tell us that religion and technology are also human forms of expressions.
Sociology tell us that education contributes to the development of individual’s capacitiesn for active participation in community life.
Sociology provides valuable information about race and its impact to p-resent
There are (4) Rationales for studying Political Science. They are as follows;
Political science deepens knowledge and understanding of students in the field of government and politics.
Political science trains students to develop critical skills.
Political science helps students to obtain practical knowledge and insights on political issues. It has been called “Queen Of the science.”
Political science helps the students to understand why people behave the way they do politically.
Organizations and institutions are usually considered synonymous. Yet, we have to emphasize that the two are different. An Organization refers to a formally constituted entity, composed of individuals performing a set of functions for the achievement of a certain mandate, obligation, or task. On the other hand, institution refers to a structured domain, norms, rules, and even practices that gives a sense of order to a specific set of relationship.