EXAM 4- FINAL EXAM Flashcards
Sociology- is a scientific way of thinking about society and its influence on human groups.
It is an empirical discipline and its conclusions are based on careful and systematic observations
Wright Mills- Sociological Imagination- The ability to see the societal patterns that influence the individual as well as groups of individuals
“The sociological imagination enables us to”- It allows you to see connections between our particular situation in life (biography) and what is happening at a social level (history)
Social Structure
may be defined as the organized pattern of social relationships and social institutions that together constitute society.
Social institutions - are the established and organized systems of social behavior with a particular and recognized purpose
The family, religion, marriage, government, and the economy are examples of major social institutions.
Troubles
Troubles are privately felt problems that spring from events or feelings in a person’s life.
Issues
affect large numbers of people and have their origins in the institutional arrangements and history of a society.
- Issues shape the context within which troubles arise.
Peter Burger- Debunking is the process of questioning actions and ideas about society and it is the job of sociology to debunk commonly accepted notions about society.
- “The first wisdom of sociology is this—things are not what they seem”
- “Debunking refers to looking behind the facades of everyday life.”
- “Seeing the strange in the familiar” and “seeing the general in the particular”
Social Location- is where a person is located in a particular society and at a particular point in history.
Social Location allows sociologists to understand behavior by examining the location in which they belong
- Race, Class, Gender, Occupation
Diversity- central theme
- Diversity is an important issue in any society, particularly in the United States.
- Racial and ethnic minority groups currently comprise 27% of those living in this country.
- This percent continues to steadily increase.
Diversity is Broad Concept
- studying differences in opportunities available to various groups in society
- the shaping of social institutions by different social factors
- the formation of group and individual identity
- the process of social change
Diversity includes the study of different cultural orientations.
- Understanding diversity is crucial to understanding society.
- Patterns of social change and social structures are patterned by diverse group experiences.
It is impossible to understand today’s societies without seeing them in a global context.
The social and economic systems of every society are intertwined with those of other nations.
Mass media, the Internet, and ease of travel continue make societies more interconnected.
We are no long a country separated by geographic boundaries.
- We can communicate with almost anyone in the world in minutes.
- We can travel to the other side of the globe in hours.
- A natural disaster in one region of the globe has widespread effects on all other nations.
Influence of Enlightenment
- Observation and reason replaced a belief in the supernatural causes of events.
- French Revolution
- Industrial Revolution
Auguste Conte (1798-1857)coined the phase “sociology.”
He believed that society could be studied scientifically. This approach is known as positivism.