Question

Please respond to the following questions based upon these course objectives:

Identify harmful stereotypes used to marginalize groups of people.

Examine the impact of inequality among groups of people.

Analyze historical and contemporary cultural texts related to "othering."

Please answer the following questions with supporting examples and full explanations.

For each of the learning objectives, provide an analysis of how the course supported each objective.

Explain how the material learned in this course, based upon the objectives, will be applicable to professional application.

Answer 1

Everywhere we look, we see differences in wealth, power, and status. Some groups have higher status and greater privilege than others. This inequality in the system is what we call social stratification. In this unequal social system, there is often unfair treatment directed against certain individuals or social groups. This is referred to as discrimination. Discrimination can be based on many different characteristics—age, gender, weight, ethnicity, religion, or even politics. For example, prejudice and discrimination based on race is called racism. Oftentimes, gender prejudice or discrimination is referred to as sexism. Discrimination is often the outcome of prejudice—a pre-formed negative judgment or attitude. Prejudice leads people to view certain individuals or groups as inferior.

Certain groups in society are less powerful than others. Sociologists refer to those who do the discriminating as the dominant group. This dominant group is the group with the most power, greatest privilege, and highest social status. This does not mean that the dominant group is the majority group in terms of numbers. A small dominant group can still hold power over the majority. On the other hand, minority groups are people who are singled out for unequal treatment and who see themselves as objects of collective discrimination. These minority groups are often marginalized. This means they are confined to an unimportant or powerless position within a society. Marginalized groups are socially excluded, disadvantaged, and often at the fringe of society.

Many social groups are marginalized, but it does not mean that they stay at the edge of society. These groups and individuals are constantly fighting for their rights, for the power to make positive changes for their groups. There are many examples of minority movements and stories of success.

For example, the gender equality movement has recently had a lot of success! In recent years, there has been a movement to include third gender categories. Third gender is defined as a gender category for those who do not identify with either male or female gender categories. Many countries now recognize a third gender on their census, including India and Nepal! This is a sign of the recognition of citizens’ choice of gender identity. Third gender or neutral bathrooms are also now available in many university campuses around the US.

Inequality undermines social justice and human rights and the interconnectedness of inequalities means some groups have consistently worse opportunities than those of their fellow citizens (UNDP, 2013; World Bank, 2006). Among the most common group identities resulting in exclusion are gender, race, caste, ethnicity, religion, region, and disability status, although more evidence is needed (World Bank, 2013). Inequalities have resulted in the poorest sections of the world’s population, including many women, youth, older persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and rural populations, making less progress towards the MDGs (Kabeer, 2010; World Bank, 2013). Even people at the higher end of the income distribution may face social exclusion through political persecution or discrimination based on age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability (World Bank, 2013). Excluding these groups has had substantial social, political, and economic costs for the groups themselves and wider society (World Bank, 2013). The poor often face discrimination, stigma and negative social stereotypes that reduce their social participation and opportunities for employment, and reduce political support for targeted measures (UNICEF & UN Women, 2013). Partially as a result, there are large differences in the education, health and nutrition of households of different wealth levels within countries (UNDP, 2013). Inequalities between classes (large-scale groupings of people identified according to economic criteria) have widened both within and between countries (Greig et al., 2006). Class intersects with gender, ethnicity and other identities to compound poverty and inequality (Greig et al., 2006).

Inequality undermines social justice and human rights and the interconnectedness of inequalities means some groups have consistently worse opportunities than those of their fellow citizens Among the most common group identities resulting in exclusion are gender, race, caste, ethnicity, religion, region, and disability status, although more evidence is needed. Inequalities have resulted in the poorest sections of the world’s population, including many women, youth, older persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and rural populations, making less progress towards the MDGs. Even people at the higher end of the income distribution may face social exclusion through political persecution or discrimination based on age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability . Excluding these groups has had substantial social, political, and economic costs for the groups themselves and wider society The poor often face discrimination, stigma and negative social stereotypes that reduce their social participation and opportunities for employment, and reduce political support for targeted measures Partially as a result, there are large differences in the education, health and nutrition of households of different wealth levels within countries Inequalities between classes (large-scale groupings of people identified according to economic criteria) have widened both within and between countries Class intersects with gender, ethnicity and other identities to compound poverty and inequality

Areas of social inequality include access to voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, the extent of property rights and access to education, health care, quality housing, traveling, transportation, vacationing and other social goods and services.

Apart from that it can also be seen in the quality of family and neighbourhood life, occupation, job satisfaction, and access to credit.

If these economic divisions harden, they can lead to social inequality.The reasons for social inequality can vary, but are often broad and far reaching.

Social inequality can emerge through a society's understanding of appropriate gender roles, or through the prevalence of social stereotyping.

Social inequality can also be established through discriminatory legislation.

Social inequalities exist between ethnic or religious groups, classes and countries making the concept of social inequality a global phenomenon.

Social inequality is different from economic inequality, though the two are linked.

Social inequality refers to disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income as well as between the overall quality and luxury of each person's existence within a society, while economic inequality is caused by the unequal accumulation of wealth; social inequality exists because the lack of wealth in certain areas prohibits these people from obtaining the same housing, health care, etc. as the wealthy, in societies where access to these social goods depends on wealth.

Social inequality is linked to racial inequality, gender inequality, and wealth inequality.

By “othering”, we mean any action by which an individual or group becomes mentally classified in somebody’s mind as “not one of us”. Rather than always remembering that every person is a complex bundle of emotions, ideas, motivations, reflexes, priorities, and many other subtle aspects, it’s sometimes easier to dismiss them as being in some way less human, and less worthy of respect and dignity, than we are.

This psychological tactic may have had its uses in our tribal past. Group cohesion was crucially important in the early days of human civilisation, and required strong demarcation between our allies and our enemies. To thrive, we needed to be part of a close-knit tribe who’d look out for us, in exchange for knowing that we’d help to look out for them in kind. People in your tribe, who live in the same community as you, are more likely to be closely related to you and consequently share your genes.

The problem of the twenty-first century is the problem of “othering.” In a world beset by seemingly intractable and overwhelming challenges, virtually every global, national, and regional conflict is wrapped within or organized around one or more dimension of group-based difference. Othering undergirds territorial disputes, sectarian violence, military conflict, the spread of disease, hunger and food insecurity, and even climate change

• In early April 2016, violence erupted in Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly ethnically Armenian enclave in southwestern Azerbaijan, where over sixty people were killed and dozens more remain missing. The Armenian population is Christian in the predominantly Muslim country and favors secession and reuniting with bordering Armenia.
• In the fall of 2015, the Turkish government ordered a military attack on separatist Kurds in southern Turkey, and subsequently instituted a curfew in Kurdish-majority towns. Turkey waged military campaigns against Kurds in Syria and northern Iraq, and is afraid that Kurdish rebels are intent on carving out a Kurd nation-state out of the territory of all three states.

Group-based identities are central to each of these conflicts, but in ways that elude simplistic explanations. It is not just religion or ethnicity alone that explains each conflict but often the overlay of multiple identities with specific cultural, geographic, and political histories and grievances that may be rekindled under certain conditions