SOCI230 Social Stratification - Nielsen - Class 10 - 23 Mar 2001

Discussion questions on Kalleberg and Sørensen, Bonacich, Wilson, and Baron.

Kalleberg and Sørensen (K&S)

• As viewed through the discussion of K&S, what role does standard economic theory ("neoclassical economic theory") play in the sociology of labor markets? How does the theory apply to employers on one hand, to employees (or potential employees) on the other?
• K&S argue that, while (p. 364) "Most empirical findings about the distribution of job rewards can be accomodated by the neoclassical [economic] theory...", there are "imperfections" of the competitive market that are too important to ignore. What two approaches are used in the sociology of labor markets to model these "imperfections" of the market?
• How do K&S define discrimination? In what sense is an account of discrimination problematic in the context of the competitive labor markets of economic theory (see especially p. 370 top)? (See also the question above concerning efforts made by Bonacich to explain the initial difference in the price of labor for the different ethnic groups.)
• How is discrimination in the labor market typically approached (i. e., measured) empirically? What is the problem with that strategy?

Bonacich

• What are the two forms (or expressions) of ethnic antagonism, according to Bonacich?
• What is a "split labor market"? What kinds of factors ("initial determinants") might explain the initial difference in the price of labor for different ethnic groups? Why is a discussion of the factors that produce a labor price differential important for Bonacich's argument?
• What configuration of interests of three main "collective actors" (business or employers; higher paid labor; cheaper labor) produces ethnic antagonism? (In other words, what is the central mechanism causing the emergence of ethnic antagonism, according to Bonacich?)
• To what extent is Edna Bonacich's theory of ethnic antagonism "Marxist"?
• To what extent does Bonacich's theory fit within a traditional perspective that explains ethnic antagonism as the result of "prejudice" on the part of the dominant group?

Wilson

• What are the three phases of black-white relations in the United States that Wilson distinguishes?
• What model of race relations is of primary importance in each of these phases? What is the relative importance of social class and the system of production in each of these phases?
• In particular, how does Wilson interpret the nature of race relations in the contemporary "modern industrial" (third) phase? What (3) factors have influenced the actions of government in this third phase? What is the relative importance of race (versus class) in determining life chances of blacks in the third phase?
• (Interesting detail:) How does Wilson describe the origin of the black middle class during the "industrial" (second) phase (see p. 528, right, middle paragraph)?

Baron

• According to Baron, what do we already know from the organization literature about (1) how job hierarchies within organizations are structured, and (2) how individual workers are matched with jobs?
• What implications does an organizational perspective have for the study of status attainment processes? In other words, how would an organizational perspective cause researchers to modify the traditional status attainment models based on individual characteristics (à la Blau & Duncan, Featherman, Sewell, etc.)?
• What does the concept of "career embeddedness" (or "historical" or "structural embeddedness") mean? What are the conceptual and methodological implications of career embeddedness for the study of careers?
• What role(s) does information (or the lack thereof) play in assessing the ways in which organizations affect stratification? (Hints: Williamson's explanation of the origins of internal labor markets; "key areas of uncertainty" in the resource dependence perspective; the role of "bounded rationality" and the use of "statistical discrimination" and educational credentials in allocation of employees to positions; etc.)
• What kind of new research would needed to implement the organizational perspective on stratification, according to Baron?

Optional discussion questions on Hannan and Szelényi.

(Note: This chapter was originally published in 1979, and has been revised recently by Hannan.  My own 1985 ASR paper deals with many of the same issues: Nielsen, François. 1985. "Toward a Theory of Ethnic Solidarity in Modern Societies." American Sociological Review 50:133-149.)

• What are the two "seemingly contradictory" trends concerning ethnicity in modern societies that Hannan attempts to explain?
• How does Hannan explain the trend of decreasing ethnic diversity entailed by modernization? What are the roles of economic modernization (on one hand) and state modernization (on the other) in this process?
• How does Hannan explain the rise in ethnic political action (under certain conditions) in modern industrial societies?
• How satisfactory is Hannan's "ecological theory of ethnic boundary dynamics" in explaining ethnic resurgences in modern societies?

Szelényi

(Note: on these issues see also Sørensen, Annemette. 1994. "Women, Family, and Class." Annual Review of Sociology 20:27-47.)

• What is the "conventional view" concerning the position of women in the class structure, and what general theoretical orientation(s) does this view entail? (Note: in what sense does Szelényi use the term "liberal" in connection with Goldthorpe's approach p. 577 bottom, p. 578 top.)
• What is the major difficulty with the traditional view in analyzing stratification in modern industrial socities?
• What would be the strictly (or classical) Marxist approach to the issue of the class position of women, according to Szelényi? Can a housewife ever be a member of the working class in that strict classical Marxist view?
• What are the theoretical bases of the "joint classification" models (on one hand), and of both types of "dual systems" models (on the other): the "patriarchy" models, and the "domestic mode of production" models? (If anyone has figured that out!)