Midterm 1 Flashcards
1
Q
Social variables/social locations
A
o Age
o Gender
o Ethnicity
o Sexuality
o Religion
2
Q
Social institutions
A
o Family
o Workplace
o School
o Religion
o Friends
o Clubs
3
Q
Social interactions
A
o Relationships
o Coworkers
o Classmates
o Friends
4
Q
Sociological imagination
A
The distinction between a person’s trouble and public issues. It connects our problems to society.
5
Q
John Porter
A
- He examined the relationship between social class and ethnicity.
- Coined the term vertical mosaic to describe hierarchal stratification of racial, ethnic, and religious groups due to systemic discrimination.
- Porter found that Anglo-Saxon Protestants occupied the top of the hierarchy, followed by French-Canadians while racially marginalized groups concentrate at the bottom of the hierarchy.
6
Q
Structural Functionalism
A
- Uses an organic or biological analogy for society.
-Identities the various structures of society (eg., the family), and describes the functions the structure performs to maintain the entire social system and produce social cohesion.
7
Q
Durkheim and Social Facts
A
- One of the founders of sociology
- Coined the term social fact.
- Social facts are patterned ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside of any one individual but exert social control over people.
- Social facts allow sociologists to examine larger social forms rather than focusing on individuals.
8
Q
Characteristics of social facts
A
- It was developed prior to and separate from you as an individual.
- It can be seen as a characteristic of a particular group.
- It involves a constraining or coercing force that pushes people to act a certain way.
9
Q
Manifest Functions
A
intended and readily recognized E.g., Religion fulfill spiritual and emotional needs
10
Q
Latent Functions
A
unintended and unrecognized E.g., Religion creates a support network
11
Q
Latent Dysfunctions
A
Unintended and produce socially negative consequences E.g., Religion provides justification for judging outsiders negatively.
12
Q
Conflict Theory
A
Based on the idea that conflict exists in all large societies due to class division and is the motor of major socio-historical change
13
Q
Conflict theory is based on the 4 C’s
A
- Conflict
- Class
- Contestation- asking “what does this function best serve?”
- Change
14
Q
Karl Marx
A
- Society is hierarchal and each position is determined by the group’s role and wealth.
- Society is characterized by class conflict. Capitalism was an exploitative economic system that facilitated the accumulation of wealth by those who owned the means of production (The Bourgeoise) – over workers who had to sell their labour in exchange for money to live (The Proletariat). He saw power as repressive, power concentrated in the hand of the few and used to dominate the many.
15
Q
Symbolic Interactionism
A
individuals and groups create and maintain social systems through interaction. Focuses on individual and small groups and their everyday practices and interactions rather than larger social structures (macro vs microsociology)
16
Q
Feminist Theory
A
- Rooted in conflict theory.
- Feminist theories address issues of systematic discrimination against women
17
Q
Standpoint Theory
A
- Knowledge is always developed from a particular standpoint or lived experience.
- The everyday experiences and the female standpoint were largely ignored in sociological knowledge developed from a male standpoint.
18
Q
Feminism Waves
A
First wave: campaign for civil political rights
Second Wave: focus on public and private rights
Third wave: inclusion of LGBTI and racialized individuals
19
Q
Postmodern Theory
A
- Seeks to include a diversity of voices, especially those that are often drowned out by powerful voice of dominant groups.
20
Q
The scientific method
A
Observation, identify research question, conduct background research, formulate hypothesis, select a research design, gather data, analyze data, and revise hypothesis or present results.
21
Q
insider versus outsider perspectives debate
A
- Positivism is the belief that the social sciences could be studied using the methods natural sciences. It assumes that researchers are objective.
- Comte viewed the outside as the expert in privilege position over the insider (subjects of the study)
- The outside expert ideal would be an example of policy sociology
22
Q
Debate #2: Quantitative vs Qualitative research
A
- Quan- generate stats, macrosociologist approach (Big Picture). E.g., surveys, polls, and questionnaires
- Qual- Characteristics (cannot be measured or counted), microsociologist approach (Voices)e.g., observation, interview, ethnography.
- Many researchers today embrace triangulation, or a mixed methods approach when completing research.
23
Q
Qualitative Research
A
- Permits subjectivity on the part of both research and research subject.
- Ex,. Ethnography, institutional ethnography, case study, narratives, contents analysis, genealogy.
24
Q
Ethnography
A
Seeks to uncover the symbols and categories members of the given culture use to interpret their world.
25
Participant observation
observing people and actively participating in their activities to obtain an insider perspective.
26
Semi-structured interviews
Informal, face-to-face interviews
27
Informants
insiders who help the researcher in becoming accepted by the community and assist with the interpretation of information and behaviour.
28
Ruling interests
the interests of the organization, particularly its administration, and/or the interests if those who hold power in society
29
2. Experiential data
come from informants: anyone work works for the organization, outside of management.
30
Case Study Approach
a research design that takes as its subject a single case or a few selected examples of social entity such as:
Community, Family, roles, relationships
- Best practices- desired results.
31
Narratives
the stories people tell about themselves, their situations and others around them. Purest form of insider view
32
Voice
the expression of a unique viewpoint from a particular social location
33
Content Analysis
Involves studying a set of cultural artifacts (news articles, artwork… ) or events and interpreting the themes they reflect
34
Discourse Analysis
1. Analyzing discourse as the term is commonly understood (conversation, speech, written text)
2. Discourse analysis considers broader definition of “text”, going beyond individual works and authors to include larger fields.
35
Genealogy
Method of examining the history of second discourse defined above. It seeks to trace the origins and histories of modern discourses.
Ex. Edwards Said’s Orientalism, which is the western fascination with or romanticization of “exotic” middle and far eastern culture.
36
Absolute poverty
anything below minimum income level needed to secure basic necessities.
Measure: Market Basket Measure (MBM)
37
Relative poverty
defines poverty relative to median or mean household incomes. Measure: low-income cut-off (LICO)
38
Data generation methods
Poll, close-ended questions (yes and no) and open-ended questions (not yes and no).
39
Independent variable
has an effect on another variable (the cause)
40
Dependent variable
is affected by the independent variable (the effect)
41
Direct correlation
positive- variables increase or decrease together.
42
Inverse correlation
negative- variables change in opposing directions.
43
Spurious reasoning
occurs when someone sees correlation and falsely assumes causation. Third variable.
44
Culture and its elements are contested
there is little agreement as to who and what belongs to culture, even by those who belong to a cultural group.
45
Dominant culture
(English speaking, white, heterosexual, male, able bodied, traditional family structure, middle-class, middle-aged, In Ontario or Quebec, university graduates)
46
subculture and counterculture
(culture in opposition of dominant culture in Canada)
47
Minority cultures
are those that fall outside the cultural mainstream.
- There are two subcategories that falls under minority cultures: countercultures and subcultures.
48
Countercultures
are minority cultures that feel the power of the dominant culture and exist in opposition to it. (Clothing styles or sexual norms)
e.g., hippies, biker gangs, and alternative (music and fashion)
49
High culture
is the culture of the elite, a distinct minority. It is associated with the arts (E.g., theatre, opera, ballet).- High culture requires what Pierre Bourdieu called cultural capital: a set of skills and knowledge needed to acquire the sophisticated tasted that mark someone as a person of high culture.
50
Popular culture
the culture of the majority, especially those who do not have power (E.g., the working class, the less educated, women, and racialized minorities)
51
Mass culture
refers to people who have little or no agency in the culture they consume (eg, big companies dictate what peoples watch, buy value, or believe).
- Created by those in power for the masses.
52
A crucial distinction exists between popular culture and mass culture
The two differ in terms of agency, the ability of “the people” to be creative or productive with materials given to them by a dominant culture.
53
example of exercising agency
Rosa Parks in movie theatre
54
Simulacra is a feature of Mass Culture
They are stereotypical cultural images produced and reproduced like material goods or commodities by the media and sometimes by scholars. E.g., inuit represented through igloos, kayaks, etc…)
55
Decipherment
involves looking in a text for the definitive interpretation, for the purpose (conscious or unconscious) the culture industry had in mind in creating the text.
56
Sanctions
Sanctions are rewards and punishment in response to a particular behaviour.
Pos: smiles, high five, bonus
Neg: glare, eye roll, parking ticket
57
Folkways
etiquette, norms we should not violate, like double-dipping.
58
Mores
More serious than folkways, serious sanctions like rape.
59
