Chapter 1; Theories

Question 1

Sociology

Answer 1

systematic study of society

Question 2

Sociological imagination

Answer 2

the ability to perceive the interconnectedness between individual experiences (micro level) and broader social forces (macro level)

Question 3

What are the tools used to develop your sociological imagination

Answer 3

Empirical research methods, sociological theories, and critical thinking

Question 4

How does sociology differ from other disciplines?

Answer 4

It focuses on meaningful connections between people

Question 5

social statics

Answer 5

August Comt; forms of social organizations

Question 6

social dynamics

Answer 6

August Comt; processes of social change

Question 7

Empirical research methods

Answer 7

data collection that produces verifiable findings and is carried out using systematic procedures

Question 8

Theory

Answer 8

set of propositions intended to explain a fact or phenomenon

Question 9

What are the 3 approaches to theorizing?

Answer 9

positivist, interpretive, critical

Question 10

what is the positivist approach and why do interpretive and critical theories reject it?

Answer 10

interest in explanation and prediction; examines relationships between variables to better understand society. Interpretive and critical theorizing rejects the positivist assumption of an objective “laws” that govern the way society works.

Question 11

What is the Interpretive approach and what is its goal?

Answer 11

focuses on understanding themselves, the world, and others. presumes people are shaped through culture; the goal is to describe the role culture plays in shaping societies.

Question 12

critical

Answer 12

focuses on emancipation and power

Question 13

What is the functionalist perspective, what approach does it take, and what level perspective is it?

Answer 13

Emile Durkheim, positivist approach, macro-level perspective, Jenga analogy; views society as comprising of structures, each that fulfills important functions that keeps society operating smoothly. These structures can serve manifest functions and latent functions, and if there is latent dysfunction it is believed other structures will adapt to restore order. consensus and cooperation are fundamental to the maintenance of social order. Adaptable to small changes. Values and norms are widely held.

Question 14

manifest functions

Answer 14

intended functions of an institution

Question 15

latent functions

Answer 15

unintended functions of an institution that still have positive outcomes

Question 16

latent dysfunction

Answer 16

unintended negative function of one of society’s structures

Question 17

values

Answer 17

shared criteria by which we determine if something is right or wrong

Question 18

social facts

Answer 18

aspects of society that exist over specific individuals and control peoples actions

Question 19

material social facts

Answer 19

social facts with a tangible reality, ex. currency, education system, government

Question 20

non-material social facts

Answer 20

intangible social facts, ex. norms, morals, values

Question 21

mechanical solidarity

Answer 21

social bonds in preindustrial societies based on similarities among people

Question 22

organic solidarity

Answer 22

social bonds in industrialized society based on different roles people play in the division of labour

Question 23

collective conscience

Answer 23

shared system of morals; bonded people in preindustrial societies

Question 24

anomie

Answer 24

state where traditional norms deteriorate, process of social control decline, and institutions become dysfunctional

Question 25

The Conflict Perspective

Answer 25

Karl Marx/Max Weber, critical approach ,macro-level, emphasizes power and emancipation, views society as a hierarchy with a small group of powerful people at the top and a large group of powerless people at the bottom. Competition over resources, possibility of emancipation. Highlights the importance of praxis.

Question 26

alienation

Answer 26

the detachment that exists between the worker and their labour as perpetuated under capitalism

Question 27

praxis

Answer 27

The responsibility scholars have to provide marginalized groups in society with the knowledge they need to end their powerlessness

Question 28

The symbolic interactionist perspective

Answer 28

George Herbert Mead/Herbert Blumer, interpretive approach, mirco-level, emphasis on meaning and subjective understandings. Analyzes how we come to develop understanding; depicts society as consisting of individuals engaged in both direct and indirect communication that come to have meaning

Question 29

dramaturgical theory

Answer 29

Erving Goffman; social life is like a theatre, with a front stage: how we act/the roles we play infront of other people, and a back stage: our identities/behaviours when we are alone. Humans engage in impression management: ensuring our appearances, words, and actions correspond to the specific roles we are playing at the time.

Question 30

The Feminist Perspective

Answer 30

Harriet Martineau; ranges from micro-macro level, crtical perspective; Diverse: views society and people’s experiences as as structured on the basis of gender, academic work has an androcentric bias, research and theory must be intertwined with practice

Question 31

patriarchy

Answer 31

legal and social power vested in men

Question 31

androcentric

Answer 31

male-centred, failing to account for experiences of women

Question 31

The Post-modern perspective

Answer 31

Michael Foucalt, emerged from the post WW2 era, points out ways in which our lives have dramatically changed since the war, 2 forms; Skeptical: proposes that the social changes have created inescapable chaos and meaningless. Affirmative: the way society has changed means we can’t rely on overarching theories of society and broad categories of people. The post-modern perspective focusses on deconstructing what is perceived as knowledge and questioning it.

Question 32

Post-structuralist theories

Answer 32

Michael Foulcault, emphasises the relationship between knowledge and power, truth is not objective it is historically produced

Question 32

discourse

Answer 32

ways of talking about bodies of knowledge or social phenomenon

Question 33

critical thinking

Answer 33

mode of thinking where the thinker imposes intellectual standards on the structures of thinking

Question 33

lower-order thinking

Answer 33

based on memory, recall and paraphrasing. We tend to think of things as true or false/ accurate or inaccurate when their is really nuance

Question 34

higher order thinking

Answer 34

when we extrapolate info from one domain and apply it to another

Question 35

critical societies

Answer 35

contain a mass order of higher order thinking

Question 36

Sociological toolkit

Answer 36

empirical research methods:means for creating verifiable knowledge
sociological theories:provide a larger context of explanation for that knowledge
critical thinking skills: enable us to evaluate and extrapolate that knowledge

Question 37

Academic sociology

Answer 37

empirical research methods and sociological theorizing conducted by formally trained researchers

Question 38

Policy sociology

Answer 38

the use of research, theorizing, and critical thinking for policy development in governments and other public/private organizations

Question 39

Public sociology

Answer 39

transmits sociological knowledge to non-academic audiences

Question 40

private sociology

Answer 40

the application of sociological knowledge to one’s own personal life