Honors Theses (Sociology)

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    Women Women Earn Less Than Men: Strategies for Change
    (University of Oregon, 1979-05) Fong, Valerie Wai Hin
    As Palme notes , there is not a "problem of women ' s role in society" but a sex-role problem because the roles of men and women are interdependent . Because we live in a market economy, where goods are often valued on the basis of their exchange value , I have chosen to examine the sexual wage differential and the division of labor because it is the most striking , overt example of the sex-role problem in our society. In the first chapter, "The Sexual Wage Differential and the Division of Labor ," defines what is meant by the sexual wage differential and examine the evidence to determine its pervasiveness , I will then discuss the major explanations proposed to explain the sexual wage differential by economists , sociologists , psychoanalysts , and employers . After summarizing and critiquing these explanations , I will discuss the costs and benefits of maintaining the current sex-roles and attendant sexual wage differential. The second chapter on sex roles in transition toward equality, begins by determining what equality would look like and examining attempts toward it made in other countries . This is followed by an examination of the various strategies that can be useful in working toward equality: education , several options in caring for children , re- examining the nature of work , modifications in income and tax structures . The last chapter , "Societal Choiceic ," provides a conceptual plan to integrate all of the choices society can make , maintaining the sex-roles or moving toward equality. I close with a summary , and conclusions and recommendations. This paper is designed to acquaint the reader with some of the aspects of the sex-role problem and propose some solutions . It is not designed to provide an in-depth analysis of all the issues involved but rat her to serve as an overview, to direct the reader to further research and action.
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    Public Assistance, An Analysis as a Social Movement
    (University of Oregon, 1949-06) Ribbans, Eleanor C.
    The story of public assistance in the United States reflects the development and growth of American thought in the fields of government, economics, political theory, and related fields, but most especially, the developments in the field of social work. The changes of theory regarding human rights that dominated social work in the various phases of its history can be seen to be based in the culture of the time. At many points social work philosophy was far more advanced than popular notions for the proper treatment of the poor, but by and large, the prevailing ideas were very much the same as the commonly accepted ideas of the functions of the government and individual responsibility. It was only slowly and often painfully that the underlying ideas in government, economics, and human rights changed and allowed the more modern theories, based on scientific investigation and social work, to take hold and become accepted in this country.
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    Nationalism's Influence on the Creation of the Jewish State and the Political Divide within the Zionist Movement
    (2006-06-07T22:07:08Z) Elkan, Vanessa
    This thesis examines the highly controversial Uganda Project presented by the founder of the Zionist Movement, Theodor Herzl in 1903 at the Sixth Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland. It provides a historical and sociological explanation for the turmoil it created within the movement. This thesis explains how both external and internal factors influenced the reaction it received from the delegates of this social movement.
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    Colonialism and Development: Reinventing 'Tradition' and Gendered Work in Kumaon, India
    (2006-06) Fracchia, Elena M.
    The forests of the Kumaon Himalayas in northern India contain a wide variety of living materials essential to the subsistence production of the people. Women and men alike have a strong sense of history connecting them to the forests and the life it provides. However, during colonial times women took on the bulk of the work associated with gathering and maintaining these forests while their male counterparts were forced out of the villages to earn an income in the cities. Over time, women adjusted to male members of the family being gone by taking on large, burdensome workloads to maintain the household. This reformation of the division of labor became the new “tradition” the villagers lived by. As women did this survival work, they also created a community and network of support for each other while they worked together to gather fuel, fodder, food and even medicine from the forest areas. The women preserved and passed down knowledge through oral traditions, giving them a complete and highly accurate understanding of how to maintain the forestland. However, social structures of a male-dominated society have kept women, and particularly their knowledge, out of the public realm. Though women could be helpful to policy formation, their participation and presence is rendered invisible through a series of cultural barriers (i.e. time constraints, gender-segregated society, male dominated families, etc). This research considers the effects of current development projects in Kumaoni culture, particularly as they affect women. Development discourse is addressed in relation to projects and the allocation of resources relating to both developing areas and women. By examining women’s work, knowledge and participation in community activities, I examine issues regarding the outcomes of British colonial rule, the breadth of wisdom which is unused and dismissed by cultural norms, and the extent to which women’s “traditional” work is hampered by public policies.