History of Sociology

Question 1

Karl Marx: description, theory, belief, dream society, observation about man

Answer 1

• anti-Capitalism, communist
• ## historical materialism- social change can only come about through conflicts between classes

Question 2

Karl Marx: description, theory, belief, dream society, observation about man

Answer 2

• anti-Capitalism, communist
• historical materialism- social change can only come about through conflicts between classes
• history is an account of men’s struggle to dominate and control natural world. Ultimately, they became slaves to technology in the industrial revolution
• there’s conflict lines in every community that separate large proletariat workers from small number of capitalists. This conflict will ultimately cause communist revolution
• new society: no private property, laws unique to individual’s beliefs/ needs

Question 3

Karl Marx: description, theory, belief, dream society, observation about man

Answer 3

• anti-Capitalism, communist
• historical materialism- social change can only come about through conflicts between classes
• history is an account of men’s struggle to dominate and control natural world. Ultimately, they became slaves to technology in the industrial revolution
• there’s conflict lines in every community that separate large proletariat workers from small number of capitalists. This conflict will ultimately cause communist revolution
• new society: no private property, laws unique to individual’s beliefs/ needs

Question 4

Max Weber: description, theory, belief

Answer 4

• disagreed with Karl Marx: thought that culture, religion, ideas influenced how societies evolved, rather than they were an effect of societies’ evolution
• Protestant reformism in 16th/17th century set base for modern capitalism by replacing social norm of virtuous poor with goal of divine riches
• Vestehen concept: “understanding,” sociologists should take perspective of those engaging in social behavior to understand the meanings they attach to their functions. Set groundwork for interpretive sociology- study of social meaning

Question 5

Emile Durkheim: description, theory, beliefs

Answer 5

• wishes to explore how capitalism and industrialization influence how we relate/ interact with eachother
• labor divisions, in addition to affecting work and productivity, have social and moral consequences
• explores how suicide affected by social forces
• concept of anomie- state of aimlessness/ despair from too little social regulation
• founder of positivist sociology- can predict social world by describing certain observable relationships

Question 6

Georg Simmel: description, theory, beliefs

Answer 6

• founder of formal sociology- describing sociology through numbers
• explored small group interactions between groups of 2 (dyad) and 3 (triad) people–> basis for other sociologists to explore microinteractions
• gave formal definitions to small/large group, party, stranger

Question 7

Social ecology

Answer 7

people’s behaviors/ personalities are influenced by your social and physical environments

Question 8

August Comte

Answer 8

• said that positivism arose when religious authority was declining and we needed to make moral sense of social order
• said that basis of morality could be secular, not only religious
• outlined 3 phases to human society
  1. Theological phase- society a result of God’s plan
  2. Metaphysical phase- enlightenment thinkers thought human behavior governed by biological instincts
  3. Scientific phase- scientific laws/ social physics governed human behavior

Question 9

What is positivist sociology?

Answer 9

sociology can predict social world by describing certain observable relationships

Question 10

Harriet Martineau

Answer 10

• one of the earliest feminist social scientists

- argued that institution of marriage was based off of the assumption of women’s inferiority

Question 11

Charles Horton

Answer 11

“looking glass self”- your self emerges from an interactive self process. We envision how others perceive us and gauge their responses. Our self concept comes from interacting with the social world around us

Question 12

George Herbert Mead

Answer 12

the self develops during childhood when we learn to take the point of view of specific others in specific contexts and internalize the “generalized other”

Question 13

W.E.B. Du Bois

Answer 13

double consciousness- Black people have two behavioral scripts. One for how they move through the world, the other is influenced by the prejudiced external opinions of others

Question 14

Functionalism

Answer 14

• the theory that various social institutions and processes in society exist to serve some important (or necessary) function to keep society running
• belief that inequality is necessary and beneficial
• society is a well-oiled machine, where parts work together

Question 15

Conflict Theory

Answer 15

• conflict between competing interests is the basic, animating force of social change and society
• conflict drives social change
• inequality exists as a result of political struggles of different groups. It’s unfair, exists at expense of less powerful groups