Module 2 Flashcards
What is the “quality of mind” necessary to become a sociologist?
-the ability to acquire a new way of thinking
Why are values or ordinary common sense not enough to understand the world we live in?
- Troubles are individual
- Issues are social
- Issues transcend local troubles and environments
What are the kinds of questions a sociologist would ask about the society in which they live?
- What is the structure of this particular issue as a whole?
- Where does this society stand in human history?
- What varieties of men and women now prevail in this society and in this period?
How does the individual contribute “to the shaping of this society and to the course of its history” according to Mills?
- Through the sociological imagination and self consciousness
- The realization of social relativity
According to Mills, how is an individual life “made by society and its historical push and shove?”
- Social structures affect individual’s lives
- ex. Unemployment, war, the institution of marriage, living in a city, the economy, etc…
Is the individual aware that she is being “made” by society?
Why or why not?
Those with a sociological imagination can see how they are shaped by society, but non-sociological thinkers are most likely to look at their own individual problems, rather than the larger issues that affect their lives
Why is ours a “time of uneasiness and indifference?” How would this affect an individual according to Mills?
- Neither the values threatened nor whatever threatens us has been stated
- creates vague uneasiness
- instead of explicit issues, there is only a feeling that something is not right
- most people cannot see the issues through a sociological imagination.
What is Mills referring to when he speaks of “intellectual fads?”
institutions of knowledge that are seen as most relevant
rationalism as an example
- an idea that perpetuates within a population that is seen as superior, and reduces thought about other ideas and theories
How can population-level statistics distort the rates of suicide in Aboriginal communities?
- higher frequency in some indigenous communities
- some indigenous communities report no suicide at all
In some aboriginal communities, what features of youth cultural life “contribute to the durability of the idea of suicide?”
- parents who are unable to express affection to do inter generational trauma and the residential school system
- parents using the abusive model of their own childhood
- decline in traditional values because of the church
- resource extraction
- increased drug and alcohol addiction, family violence, child neglect, juvenile crime, and suicide
What are the shared historical experiences of the residents of Criss lake that are highlighted by Niezen as “plausible beginnings of an explanation for the origin and distribution of cluster suicides?”
- historical and collective trauma (forced relocation, loss of subsistence, large-scale resource extraction, residential schools, loss of inter generational knowledge, loss of parenting skills, forced resettlement
- decreased social support
Why are the features of a “troubled historical legacy” not enough to explain the cluster suicides experienced in Cross Lake and other aboriginal communities?
There are many overlapping and interconnected affects of colonialism that may later manifest into social crises.
It is not one singular event, but multiple events
What are the “central markers of cultural continuity?”
- pursuit of land claims
- regimes of self-government that include control of education
- police
- health services
- development of aboriginal cultural facilities
- active participation of women in the position of chief or band councillor
How can social and cultural reforms help to protect a community against an “outbreak” of cluster suicides?
-protect the personal identities of youth and therefore to commutatively act as a hedge against suicide and self destructive behaviour
What does the statement that suicide is “springing from excessive individualism” say about the relationship such an individual might have with their society? (Durkheim)
When an individual becomes disconnected from society, they are more likely to commit suicide
Does Durkheim imply that suicide is the result of some defect in the character of the individual?
- suicide is not a defect in the character of the individual, but a disconnect with religion, family and politics.
- when an individual disconnects from society, they are more likely to commit suicide
According to Durkheim, what kind of society would produce an excess of this type of suicide? (Egoism)
-one that is “diseased”
How does Durkheim explain that in the case of some societies, poverty protects against suicide?”
- Industrial:financial crisis and crises of prosperity are disturbances of the collective order.
- every disturbance of equilibrium “is an impulse to voluntary death.”
How do Marxist sociologist’s views on suicide differ from Durkheim’s?
- Durkheim’s assertion that overtly protects against suicide is a misinterpretation of empirical data - an ecological fallacy that results from making conclusions about individuals based on aggregate data.
- rise in suicide may also be the result of increased exploitation of the poor
Why does Durkheim suggest that economic anomie is in a chronic state, that is, a continuous factor in explaining suicide rates?
- The race for unattainable goals
- All classes contend among themselves because no established classification any longer exists
- man’s activity lacking regulation
What is the impact of marriage and divorce on suicide rates, according to Durkheim?
-Suicide rates increase with divorce among men, but not so with women.
How does Durkheim explain the gender differences in suicide rates?
- marriage acts in a different way for husband and wife
- interests are “different and hostile”
- the institution of divorce must itself cause suicide through its effect on marriage
- marriage regulates the life of passion, causing moral equilibrium, men are more prone to deregulation and are aided by the instigation of monogamous marriage m-believes women’s mental lives are “less developed”
Are women’s suicide attempt rates higher or lower than men’s?
- higher
- while women do not commit suicide as often as men, they attempt suicide 2-3 times more often than men do
- Marxist Feminists relate this to their oppression by males, higher rates of poverty and powerlessness
