Introduction Flashcards
The study of how societies are organized and how the organization of a society influences the behavior of people living in it
Sociology
The capacity to think about our own personal experience in relation to larger social forces that influence every aspect of our lives, whether they are visible to us or not
Sociological imagination
The rapid development of manufacturing and industry inspired by technological changes in machinery during the 1700-1800s
Industrial revolution
Dividing up jobs so that different individuals can specialize in what they are best at and trade the surplus
Division of labor
Remembered today as one of the founders of socialism or communism, actually spent most of his time writing about capitalism and the massively changing economic relations it brought about
Karl Marx
A struggle between groups that have differing interests and needs
Social conflict
A group of people with similar positions in the economy and similar needs and interests (Marx)
classes
Capacity to work (Marx)
Labor
Compensation for ones labor (Marx)
Wages
Instead of focusing on the properties and characteristics of individuals, these type of sociologists argue that individuals are defined by their relationships with others and with social institutions such as the economy
Relational sociologist
The feeling of being disconnected from others, from work, and even from our own sense of humanity
Alienation
A french sociologist that played a key role in the development of sociology into a social science. He insisted that the study of society should follow rigorous rules and, like other sciences, should rely on data to test whether our ideas about the world are correct
Emile Durkheim
Forces that both impact individual behavior and are produced by that behavior (Durkheim)
Structure
The patterns of how people in a society were connected (Durkheim)
Solidarity
All parts of society are intricately connected, the society is extremely cohesive, and people are highly integrated with one another (Durkheim)
Mechanical solidarity
Some members of society are only very distantly connected to one another, but members increasingly rely on each other (Durkheim)
Organic solidarity
How tied you are as an individual, to others (Durkheim)
Integration
The idea that all groups have rules, both formal and informal (Durkheim)
Regulation
Expectations for our behavior
Norms
A situation in which people do not have clear moral standards or social expectations to guide their behavior (Durkheim)
Anomie
A sociologist whose definition of sociology is one of the most famous. Emphasizes methodological individualism.
Max Weber
Perspective that individuals should be at the center of any study of society (Weber)
Methodological individualism
Behaviors that produce structures
Social action (Weber)
Perspective that focuses on the meaning that people make of their actions
Interpretive understanding
The values that people hold and that ultimately guide their social actions (Weber)
Culture
An activist and sociologist and is considered the founder of the field of social work
Jane Addams
A settlement house established by Jane Addams in Northwest Chicago. She envisioned this place as a center for social reform, where women could be educated, have support raising their children, and engage in social activism
Hull House
Influential group of sociologists at the University of Chicago who engaged in innovative research on cities and the patterns of how people live within them
Chicago School
Making the people that are to be helped a fundamental part of the research practice
Socially-engaged scholarship
Our relative social standing
Status
Symbolic rewards Whites receive from a system that values whiteness
Psychological wage
