cheryl gyorkos 27sep05 exercise #1: drawing task : draw the most colourful and creative picture you...

Cheryl Gyorkos

27Sep05

Exercise #1: Drawing

Task:Draw the most colourful and creative picture

you can, with the materials that have been given to you

Rules:No sharing materialsBe creative Have fun!

Class Race Gender Ethnicity Region

Grouped in relation to scarce and

valued resources (wealth,

power and status)

Occupy a similar rank with respect

to their standing in

the economy

A group of people

united or classified

together on the basis of

common history,

nationality or

geographic distribution

Sexual identity,

especially in relation to society or

culture

(because every culture

views gender

differently)

Qualities or affiliations resulting

from racial or cultural ties

Space occupied by people with

similar economic

opportunities, unique political

arrangements and a

distinctive subculture that

fosters identity and meaning

Inequality: The interconnectedness of class, race, gender and region and the stratification of these

four components as reinforced by society

That Canada Is . . .

X An egalitarian, middle-class society

X Intolerant of extremes in poverty and wealth

X An open and pluralist society with a powerful commitment to equality before the law

X A mosaic where each segment deserves a fair and equal share

X A place where the government intervenes to ensure basic living necessities

That Canada Has . . .

Widening economic gaps, prejudice, discrimination and workplace inequality

Vertical Mosaicism Patterns of marginalization,

stigmatization and inequality that polarize around race, ethnicity, gender, class and region

Powerful elite benefiting at the hands and the sufferings of the poor

Inequalities that are chronic and persistent over time and firmly embedded within our culture

The Twisted Canadian TruthThe Twisted Canadian TruthOnce upon a time in the Kingdom of Heaven, God went missing for six days. Eventually, Michael theArchangel found him, resting on the seventh day. He inquired of God, "Where have you been?" God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look Michael,

lookwhat I've made.“

Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?" "It's a planet,“ replied God, "and I've put LIFE onit. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a place of great balance." "Balance?" inquired Michael, still confused. God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth, "For example:

Northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth while Southern Europe is going to be poor; the Middle East over there will be a hot spot. Over there I've placed a continent of white people andover there is a continent of black people," God continued, pointing to different countries. "This one will beextremely hot and arid while this one will be very cold and covered in ice."

The Archangel, impressed by Gods work, then pointed to a large landmass in the top corner and asked,"What's that one?" "Ah," said God. "That's Canada, the most glorious place on Earth. There are beautifulmountains, lakes, rivers, streams and an exquisite coastline. The people from Canada are going to bemodest, intelligent, humorous and they're going to be found traveling the world. They'll be extremely sociable, hard working and high achieving, and they will be known throughout the world as diplomats andcarriers of peace. I'm also going to give them super-human, undefeatable ice hockey players who will beadmired and feared by all who come across them."

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration but then proclaimed; "What about balance, God? You said there will be BALANCE!"

God replied wisely. "Wait until you see the loud-mouth bastards I'm putting next to them...."

Canadian School Exercise in the 1950’s

Canadian School Exercise in the 1950’s

Exercise #2:Look at the handout of people. This was a

school exercise in the 1950’s designed to teach students about culture, heritage of world geography

What do you notice about these pictures?

Please write your response on the back of the page. The answers will be discussed when the music stops.

Vertical Mosaicism: Patterns of marginalization, stigmatization and inequality polarize around race, ethnicity,

gender, class and region

Whites, Males

Middle-Class, Middle-Aged

Able-Bodied

Everyone Else

Women

Canadian Born White

Canadian Born Visible Minority, Aboriginal and Foreign Born White

Foreign Born Visible Minority

Men

Canadian Born White

Canadian Born Visible Minority, Aboriginal and Foreign Born White

Foreign Born Visible Minority

Canadian School Exercise in the 1950’s Continued . . .

Canadian School Exercise in the 1950’s Continued . . .

What did this teach children in the 1950’s about social equality and diversity?

Do you think it was effective?

Generally speakingHowever, it CAN be problematic if a problem were to manifest itself in one of the four components of Class, Race, Gender or RegionRemember . . .

Region

Gender

Race

Cycle of InequalityCycle of

InequalityPOWER

WEALTH

ABILITY

ACCESS

The Ties That Bind . . . The Ties That Bind . . .

Class

Instances When Social Inequality is a Problem: Class

Instances When Social Inequality is a Problem: Class

When the gap between the rich and the poor create the potential for social instability and when there is failure to secure social mobility

Instances When Social Inequality is a Problem: Race

Instances When Social Inequality is a Problem: Race

When inequality rewards certain groups and penalizes others for who they are

Instances When Social Inequality is a Problem: Gender

Instances When Social Inequality is a Problem: Gender

When it results from a patriarchal society

Patriarchy: The institutionally enforced authority of males over females and children that permeates the entire organization of society

Instances When Social Inequality is a Problem: Region

Instances When Social Inequality is a Problem: Region

When it is recognized as the most privileged enjoying a disproportionate share of the total wealth, power and prestige, based on the distribution of class, race and gender

Immigrant Status

Visible StatusEarnings (Mean)

Earnings (% difference)

Male

Canadian Born

White

Visible

Aboriginal

$36 563

$31 653

$28 725

N/A

-13.4%

-21.4%

Foreign BornWhite

Visible

$38 456

$28 285

+5.2%

-22.6%

Female

Canadian Born

White

Visible

Aboriginal

$23 173

$23 149

$19 887

N/A

-0.1%

-14.2%

Foreign BornWhite

Visible

$22 498

$20 132

-2.9%

-13.1%

White

White

Visible

Visible

Aborginal

Aborginal

White

White

Visible

Visible

$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

Ear

ning

s (M

ean)

MaleFemale

Canadian Born Foreign Born

W5W5

1. What? 1. What?

2. Why? 2. Why?

3. When?3. When?

4. Who?4. Who?

5. Where?5. Where?

Everyone in any society anywhere is affected by social inequality. The impact on one causes the impact on another . . .

Yet, not everyone is impacted in the same way

After 50 years of frustration, Canada has earned men's hockey gold again. Sunday's long-awaited U.S.-Canada showdown was a

thriller, despite the 5-2 final score.

The Winners . . . ClassWealthy

RaceMajority

GenderMen

The Losers . . . ClassPoor

RaceMinority

GenderWomen

USA's Mike Modano, left, and Brett Hull receive silver medal

And There Are ExceptionsAnd There Are Exceptions

The 1980’s sitcom

“Who’s the Boss?”

Tony: Live-In Housekeeper for wealthy business woman Angela Bower

Angela: Successful, Upper-Class

Samantha: Tony's daughter

Jonathan: Angela's son

Mona: Angela's man-hungry mother

EVERYWHERE!However . . .

Hobbes: there is less inequality in a region of ‘like’ people than there is in a region of ‘different’ people

The Social Process of Inequality

The Social Process of Inequality

MarginalizationMarginalization RacializationRacialization StigmatizationStigmatization

The social processes by which certain

groups of people are singled out

for unique treatment of their real or

imagined physical

characteristics

No full access to societal

institutions

The undesirable differences

that disqualify the person or group from

obtaining full acceptance into society

Racism. Stop It! A Message from the Government

of Canada


of Canada

Questions to while watching these video clips . . .

1. What is being said about inequality?

2. What is being said about Canada and ‘being’ Canadian?

3. What are the proposed solution

4. Do you think that these solutions will work?


of Canada


of Canada

Stopping the Continuum of MarginalizationRacismStigmati

zation

Stopping the Continuum of MarginalizationRacismStigmati

zation

This continuum is not so easy to interrupt, but it is apparent that there is a tremendous impact on Canadian Society. There are many suggestions as to how to ‘fix’ this problem that leads to social inequality . . . But they are not as clear cut as the video clips would have us believe

Fixing the Problem of Social Inequality


The proposed solution to the problem of inequality in these videos is to fix the problem of racism and diversity



Exercise #3:Connect the nine dots in the figure below using only straight lines, not removing your pen from the paper and not retracing lines

O O O

O O O

O O O

Connecting the DotsConnecting the Dots

However, the solution to these problems is not always so tragically simple. Especially if you agree with theories proposed by functionalists . . .

Dem Bones!Dem Bones!

The Functionalist Approach:

Both society and non-human organisms can be interpreted as integrated systems composed of interrelated and interdependent parts, each of

which contributes to the needs of the organism, even if superficially they do not appear to do so

(like the parts of the body –one, but many)

Connecting the DotsConnecting the Dots

So you need to

THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX!

Solution to Exercise #3:

O O O

O O O

O O O

Fixing InequalityFixing InequalityAfter understanding that inequality is a result of

imperfections in any one of the components, I likened the solution to the problem of inequality to that of an

acupuncturist

Amartya Sen Has Been Baking Pies

Amartya Sen Has Been Baking Pies

If it has been determined that we are able to function in a society that is riddled with inequality, when the dichotomized groups of people ‘do business’, who should benefit? That is, how should the pie be split?

Dividing Amartya Sen’s PieDividing Amartya Sen’s PieAmartya Sen: The central issue of contention is . . . the inequity in the overall balance of institutional arrangements – which produces very unequal sharing of benefits . . .

How is the pie being divided? Who should gain and who should lose?

cheryl gyorkos 27sep05 exercise #1: drawing task : draw the most colourful and creative picture you...

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