Social Stratification: In-depth Questions and Answers Analysis

This assignment provides a detailed question-and-answer analysis of social stratification. It explores the concept of the American Dream, examining how it relates to social and economic mobility. The assignment analyzes family data to understand patterns of upward and downward mobility across generations, highlighting the impacts of social class and the implications of mobility trends. It delves into the influence of race and ethnicity on mobility, and discusses the historical construction of race by Linnaeus and its implications for societal views and inequalities. Furthermore, the assignment examines the role of societal influences on individual self-perception and the formation of racial constructs. Finally, the assignment uses references like Day & Fiske (2019) and Grusky (2019) to support the arguments.

Running Head: QUESTION AND ANSWER ON SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
Question and Answer on Social Stratification
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1QUESTION AND ANSWER ON SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
Answer to Question One
The American Dream is defined as set of belief that is used by Americans to guide them
on an everyday basis. The ethos includes individual rights, freedom, democracy, and equality
that become the center of individual rights and freedom. This notion sets forth the idea that
everyone has the basic right of seeking prosperity as well as happiness in life irrespective of his
or her place of birth, and ability. With the help of hard work, they can establish themselves in
terms of social and economic status in life (Grusky, 2019).
Answer to Question Two
After the analysis of data from the family regarding the upward or downward mobility
over the past few generations, it has been noted that in case of men and women in terms of
partial parents and children mobility rates have shown to vary substantially. This is specifically
visible in terms grandparents and children (Grusky, 2019). The summation of the social class of
parents’ social class, and the oddity in the fact that grandchildren take up managerial posts
instead of manual labor positions speak a lot about the mobility issues of classes.
Answer to Question Three
The opposite movement in the mobility would definitely have adverse effects in the
family as well as the society. It would go against the notion of the American Dream that the
citizens so dearly uphold and hold on to throughout their lives. On close observation about the
pattern of mobility, grandparents might even lose hope as they younger generation would fail to
achieve any greater heights in comparison to them (Day & Fiske 2019).

2QUESTION AND ANSWER ON SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
Answer to Question Four
Race and ethnicity has a lot of impact on the mobility of the past generations. This is
clearly visible in the various other countries apart from the American society.
Answer to Question Five
The classification by Linnaeus if mankind into four race, namely Americanus, Asiaticus,
Africanus, and Europanus have led the path to the present day stereotypes that has been used by
the invaders time and again in order to validate their acts of conquering or subjugating the races
which have been tagged as lower. It has also encouraged slavery, otherization, and made
incidents of ethnic cleansing in Europe during the 1930’s (Day & Fiske 2019). The present day
example is the Amazon and its indigenous people who are struggling to survive another episode
of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
Answer to Question Six
Race is largely a construction of the society that has been used by the “supreme” races
and has been used by the so-called supreme race as a means to dominate and subjugate them in
order to prove them as higher or better in terms of race (Day & Fiske 2019). Thus, race is more
of a matter of how we view ourselves rather than others view us.
Answer to Question Seven
The view that we have of ourselves is completely based on the influence that the society
has on us. In addition, the racial construction is definitely an influence of the society that has
been hugely constructed by the higher one in the race divide.

3QUESTION AND ANSWER ON SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
Reference
Day, M. V., & Fiske, S. T. (2019). Understanding the Nature and Consequences of Social
Mobility Beliefs. In The Social Psychology of Inequality (pp. 365-380). Springer, Cham.
Grusky, D. (2019). Social Stratification, Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective.
Routledge.