Nima Alian

3/16/15
Mrs.Thomas
UWRITE 1102

Source Summaries
Social Stratification

Johnson, Lee A. "Social Stratification." Biblical Theology Bulletin V. N.p., 2013. Web. 15 Mar.
2015.
All society is stratified whether the people believe it is or not. Many societies are
stratified based on unique abilities, social roles or qualities. Some specific examples that were
covered in this article were favoritism towards a particular gender, strength, height or age.
Certain societies such as old societies had a hierarchy based on hunting ability or status. Other
societies favored those who were healers or entertainers. There could be a plethora of
characteristics that could be favored in particular societies. It is believed that social
differentiation leads to social inequality in many societies. Society privilege is broken into two
main categories- ascription and achievement. Ascription is a society that favors those who have
hereditary qualities, such as those who come from a particular family or are a certain race.
Achievement societies are those where privilege is determined by accomplishments. Many
examples of particular societies are discussed as well as social stratification. The article also
discussed the Bible as well as theories by famous sociologists.

The article Social Stratification by Lee A. Johnson was published in Biblical Theology
Bulletin in 2013. The audience was most likely directed toward people who studied religion or
sociology, because it was found in a Biblical Theology Bulletin.
Lee A. Johnson claims that social stratification is the first step toward social inequality.
Johnson believes that social stratification ultimately leads to social inequality because it sets a
stage for certain groups to rise up and be more dominant. This could occur in any of the
societies such as ascription or achievement.
Johnson states that Despite the common myth of merit-based reward that is frequently
referenced in modern industrial societies, sociologists note the persistence of social inequality
that is based upon ascribed qualities of race, ethnicity, and gender. Johnson believes that race is
still a very prominent factor or social stratification and inequality. The author believes that there
is strong correlation between race and social inequality.
A quick look at the statistics from the International Labor Organization (Kerbo: 296)
reveals that income ratios in the top 23 industrial nations between men and women all favor men,
with Iceland producing the highest ratio of equality for women at 91% of that for men, and Japan
at the lowest ratio for women at 50% of that for men (pg. 160).
Perhaps most striking is the weight of the Anglican-affiliated members who accounted
for 60% of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, but made up only 16% of the entire
population in America at the time (pg.161).
This article was very helpful for my research. Many important terms regarding social
stratification and inequality were defined and discussed thoroughly. The article also provided
lots of examples and evidence of social class in in a variety of societies. The article discusses the

two main categories- ascription and achievement very well, which was great information for my
project. This article also includes the effects of social inequality such as racism which I could
integrate into my paper for further insight.

The Spatial Distribution of Occupational Prestige in Metropolitan Tel Aviv

Blumen, Orna. "The Spatial Distribution of Occupational Prestige in Metropolitan Tel Aviv."
N.p., Nov.-Dec. 1998. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2015.
Occupational prestige is regarded as a social award in many societies. Occupational
prestige is how a person is regarded based on the career or positon that he/she holds. Peoples
commitment and success are measured by occupational prestige. Occupational prestige is an
important factor that affects social structure and can ultimately lead to social inequality. Income
is associated with occupation because it establishes the power and authority. The type of
transportation that workers take, such as taking the bus home, may indicate occupational
prestige. Occupational prestige is very apparent in Tel Aviv, Israel where most of the prestigious
jobs lie in the central business district. Most of the highly paid workers also live far from central
business district, since most of the high paying jobs are found there.
The article The spatial distribution of occupational prestige in metropolitan Tel Aviv by
Orna Blumen was published in 1998, by Area which is bulletin for geographers. The articles
main audience was for geographers because it belonged to a geography bulletin. The article was
most likely not written for the common reader because of the s sophisticated language that is
used. Many geography terms, which only geographers for the most part would understand, were
used throughout the article.

Blumen starts a paragraph with occupation is a source of identification among people

with similar professional backgrounds (pg. 344). The author is describing how occupation may
be a way of grouping people together in society. This grouping of different people could
initially lead to discourse communities, and actually build up to discrimination or
exclusiveness. Blumen believes that occupation leads to power and separates others.
Almost half of the metropolitan jobs are located in the central city (346).
Nonmetropolitan residents among workers who commute further, the longest distance
commuters enjoy the highest occupational status (350).
This article was very useful for my research project. Many important aspects regarding
social class and wealth were discussed in detail. Occupational prestige will be an addition to my
paper; I plan to discuss how occupational distribution relates to wealth and social class. This
article also gave a very interesting twist by including geography, specifically the spatial
distribution of Israel. This would add some variation to my paper and hopefully make it more
interesting and enjoyable.

Rich People Just Care Less

Goleman, Daniel. "Rich People Just Care Less." Web log post. New York Times. N.p., 5 Oct.
2013. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2015.
There seems to be a social gap between people who are wealthy and those who are not.
We may believe that everybody see others are equal, yet studies suggest this not true. Wealthier
people do not pay much attention to the poor people. Yet surprisingly, the less wealthy pay more
attention to the wealthier people. Richer people are more likely to express disregard towards the
less wealthy and they are also more likely to interrupt the less wealthy in a conversion.
Psychologists have studied interactions between the poor and rich and have found surprising
features that the rich express. There are similar occurrences between people of various races.
One group is unable to fully empathize with the other until they are in the other persons shoes.
The blog Rich People Just Care Less, written by Daniel Goleman was published in
2013. The target of this blog was most likely to any reader who is interested. Since it is a blog, it
most likely isnt very specialized and is open to almost anybody to read. There were a few
psychology terms, yet the lexical level was very easy to understand.
Goleman claims that This tuning out has been observed, for instance, with strangers in a
mere five-minute get-acquainted session, where the more powerful person shows fewer signals

of paying attention, like nodding or laughing, to demonstrate that wealthy people look down on
the people who arent as wealthy. The perception of the poor people makes the wealthy people
express rude body language. These types of actions lead to social inequality in society.
Tuning in to the needs and feelings of another person is a prerequisite to empathy, which
in turn can lead to understanding, concern and, if the circumstances are right, compassionate
action.
Social distance makes it all the easier to focus on small differences between groups and
to put a negative spin on the ways of others and a positive spin on our own.
Freud called this the narcissism of minor differences, a theme repeated by Vamik D
Vulkan, an emeritus professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia, who was born in
Cyprus to Turkish parents. Dr. Volkan remembers hearing as small boy awful things about the
hated Greek Cypriots, who, he points out, actually share many similarities with Turkish
Cypriots. Yet for decades their modest-size island has been politically divided, which exacerbates
the problem by letting prejudicial myths flourish.
The blog described very interesting information about how the wealthy interact with the
less wealthy. This blog was very helpful to me because it provided a psychologists opinion on
how wealthy people are more highly regarded than people who arent as wealthy. This may help
me provide evidence that wealthy people may indirectly express superiority over the less wealthy
because of society.