Social Class

Discussion of class structure in fifth-century Athens, historical constitution of theater audiences, and the changes in the comic representation of class antagonism from Aristophanes to Menander

Imperialism, dependency, and social class

African Studies Center Working Paper No. 45INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this essay is to examine what has become known in the language of post-World War II social science as "dependency theory." Although all variants of this dependency theory are more or less nationalist and anti-imperialist, they are not uniformly socialist or Marxist. That is to say, many of those working within the broad category of dependency theory are not fundamentally anti-capitalist. Thus, they do not articulate a socialist program for breaking the constraints they see as being responsible for poverty, backwardness, stagnation, and underdevelopment. In the writings of these non-socialist or "bourgeois-nationalist" writers, the problem was seen merely as the domination of weaker economies by stronger ones. If this domination could be removed, so would be the economic backwardness that characterizes most of the Third World. The result would be capital accumulation and an independent, autonomous but nevertheless capitalist development. "Independent" or "autonomous" capitalist development should not be equated with some abstract notion of "absolute autarky." Absolute autarky is here understood to mean the complete severing of all economic links that any particular political-economic formation has that extend beyond its boundaries. It is, however, argued that some degree of autocthonous development is necessary if structural underdevelopment is to be overcome. [TRUNCATED

Sartorial symbols of social class elicit class-consistent behavioral and physiological responses: a dyadic approach.

Social rank in human and nonhuman animals is signaled by a variety of behaviors and phenotypes. In this research, we examined whether a sartorial manipulation of social class would engender class-consistent behavior and physiology during dyadic interactions. Male participants donned clothing that signaled either upper-class (business-suit) or lower-class (sweatpants) rank prior to engaging in a modified negotiation task with another participant unaware of the clothing manipulation. Wearing upper-class, compared to lower-class, clothing induced dominance--measured in terms of negotiation profits and concessions, and testosterone levels--in participants. Upper-class clothing also elicited increased vigilance in perceivers of these symbols: Relative to perceiving lower-class symbols, perceiving upper-class symbols increased vagal withdrawal, reduced perceptions of social power, and catalyzed physiological contagion such that perceivers' sympathetic nervous system activation followed that of the upper-class target. Discussion focuses on the dyadic process of social class signaling within social interactions

Social class (in)visibility and the professional experiences of middle-class novice teachers

This article focuses upon the classed and early professional experiences of middle-class novice teachers in England experiencing and contemplating working in schools serving socio-economically disadvantaged communities. Through an examination of the visibility and invisibility of social class in education set within an increasingly unequal and changed social landscape, the article reports upon research which seeks to better understand the class identities of these teachers. Evidence is presented of the key, yet complex, role that social class occupies within the working lives of new teachers and reveals the different ways in which teachers respond to the classed dimensions of their early professional experiences. It is concluded that the fundamentally important role that social class plays in terms of shaping early professional experiences in teaching suggests the need not only for a commensurately enhanced focus as part of early professional development, but also for attention that is sensitively attuned to the class identities of teachers

Accuracy of adults’ recall of childhood social class: findings from the Aberdeen children of the 1950s study

<b>Background</b>: Although adult reported childhood socioeconomic position has been related to health outcomes in many studies, little is known about the validity of such distantly recalled information. This study evaluated the validity of adults’ reports of childhood paternal social class. <b>Methods</b>: Data are drawn from the Aberdeen children of the 1950s study, a cohort of 12 150 people born in Aberdeen (Scotland) who took part in a school based survey in 1962. In this survey, two indices of early life socioeconomic position were collected: occupational social class at birth (abstracted from maternity records) and occupational social class in childhood (reported during the 1962 survey by the study participants). Between 2000 and 2003, a questionnaire was mailed to traced middle aged cohort members in which inquiries were made about their fathers’ occupation when they were aged 12 years. The level of agreement between these reports and prospectively collected data on occupational social class was assessed. <b>Results</b>: In total, 7183 (63.7%) persons responded to the mid-life questionnaire. Agreement was moderate between social class of father recalled in adulthood and that measured in early life ( statistics were 0.47 for social class measured at birth, and 0.56 for social class reported by the child). The relation of occupational social class to birth weight and childhood intelligence was in the expected directions, although weaker for adults’ reports in comparison with prospectively gathered data. <b>Conclusions</b>: In studies of adult disease aetiology, associations between childhood social class based on adult recall of parental occupation and health outcomes are likely to underestimate real effects

Community at the Courts: Social and Community Interactions at Public Basketball Courts

Based on over 60 informal interviews conducted at two public basketball courts, this study utilizes grounded theory to trace class- and race-based differences in the social interactions occurring at both parks. By comparing social interactions between a white, middle class basketball court, and a black, lower class basketball court, I argue that social engagement is not be declining for all segments of society as some theorists suggest. Moreover, I argue that the relationships forged at the basketball court in a predominantly black, working-class neighborhood prove to be more meaningful and have deeper benefits than those forged at a basketball court in a white, middle-class neighborhood. I show that public places serve as a source of social status for participants of pick-up basketball and that social status stemming from pick-up basketball varies in importance based on the socioeconomic status of the participants. Further, I contend that public places in low-income neighborhoods can serve as a vehicle for establishing social networks in the surrounding community, affirming and maintaining status, and realizing personal fulfillment

Reproduction and Social Class

No abstract available

Social class and achievement case studies (National Strategies)

"This is the second part of a report of a National Strategies investigative project carried out in 2006–07 into the achievement of White British pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. The first part of the report (White British pupils from low-income backgrounds: Part 1: data and research) looks at data and research findings. This second part summarises the findings from visits made by National Strategy regional advisors in March 2007 to eight schools identified by their local authorities as successful in raising the aspirations and achievement of White British pupils. The aim of the visits was to identify practice that has particular impact." - Page 4

Counselors\u27 Social Class and Socioeconomic Status Understanding and Awareness

Nine licensed professional counselors participated in semi-structured interviews designed to reveal their awareness and understanding about social class and socioeconomic status (SES). Findings suggest that participants\u27 descriptions of social class and SES often are in-congruent with how they use the terms, and their awareness and understanding may be limited because of developmental factors, indicating potential clinical liabilities. The authors suggest that counselors should develop stronger social class consciousness to provide affirming counseling services and that further research on such strategies is needed