Sociology Social Stratification

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SOCIOLOGY According to Chris Philo and Kate Swanson, “Youth is presented as a space of transition between the relatively localized worlds of childhood… to the more globalized worlds of young adulthood” (p. 196). In the novel, Telling Young Lives by Craig Jeffrey and Jane Dyson, youth is a common theoretical structure that guides each story. The authors focus on how young people manage their identity, and daily lives dealing concurrently with local, natural, and global pressures and changes actually taking part in the social, and political issues affecting their communities. The chapters “Politics, Lifestyle, and Identity” and “Darkest Whiteness: Race, Class and Culture in Global Times” emphasizes the changing construction of youth through the everyday struggles, sacrifices and triumphs of growing up. The goal of this essay is to bring to light the identity construction and development of both Helena and Sven through the theoretical micro, meso, and macro dimensions of discrimination and stratification entrenched throughout their youth experiences. Social stratification refers “to how individuals and groups are layered or ranked in society according to how many valued resources they have.” (Ballantine & Roberts, p.207). Various levels of stratification are embedded throughout Helena’s and Sven’s stories demonstrating how family, community, and identities remain key factors in the youth transition period. Sven and Helena develop their identity into adulthood while facing unstable social and economic times. First, it is important to explore each story in the micro-level analysis of stratification, prestige and influence. Sven, a fifteen-year-old boy from Eastern Germany, is depicted as a regular, average teenager who strongly values friendships and hobbies. The lack of power, property, and prestige in Sven’s childhood has shifted his future goals away from
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