3.3.1
Social Class
The Relationship of Identity to Social Class
The Relationship of Identity to Social Class
A social class is a group of people who share a similar economic situation, such as occupational level, income and wealth. There are four main social classes in society: upper class, middle class, working class, and underclass.
Social stratification
Social stratification
- Stratification describes the dividing of a society into strata (layers) by factors like gender, social class, ethnicity etc.
- Lots of societies nowadays mainly stratify by social class, including the UK and other Western capitalist societies.
Occupation
Occupation
- People’s occupation is an important marker of social class and is often central to how people see themselves (their individual identity) and how other people define them (their social identity).
- Marxists see social class as a key marker of social identity.
Bourdieu: Class habitus
Bourdieu: Class habitus
- Bourdieu argues that each social class has its own cultural framework (a set of ideas or ‘habitus') which people learn during primary and secondary socialisation.
- Habitus includes the way people use language and their accent, attitudes and culture tastes (including diet choices, leisure activities, clothing, and fashion).
'Cultural capital’
'Cultural capital’
- According to Bourdieu, those with access to the habitus of the dominant class possess ‘cultural capital’.
1Theory & Methods
1.1Sociological Theories
1.2Sociological Methods
2Education with Methods in Context
2.1Role & Function of the Education System
2.2Educational Achievement
2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools
3Option 1: Culture & Identity
3.1Conceptions of Culture
3.2Identity & Socialisation
3.3Social Identity
3.4Production, Consumption & Globalisation
4Option 1: Families & Households
4.1Families & Households
4.2Changing Patterns
4.3The Symmetrical Family
4.4Children & Childhood
5Option 1: Health
5.1Social Constructions
5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare
5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare
5.4Mental Health
6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare
6.1Poverty & Wealth
7Option 2: Beliefs in Society
7.1Ideology, Science & Religion
7.2Religious Movements
7.3Society & Religion
8Option 2: Global Development
8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality
8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations
8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation
9Option 2: The Media
9.1Contemporary Media
9.2Media Representations
10Crime & Deviance
10.1Crime & Society
10.2Social Distribution of Crime
Jump to other topics
1Theory & Methods
1.1Sociological Theories
1.2Sociological Methods
2Education with Methods in Context
2.1Role & Function of the Education System
2.2Educational Achievement
2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools
3Option 1: Culture & Identity
3.1Conceptions of Culture
3.2Identity & Socialisation
3.3Social Identity
3.4Production, Consumption & Globalisation
4Option 1: Families & Households
4.1Families & Households
4.2Changing Patterns
4.3The Symmetrical Family
4.4Children & Childhood
5Option 1: Health
5.1Social Constructions
5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare
5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare
5.4Mental Health
6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare
6.1Poverty & Wealth
7Option 2: Beliefs in Society
7.1Ideology, Science & Religion
7.2Religious Movements
7.3Society & Religion
8Option 2: Global Development
8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality
8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations
8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation
9Option 2: The Media
9.1Contemporary Media
9.2Media Representations
10Crime & Deviance
10.1Crime & Society
10.2Social Distribution of Crime
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