South Africas Native Population - Essay Example

South Africa’s Native Population a. A dominant group is the group that holds power over another group. Numbers are not necessarily the defining factor when it comes to the dominate group. A good example is in South Africa. In South Africa the dominant group for many years was the whites who were descendants of Dutch farmers. Although their numbers were less than the number of native Africans, and those of mixed race, the whites held a dominant position in South Africa. Native African ‘dissidents’ were jailed for long periods of time for inciting rebellion amongst the non-dominant majority. Eventually South Africa’s native population took over and the dominant group is no longer the white minority in that country. A dominant group is defined by who holds economic, political, social, or coercive power over the minority. b. A minority group is defined as the group that is dominated by the dominant group. Again, in South Africa the minority groups were 90% of the population while the dominant group was only 10% of the overall population. The dominant group has the power over the minority group despite the numbers of either group. In South Africa 10% of the population held the power over 90% of the population. C. Racial categories are considered social because they are a division of people based upon appearance only. Before genetics race was considered proof that there was a significant difference between peoples. Genetics proved that despite outward differences in appearance all people were part of one genetic race. Differences in appearance are the outward adaptation to climate or region. Racial categories are still used to divide peoples and those who hold prejudices against others base their prejudices upon the assumption that one racial make up is inferior to another. Again, genetics does not support this belief. Another reason race is a social issue is because it is easy to point to someone and point out their differences. Most often race is an issue for the dominant group and is defined by the dominant group. d. The main difference between race and ethnicity is that race is defined by the dominant group whereas ethnicity is self defined. Ethnicity can be defined by language, cultural activities, and religion. Sometimes ethnicity is defined by physical characteristics such as clothing or modesty. Ethnic groups located in the United States include Hispanics, American Indians, Jews, African Americans, and white Americans. Ethnicity can be identified by how people celebrate (Christmas for example.) and how people morn their dead. Many African Americans share a common desire for foods that have been passed down from one generation to another. These include fried chicken and collard greens. Many Mexican Americans still prefer Mexican fare such as tortillas and refried beans. And, as more and more cultures assimilate in the United States the identification as American can include foods considered ‘American’ such as hot dogs and apple pie. Question 2 Three social paradigms exist. Each paradigm describes human behavior and society. Social scientists use social paradigms to explain their viewpoints about what is happening in society and why. Paradigms describe only and can not be enacted or made to happen. Figure 1 (Fox Valley Technical College 2000) a. The Conflict Paradigm The social conflict paradigm is characterized by conflict and inequality. It is a paradigm that seeks to answer such questions as what are the social inequalities, where does the conflict exist, and are there winners or losers? The conflict paradigm asserts that society is made up of everyday interactions. The best way to think of it is as a society of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. For example, when driving along the highway you can almost bet on what the income level or socioeconomic class a person is in by looking at the car they drive. Success is defined as LexisNexis while a Ford Escort is defined as working class. The poor ride city buses while the rich drive from well groomed neighborhoods in expensive automobiles. The Army can hardly afford Hummers but you can find them in well to do neighborhoods. b. The Functionalist Paradigm The functional paradigm can be seen as a system of parts all of which help to promote stability. The parts are function and dysfunction and work together. Function consists of manifest (intended) and latent (unintended) while dysfunction is comprised of negative consequences. The functionalist paradigm best functions to promote solidarity amongst institutions in society. For example, solidarity consists of society recognizing and promoting rules for social behavior and then agreeing to abide by the rules. This promotes balance in society. c. The Symbolic Interaction Paradigm. The symbolic interaction paradigm recognizes that there are ethnic and cultural differences among members of society. This paradigm is interested in behaviors of individuals in society. This paradigm focuses on the micro-level of society and defines how society is experienced and how people interact. Interaction includes the creation and changing of social patterns. Symbolic interaction includes assigning meaning to symbols and their affect on societal interactions. For example, wedding rings have significant social value. They define the status of an individual as ‘married’ and also define acceptable behavior of the individual or the acceptable behavior of others as they interact. Question 3 a. Homosexuality exists for several reasons. The first major reason may be biological and can manifest itself as a genetic abnormality. There are many different chromosomal disorders that make gender assignment at birth questionable. These include congenital adrenal hyperplasia where the baby is born with both sex organs and five-alpha-reductase deficiency which also cause sexual ambiguity at birth. Research has also shown that there is a slight difference between homosexual brain function and heterosexual brain function. Homosexuality may exist as an exaptation or neutral variation in behavior that must have some benefit to society. Genetically speaking, homosexuality has a negative affect on reproduction and one would think that after several generations genetic homosexuality would no longer exist. But it does continue to exist. This could be because most deny their homosexuality and attempt to live their life as ‘normal’ as possible. These homosexuals go on to get married and have children and possible pass on any genetic predisposition of homosexuality. They may, later in life, re-identify themselves as homosexual. b. For the most part American values are based upon a Judeo-Christian foundation. According to the Judeo-Christian value system homosexuality is a sin and not permissible. Although some churches welcome homosexuals as members of the church community they are still stigmatized by the views of their heterosexual counterparts. The Judea-Christian value system does not allow for same sex relationships and recognizes the marriage of man and woman as the only acceptable marriage. American society does not view homosexuality as a normal variation in human sexuality. Some Americans feel that homosexuals do not warrant protection or the same civil rights as their heterosexual counterparts. Despite the fact that the American Psychological Association has dropped homosexuality as a mental disorder, the majority of the American public think that homosexuality is a mental disorder. Question 4 Poverty exists in the United States because in some areas there is little work available. Although poor families do work a major reason why the working poor are in poverty is because they work less than the population in general. Poor workers work approximately 16 hours a week as compared to the 40 hours per week for the rest of the population (The Heritage Foundation, 2007). Poverty in America is also caused by not having a father in the home. Two thirds of poverty stricken homes are single parent families. (The Heritage Foundation, 2007) The majority of these homes consist of a single female adult with children. 1.3 million Children are born each year out of wedlock. If the parents wed it is believed that the majority of these homes would not be considered poverty level. The income the men can provide to the home is critical to the socio-economic level of the family. According to the Heritage Foundation “While work and marriage are steady ladders out of poverty, the welfare system perversely remains hostile to both. Major programs such as food stamps, public housing, and Medicaid continue to reward idleness and penalize marriage. If welfare could be turned around to encourage work and marriage, remaining poverty would drop quickly” (The Heritage Foundation, 2007). Question 5 a. What I learned in this class that I did not know before was the effect racism has on people. It is disappointing to learn that African Americans feel watched as criminals when they enter a store or any other public place. Although all Americans are afforded rights under the constitution it is hard to believe that racism, sexism, and social class really determine how one lives in this country. b. I learned that the world is not a fair place. Despite how hard some people work they will never be afforded the opportunity to seek out ‘life, liberty, and the persuit of happiness’. If you are born poor chances are that you will remain poor for the rest of your life. There are exceptions such as those high performing minorities who receive scholarships for higher education. The model society would offer the same educational opportunities for all students regardless of their social status. c. Yes, I would recommend a sociology course to a friend. Sociology is an eye opening field. This course helped me see the existence of racism, sexism, and poverty in this country. I now have a different point of view than I had before. d. My favorite topic was the different paradigms that exist. I like the idea of sitting back and looking for how these paradigms are actualized. Again, these are point of views that I had not been exposed to before. e. My least favorite topic was poverty. It was eye opening to realize how many people are affected by poverty. The American welfare system needs major changes to empower people to move out of poverty rather than being stuck in poverty. I think of Hurricane Katrina and how the social services system did not work for these people before or after the hurricane. Social welfare should include a ticket up and out of poverty rather than ‘benefits’ that allow stagnation and no forward motion out of poverty. References: American Psychological Association. 2007. Answers to Your Questions: Sexuality. Retrieved December 9, 2007 from http://www.apa.org/topics/orientation.html#whatis Fox Valley Technical College. 2000. Appleton/Oshkosh Wisconsin. Sociology: Perspective, Theory, and Method. Retrieved December 9, 2007 From http://its.fvtc.edu/sociol1/Ch1/index.htm The Heritage Foundation. 2007. Understanding Poverty. Retrieved December 9, 2007 From http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/bg1713.cfm Read More