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.
Positivism
Positivism
Science can deal only with observable entities known directly to experience
Construct theories which explain relationships
BELIEF IN SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Alexis De Tocqueville (1805-1859)
Individualism-free to flourish without regard to station in life.
felt that despite the individualism of Americans, they had little independence of mind.
“Tyranny of the Majority”
Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) wrote about how to observe behavior as a participant.
Translated Positive Philosophy into English
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) focused on the forces that hold society together in moral cohesion.
Social Facts Suicide Egoistic (lack of social integration) Altruistic Anomic (without rules)
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
saw social class as a fundamental dimension of society that shapes social behavior.
Bourgeoisie and Proletariat
Historical Materialism
Max Weber (1864-1920)
was concerned with ideas and how they shaped society. “Verstehen”
Robert Park (1864-1944)
Race Relations Cycle
Human Ecology
Jane Addams (1860-1935)
Settlement House Movement developed housing projects for immigrants, slum dwellers, and other dispossessed groups.
Jane Addams (1860-1935)
Settlement House Movement developed housing projects for immigrants, slum dwellers, and other dispossessed groups.
W. E. B. DuBois (1868-1963)
was deeply troubled by the racial divisiveness in society.
“The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line”
- Dual Consciousness
Functionalism interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the whole.
- Merton:
- Manifest Functions: Stated and intended outcomes of behavior
- Latent Functions: Unintended consequences
Conflict theory sees society as organized around the unequal distribution of resources and held together through power and coercion.
- Groups are in power because they control a greater share of the scarce resources in society
- Struggles between groups lead to social change
Do Laws reflect the desires of all members of society for the common good (functionalism) or do they reflect the desires of those in power (conflict)?
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Symbolic interaction theory emphasizes the role of individuals in giving meaning to social behavior, thereby creating society.
- Social Construction of Reality (Example: One Drop Rule)
- Definition of the Situation
- “if men define situations as real they are real in their consequences” (W. I. Thomas)
Feminist theory is the analysis of women and men in society and is intended to improve women’s lives.
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Deviance is behavior that is recognized as violating expected rules and norms.
-1972 Ruby Team Survivors -1991 Dahmer
Formal (breaks laws or official rules)
Informal Deviance (violates customary norms)
Deviance and Crime are different
- Deviance: recognized violation of cultural norms
- Crime: Violation of a society’s enacted criminal law
“Not all deviant behavior is criminal”
Deviance- nudity, bizzarre clothing
Crime- exceeding speed limit, underage drinking
In the middle: murder and sexual assault.
Four main characteristics of deviant behavior:
- It occurs in a social context and is not just individual behavior.
- It is culturally relative.
- The social rules are created or constructed; not just morally decided upon or enforced.
- The audience decides what is defined as deviant.
Social Movements- Networks of groups that organize to support or resist change
Campaign against smoking
Social Movements success and failure
- Temperance Movement
Woman’s Christian Temperance Union 1873
1919 TheNational Prohibition Act (Volstead Act), 18th
Repealed 1933
Social Construction of Deviance
- Deviance is influenced by society
- Subcultural influences
Medicalization of deviance
attributes deviant behavior to a “sick” state of mind, where the solution is to “cure” the deviance through therapy or other psychological treatment.
