Chapter 1 Flashcards
Who coined the term sociology?
Auguste Comte 1838
What is sociology?
The study of human behaviour in a social context
What is the Scientific Revolution (1550)?
Suggested it was possible to have a science of society
What is the Democratic Revolution(1750)?
Belief that people had the power to change/improve society
What is the Industrial Revolution (1780)?
Created a wide range of new social problems that demanded solutions
What is positivism?
Relies on scientific evidence like experiments and statistics
Emile Durkheim
Founding Father of Functionalism
Max Weber
Founding Father of Symbolic Interactionism
Karl Marx
Founding Father of Conflict Theory
What are theories?
Explanations that state how/why facts are related
What is research?
Observing reality to assess the validity of a theory
What are values?
Ideas of what is good/bad and right/wrong
Microstructures
Smallest levels of interaction (face to face) between individuals
Macrostructures
Large-scale interactions within a social system or population
Global Stuctures
Highest level of interaction that is distributed worldwide
What is Functionalism?
All aspects of society serve a purpose / are necessary for survival
Manifest Functions
Clear/intended effects of social structures
Latent Functions
Unintended effects of social structures
Symbolic Interactionism
Society is created/maintained through repeated meaningful interactions among individuals
What is Social Contrustionism?
Social identities are formed from norms/beliefs instead of naturally
Queer Theory…
Denies the very existence of stable identities
Conflict Theory
Emphasizes competition between groups to show patterns of inequality in society
What is class conflict?
The struggle between classes to resist and overcome the opposition of other classes
Who came up with Cultural Hegemony?
Antonio Gramsci
What is Cultural Hegemony?
The control of culture by a dominant class / values are universally accepted as common sense
Who is the mother of sociology?
Harriet Martineau
What is Feminist Theory?
Highlights social issues that are experienced by women
Examples of Feminist Theory:
Economic inequality, stereotypes, gender roles
