Introduction into Sociology Flashcards
What is sociology?
Methodical study of human behaviours and societies, it examines the relationship between individuals and society
What is sociological imagination?
The ability to examine the personal lives of individuals in the context of larger processes of social, economic and political change. Its the interconnection between our personal experiences and the larger social forces.
What is social structrue and give some examples
The organised set of social institutions and patterns of institutionalised relationships that together compose society e.g. instiutions such as religion, education as well as socially constructed concepts such as gender
What is agency 3
The capacity of individuals to make decisions and affect change, it is an independence in which one is responsible for their own thoughts and actions. It is the capacity to have power and resources to fulfill one’s potential. Human agency is about understanding how people interpret their situation and negotiate with those around them according to that interpretation and the opportunities avaliable to them.
Key ideas of Karl Marx 3
- Created conflict theory, based on the economy and concerned with the production of different classess and how this impacts one’s life situation
- Introduced historical materialism, which states that the material conditions of the mode of production determines its organisation and more importantly its development, how goods are made influences society and how society changes over time
- Believed capitalism was divided into the workers (proletariat) and capitalists (bourgeoisie), a relationship of domination, exploitation and unequal power
Key ideas of Herbert Spencer 1
- Founder of evolutionary change, enforced theories of survival of the fittest and the supremacy of Western soceities over others, believed that for a society to be modernised it is also westernised
Key ideas of Auguste Comte 2
- Coined the term sociology to be the scientifc study of society, applied scientific methods to study society
- A positivist meaning he believed that a fact should be observable and measurable, it is a philosophical system that recognises only which can be scientifically verified or is capable of logical or mathematical proof
Key ideas of Emile Durkheim 4
- Believed social and moral solidarity was a prerequisite for any society otherwise chaos would ensue (collective consensus and mechanical solidarity where people share patterns of thinking)
- Introduced the notion of ‘social facts’, things external to and coercive of the actor, they are created from collective societal forces that don’t emanate from the individual, they are instiutions, norms and values which exist external to the individual and have the power to cosntrain or give promote agency to individuals. Social facts are values, cultural norms and social structures that transcend the individual and can exercise social control.
- Through a sociological investigation into the typology of suicide, Durkheim recognised that social cohesion and intergration are protective against anomie (lack of belonging and acceptance)
- Established the sociological method: observation, description and theorisation
Key ideas of C Wright Mills 2
- Recognised the relationship between the individual and social forces, how these constrain or aid certain individuals
- Sought the opposite of neo-liberalism in recognising how social, economic and political situations affects one’s ability to express their agency
What is neo-liberaism and how does this relate to the concepts of individual and society
- Seeks to transfer ownership and control of economic factors from the government to the private sector
- There is an emphasis on individualism and individuals being responsible for their life chances, fails to recognise the ways in which external factors such as inflation rates or political issues may affect an individual’s life
- E.g. of employment where if there is a signficant percentage of unemployment it is a burden on the individuals to improve their own life situaiton rather than through the lens of economic, political or social issues that may be causing this trend –> reinforced by C Wright Mills, ‘the very structure of opportunities has collapsed…the range of possible solutions requires us to consider the economic and political institutions of the society and not merely the personal situation’
Explain the relationship between agency and social structures
- Social structrues exist in a way that offer stability to societies, they have the influence to either marginalise or benefit individuals
- Structures are not static but rather constantly changing and evolving and thus their role in aiding or constraining one’s agency continues to change also
- Agency is derived from ideas in enlightenment that humans are self-aware, have the capacity for complex thought and we have the choice to act in a way that continues and reinforces social structures or choose to resist or modify them
Brief explaination of the period of Enlightenment
- Period in the 18th century (1685 - 1815) which saw the decline of organised religion and the rise of secular society with an increasing influence of science and reason
- Recognised that humans are endowned with reason and that this isn’t necessarily ‘god-given’
Key ideas of Max Weber 2
- Saw class divisions as not just a production of one’s economic situation but also their social standing which became known as social status
- Coined the term social closure to describe the way power is exercised to exclude outsiders from the privliges of social membership
Critical thought
An invitation to look beyond everyday perspectvies so that we see the world in a different light, as if we’ve come from a different culture or period in history
Reflexive consciousness
This is about engaging with the world intelligently and actively rather than being passively pushed around by surrounding social forces. This links to agency, in choosing to defy or change social structrues around us or simply endorse them passively
