SAMPLE 1 ASSESSMENT CRITERIA AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

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1 SAMPLE 1 ASSESSMENT CRITERIA AND LEARNING OUTCOMES Unit Title: Sociology 2. Understand theories associated with major social divisions, inequalities, differences and diversity in contemporary society 2.1 Explain what is meant by social divisions within society 2.2 Explain the main theories associated with Class, Gender, Racial/Ethnic divisions 2.3 Compare two competing theories of social divisions

2 SAMPLE 1 GRADING DESCRIPTORS AND COMPONENTS GD1 Understanding of the subject Merit 1c) Demonstrates very good understanding of the different perspectives or approaches associated with the area of study. GD2 Application of knowledge Merit The student, student s work or a) Makes use of relevant Ideas Facts Theories Perspectives Models Concepts With either b) Breadth or depth that goes beyond the minimum required to Pass And/or c) Very good levels of Consistency Precision Accuracy Insight Analysis Synthesis Creativity Distinction 1c) Demonstrates excellent understanding of the different perspectives or approaches associated with the area of study. Distinction The student, student s work or a) Makes use of relevant Ideas Facts Theories Perspectives Models Concepts With both b) Breadth or depth And/or c) Excellent levels of Consistency Precision Accuracy Insight Analysis Synthesis Creativity GD7 Quality Merit 7b) The student, student s work or Puts forward arguments or ideas which are generally unambiguous but which are in a minor way limited or incomplete Distinction 7b) The student, student s work or Puts forward arguments or ideas which are consistently unambiguous and cogent

3 Essay Title: Karl Marx suggests social division can be explained by inequalities in social class, feminists suggest that social division can be explained by patriarchy. Using these theories compare how effective they are with reference to class, gender and ethnicity. In this essay I will describe and discuss Karl Marx s theory on social class as well as the feminist theories on social division, when looking into both theories I will relate them to three groups, Gender, age and ethnicity. I will compare and evaluate both theories effectiveness and their contributions to society today. Social divisions within society are known as the differences between different class groups. They are also given to people who have similar education, income, occupations, interests and values (Braham, 2013). Marx s theory of social class focuses on the view that since society was formed thousands of years ago, an element of class division has always existed and different classes share different interests. Karl Marx based his theory around his belief that we lived in a capitalism society and believed relationships between male and females are formed by their positions in the means of production, resulting in differences in resources and power which resulted in what he called a class struggle. Society Marx believed was divided between two class distinctions, Marx called the high class ruling members in society the bourgeoisie, he called the lower class working members in society the proletariat. During the nineteenth century Marx believed that society was financed and the bourgeoisie were the sole benefactors to the proletariat s work and efforts, whereas the proletariat were worse off and living in poverty. This structure serves to support the functions of society rather than the individuals that make up the society, the whole basis of the theory is based around economical organisations rather than an

4 individual s behaviour, the reason for this is that Marxism believes that an individual is the product of the class relationships formed from economic life (Moore, S., Aiken, D. and Chapman, S. 2001). Marx s overall view on society was built around a class structure, focusing on the struggle between each class group which creates change in the structure of society. Although struggle was present within society it was not was not seen as a direct impact in which maintain society. Marx believed the class groups were divided by the ownership of property, this idea came as property was viewed by society as power, this was either to use the property to rent to other members of society or for own personal use. When property because privatised three class systems were recognised, these were known as the bourgeoisie, this group owned property used for production purposes such as machinery, or owning a factory building, the use of the property was always focused on creating a profit. There was also the Landowners, whose property was solely used to rent out to others again generating a profit. Then the lower spectrum of the class scale were known as the proletariat whose role was to sell labour, working for a living and sell it for a wage to survive. Class was purely defined and determined not by status or income, only by property, by defining the class section in this way it assigns the role of the class groups, the bourgeoisies property is a result of the social conditions of the bourgeoisie property, the main focus of difference which the Marxist theory recognises is the wage in different class groups. (Harrington, 2005). The other perspective being covered is the feminism perspective, the main focus behind feminist theories is gender inequality and how it can be reduced within society. Although there is a generalised goal feminists strive to achieve there are various different types of feminists, the main five are recognised as, Radical

5 feminism, Marxist and socialist feminism, liberal feminism, black feminism and postmodern feminism. Radical feminists claim that woman are exploited by men in society and believe that the subordination of woman benefited the male rather than the females. (Haralambos, M. and Holborn, M, 2009). The radicals theory supports the idea that men male a more dominant powerful role than the woman, this is set in place by socialisation, men being the main financial provider and the woman playing the role of mother and house-wife, this occurs through sexual divisions of labour and is considered quite natural in society, making problems such as domestic violence against woman not a serious issue. Feminists also highlight their belief in the patriarchal ideology, claiming woman accept their responsibilities for childcare and home making without any objections and that this role is secondary to the husbands role, this patriarchal ideology lead the expectations placed on woman to take on careers which fit in and around there family commitments and place no restrictions upon men. Black feminism focuses on the idea of class oppression, racism and sexism are all connected together, and this is known as intersectionality. Black feminism focuses on what other feminists fail to consider, race and how woman are discriminated against on racial grounds. Alice Walker a prominent black feminist created a theory known as Womanism which outlined how black woman experience a harsher oppression than white woman. They state that feminist movements ignored fights against oppression regarding black woman. The black feminist theory claims that a black woman s power was a lot less in relation to that of a white woman. Marxist feminism is another theory which falls under the overall feminists theories, although the Marxist feminist theory concentrates on capitalism and the privatisation of property in relation to oppression and gender inequality. Marxist feminists claim that the privatisation of property lead to the domestic struggle between genders resulting economic inequality, dependence, and the social oppression of woman

6 within society. Friedrich Engels the originator of Marxist feminism states that the subordination of woman is not a result of biological differences but of social relations in society and the men s role has become institutionalized within society. Marxist feminists believe class and gender oppression can be similar to the relations between the proletariat and bourgeoisie. They refer to the subordination of woman as a function of class oppression this is due to the fact that it benefits the ruling class which leads to the division of men and woman, by providing men with greater working privileges and woman are expected to fulfil an unpaid domestic role as wife and mother (Haralambos, M. and Holborn, M, 2009). The Marxism theory of social division has often been criticised for being biased claiming that the economics within society control and determine behaviours and relationships among individuals in society, not considering other influences which may influence peoples behaviours, only focusing on the financials. Marxist s also fail to consider other societies only focusing on society s which are structured by means of class. Feminists in particular the radical feminists have claimed that Marxists did not focus on stratification in relation to gender known as the sex-class, which distinguishes the differences between male and females interests, this claim supports the fact Marxists purely surround their focus on economic relationships (Livesey, C, Unknown). This assignment has discussed the differences between the Marx s theory of social class and the feminist theory of social division, in relation to both theories, class, gender and ethnicity have been discussed. It has displayed the differences in opinions between the two main theories in sociology.

7 Braham, P (2013). Key concepts in sociology. London: Sage. Haralambos, M. and Holborn, M. (2009) Sociology themes and perspectives 7 th edn. London: HarperCollinsPubslishers. Harrington, A (2005). Modern social theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Livesey, C. (Unknown). Social Inequality: Therories: Marxism. A-Level Sociology teaching notes. 1. Moore, S., Aiken, D. and Chapman, S (2001). Sociology for AS level. London: Collins Educational.