Exam 1 Flashcards
sociological imagination (coined by C. Wright Mills)
the capacity to think systematically about how things we experience as personal issues are really social issues that are widely shared by others living in a similar time and place as us
social context
influence of society on individuals
identity
the conceptions we and others have about who we are and what groups or categories we are members of
social structure
the many diverse ways in which the rules and norms of everyday life become enduring patterns that shape and govern social interaction
industrialization
the growth of factories and large-scale goods production
urbanization
the growth of cities–> led to various social problems, such as growing levels of poverty and governments and scholars wanted to understand these problems
urban areas
areas with a pop. density of at least 1,000 people per sq mi
Who coined the term sociology?
Auguste Comte
social theories
systematic ideas about the relationship between individuals and societies
Karl Marx: Manifesto of the Communist Party
- explains why class divisions and class struggles explain the movement of history –> “the history of all societies is the history of class struggles”
- lays out the position that the bourgeois, thru competition + private land ownership, are forever exploiting and oppressing the proletariat (working class)
- the sysytem always results in class conflict + revolution and should be replaced by communism, a society without class distinctions
1. abolishing ownership of all private property
2. establishing system of heavy taxation
3. abolishing the right to inherit
4. centralizing communication and transport with the state
5. centralizing credit and establishment of a state bank
6. confiscating all emigrant and rebel property
7. extending the means of production to the state
8. equalizing liability to all levels of labor
9. combining agriculture and manufacturing industries
10. establishing a free public education system - capitalism lacked freedom for most, based on exploitation, an unstable system with crisis tendencies= always has the potential for recession, depression and market crashes
- capitalism doesnt respect rational boundaries–> at some point the forces of production cannot keep growing fast enough to generate enough profit and capitalist have to squeeze its workers
modes of production
characterize the dominant economic system in a society and the classes that the economic system gives rise to
bourgeoisie
who possess special resources (capita)
proletariat
working class
socialist
society in which the productive forces of society are owned by everyone
class struggle
classes of people who are treated so differently by the economic system are inevitably going to be in conflict with one another
Emile Durkheim
social facts: 1) forces external to individual; 2) they constrain us to act a certain way;
3) if we deviate we can expect a sanction; 4) we dont have to think about it, we just “know” the rules
social facts
regularities and rules of everyday life that every human community has
social forces
all the forms of social structure (hierarchies & institutions) that any individual must operate within
socialization
the way we learn how to behave in society
–> people don’t really know why they do what they do
social solidarity
what is it that holds societies together, where the shared morals and connections between mechanical and organic solidartiy
mechanical solidarity
the dominant form of solidarity in “primitive” societies – characterized by minimal division of labor
organic solidarityu
very extensive division of labor and mutual dependence among people (modern societies)
Max Weber
Action:
-social action theory: actions of people in the context of the meaning that they assign to them and the relationship these actions have with the actions of others
-social action occurs as a result of the cooperation and struggle between the individual and the wider society
-in order to explain an action, we must interpret it according to its subjectively intended meaning (ie- what did the person who performed an action mean by his action)
Open and closed Relationships:
-open relationships: participation of certain persons is excluded, limited, and subjected to conditions; against outsiders and there are binding rules to these relationships; need “formal approval” to join
-certain things might cause exclusivity –> economic status political standing, cultural ties, specific interests
“The Types of Legitimate Domination”
1) rational (legal) authority = legally obligated to obey; social contract
2) traditional authority= obeys out of personal loyalty bound by tradition
3)charismatic authority= individual you obey shows exemplary character and they are obeyed by virtue of personal trust gained from his heroism, character, or belief in that individual
interpretative sociology
understanding of social action
power
a person’s ability to acheive his or her objective even if someone else wants to try to prevent it
authority
the capacity to get people to do things because you think that they should abide by the commands of people above thems
status groups
groups of people with similar kinds of attributes or identities such as those based on religion, ethnicity or race
stratification system
inequalities between groups that persist over time
