Ways of organizing societies:
All Societies: Kinship and Marriage
Other Ways: Help deal with other problems
�Gender
�Age
�Common interest
�Class or social rank
Grouping by Gender:
Separate men & women:
�to varying degrees in different societies
�Men & Women may be together a lot
�Or mostly apart (even eating & sleeping)
Example of Grouping by Gender:
In Old Salem Single brothers and single sisters houses;
Use kinship terms such as brother and sister
Gender-based Groups
�Gender roles often
reflected & reinforced
through myths, dances,
etc.
�Men or women may
have secret knowledge
or things hidden from
other group
Gender-based Groups: Example
Difference in Woman's roles in America:
United States 1940: Woman were working in factories while men were overseas in war
AFTER
United States 1950: Woman went back to be the traditional housewives
Grouping by Age
�Assigns roles for certain ages
�Distinct attitudes, activities, prohibitions,obligations
�Sometimes distinct appearance
Age Grade
-Organized category based on age
~ life stages
-Everyone passes through series of grades
Age Grade: Example
� Freshman, sophomore, junior, senior
�Pre-schooler, teenager, young adult, middle aged, senior citizen
Age Set
�Group initiated into age grades at same time
�Moves through grades together
Age Set: Examples
�Baby Boomers
�Gen. X
�People born in1984
�Class of 2009
Common-Interest Associations
�Shared interest in: economics, politics, recreation, heritage, etc.
�Membership- voluntary to legally compulsory
�Sometimes gender-based
�Common in industrial & urban societies
�Also in smaller scale societies
�Play roles formerly played by kin or age gr
Common-Interest Associations: Example
Women's Bar Association of Mass
Groupings by Social Position: 2 Types
1. Egalitarian
2. Stratified
Grouping by Social Positions: Egalitarian
Egalitarian: as many valued positions as
persons capable of filling them
Grouping by Social Positions: Stratified
Stratified: people divided into ranked
categories
�Don't share equally in resources, influence, or
prestige
Social Stratification
Hierarchical social structures occur with:
�Large & heterogeneous populations
�Centralized political control
Types of Social Stratification
�Gender
�Age
�Social class
�Caste- much more rigid than social class, but still similar
Economic Stratification: Example U.S.
USA:
�Top 10% control
73% of wealth
�Top 1% control 40%
of wealth
Expressing/Reinforcing Social Class: 4 Types
1. Verbal
2. Patterns of Association
3. Symbolic
4. Differences in life chances
Expressing/Reinforcing Social Class: Verbal
-What people say about others
Expressing/Reinforcing Social Class: Patterns of Association
-Who interacts with whom, how, and in what context
Expressing/Reinforcing Social Class: Symbolic
-Activities & possessions related to class
Expressing/Reinforcing Social Class: Differences in life chances
-High-status people live longer & better health
Social Mobility
�Easiest mobility = open-class societies
�Degree of mobility-related to education or form of family
-often limited where extended family is norm
Caste Systems
�Social classes-membership is fixed for life
�Determined by birth- children automatically belong to parents'
caste
�Endogamous
How many types of Political Systems?
four;
-tribes, bands, chiefdoms, states
Uncentralized Systems
Bands
Tribes
Centralized Systems
Chiefdoms
States
Political System 1: Bands
�Small group of related, politically independent, households
�Least complicated political org.
�Nomadic
�Decisions made by adults
�Strive for consensus
�Can't get along? Move! kinship gives rights of entry
Political System 2: Tribes
�Small, autonomous communities
�Form alliances for various purposes
�Horticulture or herding
�Informal leadership
Big Man
�Gains leadership through achievement
�Like chief, but not hereditary
-New Guinea
Political System 3: Chiefdoms
�Ranked society
�Chief = leader
�Usually for life & hereditary
�Chief's authority unites people in most affairs
Functions of Chiefs
�Redistribution
�Settling disputes
�Organizing large scale tasks
�Leading war parties
Political System 4: State
�Most formal type of political org.
�Political power = centralized govt
�Govt monopolizes use of force
-to regulate members & relations with other states
Political Leadership & Gender
Women sometimes have political equality with men:
�Iroquois tribes of New York State
�Igbo of Nigeria
Go over charts*
...
Controlling Behavior: Internalized Controls
�Self-imposed by individuals
�Social deterrents:
-Shame
-Fear of divine punishment
-Fear of magical retaliation
�Common in bands and tribes
Controlling Behavior: Externalized Controls
Imposed by those in charge
�Positive sanctions reward appropriate behavior
�Negative sanctions punish behavior