Have you ever felt like you are repeating the same day over and over again? Well I feel as though the recurring theme for all my classes is social statification, or the way in which society is ranked based on class, status and race and so on. Since this concept of social stratification was introduced to me in my sociology class, it has then taken the liberty upon itself to follow me into all my other classes as well.
For example, in my American History course, when discussing 18th Century women and their plight for equal rights, social stratification plays a large role. Women of course being ranked second class citizens because of their gender and status in society, and of course women are further classified by race, class and wealth as well.
Meanwhile in my Humanities course we mostly recently read Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, which of course is a great example of social stratification because all the characters who tell stories come from very different parts of society; with different social backgrounds in terms of wealth, class and prestige. The Miller, the Knight and the Wife of Bath are just a few examples. Last but not least, I think I myself have internalized this concept and so that is why it follows me around! Everywhere I go I now think in terms of how society is ranked, even when watching movies I cannot help but think which characters are of lower class and which belong to the higher class within their own society!