Module 2: Sociology Theory

Question 1

Theory

Answer 1

Question 2

What makes sociological theory different from some of those everyday theories?

Answer 2

What makes sociological theory different from some of those everyday theories is that sociological theory tends to be built around information that has been gathered systematically and it is meant to go beyond our own individual experience.

Question 3

The sociological theorist aims to develop an explanation for a broad set of systematically-gathered observations, and that explanation may …..

Answer 3

extend to many individuals, groups, societies, organizations, and cultures

Question 4

Microsociology

Answer 4

Sociology study that looks at the social world via the study of individuals or small groups

Question 5

Macrosociology

Answer 5

Question 6

Harriet Martineau (3)

Answer 6

Martineau was a contemporary of some of the earliest social thinkers who were doing the work of defining and shaping the discipline in its early days. She published important works and engaged in theory-building research, in addition to authoring a book about methods to study the social world. Indeed, she is often referred to as the first feminist social scientist and one of the first sociologists.

Question 7

W. E. B. Du Bois

Answer 7

A historian by training, he was the first Black person to earn a PhD from Harvard University. Du Bois taught in sociology, history, and economics departments over the course of his career. He was among the first writers to articulate the impact of race on the lived experiences of Black people in the United States, especially in relation to the history of slavery. And yet his work was largely ignored by the broader community of sociologists, still predominantly made up of white men.

Question 8

Madoo Lengermann and Niebrugge (2007) noted that….

Answer 8

Madoo Lengermann and Niebrugge (2007) noted that the period after some of the early founders (male and female) was marked by a move toward objectivity rather than advocacy, with a strong emphasis on value-free science. The status of sociology was said to rest on scientific work. Because the early women founders tended to focus at least part of their analysis of the social world on social change, their more critical, advocacy-oriented approach to the social world fell out of favour.

Question 9

Anna Julia Cooper

Answer 9

A Black American woman and wrote from that standpoint, making her writing among the first to highlight the intersections that shape people’s lives, like social class, gender, and race. She wrote and spoke extensively on racial inequality and empowerment, particularly through education. But, like Du Bois, her work has largely remained outside of the sociological canon.

Question 10

What significantly influenced the development of sociology? (3)

Answer 10

• The growth of science and, relatedly, the decline of religious authority. For centuries, religion had figured largely as an authority over people’s lives, but, beginning in the 17th century in Europe, philosophers started to put greater emphasis on individual reason, rationality, and skepticism. This period is typically referred to as the Enlightenment.
• The industrial revolution.
• Rise of the individual: people started to believe that they could influence their social context, and not that it was imposed upon them by structures of authority and forces beyond their control. The French Revolution (1789–1799) and the American Revolution (1765–1783): this period was significant because of shifts in structures of authority and government and because it demonstrated that individuals can alter social structure and, ultimately, change the course of history.

Question 11

Immanuel Kant (3)

Answer 11

Emphasized individual autonomy, reason, and an observation-driven account of the world.

Question 12

Englightment

Answer 12

Sometimes called the Scientific Revolution, this period was characterized by efforts to link observable phenomena to scientific theory and evidence while moving away from supernatural explanations of the natural world.

Question 13

The scientific model emerged during the period of —- and was enormously influential on the work of people who attended university, were in positions of authority, and wrote about the world. The scientific model emphasized —-, ——, —–, —–, and —–, as opposed to relying on speculation.

Answer 13

1. Enlightenment
2. objectivity
3. observation
4. measurement
5. testing
6. hypotheses

Question 14

French philosopher Auguste Comte (2)

Emphasized that the use of….+ argued that the decline of….

Answer 14

Comte emphasized the use of the scientific method and believed that examining the social world objectively and scientifically would place sociology in a category similar to the natural sciences. Comte argued that the decline of religious authority created a need to make sense of the emerging social order, and that positivism was the best approach.

Question 15

Positivism

Answer 15

Question 16

Herbert Spencer

Answer 16

He supported using the same methods in the natural sciences to study society, particularly since he believed that society is subject to the laws of evolution (Simon 1960) and sociologists can help track these changes.

Question 17

Comte’s and Spencer’s support of a —– greatly influenced the works of future scholars, like Durkheim, and helped establish the field of sociology during an era where the natural sciences and their associated methods gained prominence.

Answer 17

scientific method

Question 18

Industrial Revolution

Answer 18

Question 19

One of the defining features of the Industrial Revolution was a move away from a society dominated by agriculture to a society dominated by …….

Answer 19

industry and manufacturing

Question 20

Urbanization

Answer 20

Families moved in large numbers to urban centres, resulting in overcrowded cities marked by poverty and crime.

Question 21

Capitalism

Answer 21

Question 22

Patriarchy

Answer 22

The system of male dominance over woman

Question 23

John Locke (2)

Wrote about+ asserted humans were born…

Answer 23

An English philosopher, wrote about the rights of individuals and the importance of representative government. He also asserted that humans were born as “blank slates” and influenced by their environment.

Question 24

Conflict theory takes a —- approach, emphasizing the role of power relations and conflicts of interest on a larger societal scale to expound issues like exploitation, discrimination, and structural violence

Answer 24

• macrosociological

Question 25

Conflict theory explores the —–

Answer 25

attainment of different material and non-material resources through the use of power and how those varying resources can create conflict.

Question 26

Conflict theory was developed using Karl Marx’s work on —-

Answer 26

the impact of industrial capitalism on social class and inequality.

Question 27

Means of Production

Answer 27

Question 28

Bourgeoisie

Answer 28

Question 29

Proletariat

Answer 29

Question 30

Relations of domination require people to accept inequality in order to succeed. Marx explained how the status quo of exploitation is maintained through the use of ideology, where the…

Answer 30

values of the ruling class control how the working class understands its position in society, leading the working class to accept inequality

Question 31

False conciousness + example

Answer 31

example: the proletariat are oblivious to how relations of domination lead to exploitation and discrimination against them

Question 32

All told, the more we follow the ideology of those in power, the less likely it is that we break out of our — and create social change to benefit the lives of those exploited and discriminated against.

Answer 32

false consciousness

Question 33

To a conflict theorist, society is in a state of——, with the potential for social groups to recognize—and potentially reject—–

Answer 33

• constant tension
• the ideology that upholds relations of domination.

Question 34

Class conciousness

Answer 34

Question 35

To Marx, the key to social change was for the

Answer 35

proletariat masses to identify their common troubles and realize the injustice of exploitation at the hands of the powerful bourgeoisie. By recognizing their commonality as a class and identifying the injustice of capitalist exploitation, the proletariat could break free from false consciousness and become a class-for-itself

Question 36

In conflict theory, —– is the consequence of unequal social groups clashing for resources and power, and continues as inequality continues to exist.

Answer 36

social change

Question 37

Structural functionalism was developed as the study of —–

Answer 37

how complex societies worked and what was necessary for such complicated social systems to maintain order and stability.

Question 38

Functionalism takes a —– approach, looking at the larger-scale patterns of behaviour in society and how people organize and work together

Answer 38

macrosociological

Question 39

What do functionalists think?

Answer 39

think of society as a system, looking at how the parts of society interconnect, interact, and depend on one another for stability

Question 40

Émile Durkheim (2)

Considered to be..+ focused on how+ believed that

Answer 40

Émile Durkheim was considered to be the first modern sociologist, providing some of the earliest examples of functionalist theory. He focused on how human behaviour is shaped by broader social structures and how differences between early and modern societies shape how people act and relate to each other. He believed that a more complex society produces greater interdependence among people

Question 41

A major focus of structural functionalism is how —– contribute to the smooth operation of society.

Answer 41

institutions

Question 42

American sociologist Talcott Parsons identified three main aspects of institutions that allow for a healthy functioning of society:

Answer 42

• socialization, opportunity for success, and cohesive institutions

Question 43

Values

Answer 43

Question 44

Social solidarity

Answer 44

Social solidarity refers to the degree to which a group enjoys cohesion based on shared values, beliefs, and interactions

Question 45

Durkheim believed that a stable societal system both rests on and produces high ——.

Answer 45

social solidarity

Question 46

Anomie

Answer 46

Anomie is a negative individual state produced by an absence of governing norms over a person’s behaviour, or when those norms are poorly defined.
- breakdown of any moral values, standards or guidance for individuals to follow

Question 47

American structural functionalist Talcott Parsons

What he focused on+Work on values focused on+femininity/masculinity

Answer 47

• focused on traditional American values for a good working social system
• Parsons’ work on values also focused on how they are important during times of social change and as a corrective to deviant behaviour.
• Parsons argued that femininity and masculinity are belief systems that inform the behaviours of wives and husbands, and that they are necessary and complementary to the functioning of the family unit, through fathers and mothers.

Question 48

According to structural functionalists, every social structure exists to —. Just like the parts of an organism, the structural functionalist believes that each part of our societal system serves ——.

Answer 48

• serve a purpose in society
• some function in support of the stability, equilibrium, and order of society

Question 49

Dysfunction+ex

Answer 49

• elements of our societal system that create instability
• Ex: crime

Question 50

This is how functionalists explain social change+ example+change to one part requires… (3):

Answer 50

a complex system like society requires a harmony between institutions and avoids continued dysfunction by changing some values in order to maintain social order. Changes to any part of the system require changes in other parts to maintain a new equilibrium. Ex: When some values and social relations change, as with sexual orientation, then other areas of social relations, like the institution of marriage, must also adapt for our values of equal rights to be upheld.

Question 51

American sociologist Robert Merton

Answer 51

Moved beyond a separation of functions and dysfunctions as opposites that could lead to order or disorder. Instead, he elaborated on the intended and unintended consequences of social functions). He called these manifest functions and latent functions.

Question 52

Manifest Functions+ ex (2)

Answer 52

Manifest functions are the obvious and intended purposes of social structures. For example, the education system is designed to provide students with knowledge deemed important for them to become contributing members of society. The education system is also designed around the socialization of children into a society’s norms and values. Manifest functions are what we think of as the purpose of something in our society. Manifest functions are deliberate and beneficial for social order, fulfilling an apparent need for society to properly function.

Question 53

Latent Functions+ex

Answer 53

Continuing with the example of schooling, latent functions include keeping children busy during the day, thus providing a way for parents to work while also keeping children out of trouble and under adult supervision. Latent functions are not stated or recognized, though they still have a positive benefit to society.

Question 54

One of the main criticisms of structural functionalism is that it does not fully account for —–. In emphasizing equilibrium and maintenance of a social order, functionalism does not directly address —- and the need for —–. For example:

Answer 54

• social change
• continuous conflict
• social change
• For example, women’s political rights in Canada began with the suffragette movement, which was designed to provide women with the right to vote in elections. This movement introduced significant social change in terms of how women’s rights were understood, and our values on women’s rights continue to change to this day. In this case and others like it, social change is not about reaching an equilibrium or establishing a new status quo, which is what structural functionalism would have us believe.

Question 55

And even though latent functions serve a positive function for society, they may also include unforeseen consequences that may be counter to the status quo, which provides an opportunity for social change. Give an example of this:

Answer 55

For example, advances in Canadian women’s rights in the 20th century—including reproductive rights and steps toward workplace equity—also led to changes in family structure, including who in the family is responsible for paid labour outside the home and unpaid labour within the home (such as childcare and cooking). In this example, the latent functions are changes in the family brought about by broader changes to women’s rights; these changes ran against the previous status quo of a traditional husband-as-breadwinner and wife-as-homemaker arrangement.

Question 56

Symbolic interactionism developed as a challenge to structural functionalism by

Answer 56

focusing on the actions of individuals rather than larger social forces and structures.

Question 57

Symbolic interactionism is a —– approach, taking a small-scale view of society that looks at our everyday experiences and perspectives.

Answer 57

microsociological

Question 58

Max Weber

Answer 58

was interested in individual action and the role of meaning in motivating how we act. Weber used the German term verstehen (pronounced versh-tee-en) to describe how social scientists should be empathetic to the experiences and intentions of individuals. By imagining the perspective of other people, we can better understand their intentions, interpretations, and behaviours.

Question 59

Verstehen

Answer 59

Verstehen, meaning “human understanding,” stresses how the social sciences require an interpretive understanding of people and imagines the lives of others when analyzing social events and patterns of behaviour.

Question 60

George Herbert Mead (2)

individual+emerged

Answer 60

• believe that the development of the individual is a social process, a product of interactions with people and their environment and the meaning we create through those interactions.
• Mead’s ideas on the development of the self emerged from his concepts of the “I” and the “Me

Question 61

I and Me concept

Answer 61

The “I” and the “Me” are a duality of the self within everyone that involves the part of ourselves we learn from others (the “Me”) and the part that actively interprets and judges the world present from birth (the “I”). As we observe how other people act and react, we learn from people around us and internalize those attitudes to create the “Me.” For example, people create a gendered self-conception through their lifelong observations and interactions of others, creating symbols for what it is like to be a man or a woman. Girls grow up to see how women act and how they are treated by others and are told what it means to be a woman. In contrast to the “Me,” the “I” is the active part of the self, the critical perspective we use to interpret and assess the world around us. This is the aspect of the self that may disagree with or differ from the social world. We do not simply internalize the symbols around us; we can also disagree with symbols by responding to the attitudes of others.

Question 62

To Erving Goffman, much of social interaction is therefore about ….

Answer 62

identifying how we want to be seen by others and acting to control how people interpret us.

Question 63

Symbolic interactionists argue that our sense of self is tied to what Mead called the —

Answer 63

generalized other

Question 64

generalized other

Answer 64

The generalized other is the internalized expectations, rules, and attitudes of our broader society or culture

Question 65

Symbolic interactionists propose three principles to describe how the meaning we assign to things is both created and changes as a result of our interactions with other people: (4)

+ex

Answer 65

• The first principle is that people act according to the meaning we assign to things.
• The second principle is that these meanings are based on the history of our interactions with people; meaning is the sum of all our experiences, and these meanings can differ from person to person, giving us different perspectives on the same thing.
• The third principle is that meanings are modified and changed through our interactions with and interpretations of other people and the meanings they attach to things.
• Ex: Consider this hypothetical scenario involving two friends, Jacob and Fatima. Jacob grew up associating the beach with a place of fun with friends and family. He fondly remembers many summers building sandcastles, playing beach volleyball, and swimming in the ocean, and associates the beach with people important to him. Fatima did not go to the beach until she was older, and she associates the beach with quiet, relaxing, solitary time in the sun. Because of these meanings, Fatima interprets the beach differently than Jacob and actually finds the kinds of activities that Jacob enjoys obnoxious and annoying! Her perspective is based on an entirely different experience of the beach. Jacob grew up with the beach being an exciting and energetic place. But, in spending time with his friend Fatima, he begins to enjoy going to the beach to relax and quietly enjoy the sun. Similarly, Fatima is now more likely to interrupt her relaxation with a game of Frisbee. Jacob and Fatima’s interactions have changed what the beach means to them individually and how they interpret the behaviours of others on the beach.

Question 66

impression management

Answer 66

Question 67

Gender oppression

Answer 67

Question 68

Much of feminist theory is articulated as a struggle against — because it is regarded as the underlying force

Answer 68

patriarchy

Question 69

Autonomy

Answer 69

Independence and control held by the individual, not by someone else.

Question 70

In terms of the private realm of the home, early feminists devoted a great deal of attention to women’s lack of autonomy and the control that was surrendered to the men in their lives instead. These early sociologists noted that women’s position in society was largely defined ….

Answer 70

through men, and specifically by marriage and through their husbands.

Question 71

According to early sociologists sociologists, the lack of autonomy for woman was apparent in the private realm of the home in two ways:

Answer 71

1. The first of these was the general idea that men should, in general, have control.
2. The second element of the lack of women’s autonomy in the private sphere was about their economic dependence on their husbands.

Question 72

Intersectionality

Answer 72

refers to the interconnection of factors like race, gender, and social class that simultaneously affect our lives.

Question 73

Along with advocating for adopting the standpoint of all members of society, feminist theorists promote …

Answer 73

identifying avenues for achieving the greatest good for the greatest number of people

Question 74

A key to understanding the commitment of feminist theorists to actively working against oppression, and perhaps most especially gender oppression, is the underlying belief that inequalities are changeable. Feminist theorists argue that …

Answer 74

there is nothing inherently natural about gender oppression. Instead, patriarchy and gender inequality are socially constructed. They are structures with real implications for people’s lives, but ultimately they are constructions that can be dismantled.

Question 75

Postmodernism is not a

Answer 75

• A grand narrative

Question 76

The context for the emergence of postmodernism is the 20th century. Postmodern thinkers moved away from Enlightenment ideas of —– in the face of events such as the atomic bomb, communism, the World Wars, and genocides. How could Enlightenment ideas of science and progress hold up against these horrible events, considering the role played by science and rationality in the spread of mechanized warfare, ever more deadly munitions, and atomic weapons? Instead, postmodernism is characterized by a movement away from ideas of ——- .

Answer 76

• progress and rationality
• progress, authority, and scientific knowledge

Question 77

Postmodernism emphasizes that our social world is (4)

Answer 77

diverse, fluid, complex, and uncertain

Question 78

Sociologist and postmodernist Zygmunt Bauman argues

Answer 78

past events cannot predict future trends because of rapid change in our contemporary world

Question 79

postmodernists may look at many different periods of time rather than looking for a thread to follow from an older origin to contemporary times because

Answer 79

there is no intention of theorizing a trajectory of progress and development.

Question 80

postmodern thinkers pay very little attention to

Answer 80

social structures

Question 81

Without external control, people are independent and self-directed. This autonomy can be positive and negative. To postmodernists, a diverse world is a more —– world and more —— of differences. Furthermore, individuals are free to constantly make and re-make their —-. In fact, they must. Constant adaptation is a requirement in a social world that is unpredictable and uncertain and lacks a guiding framework of established patterns of thought and action. That lack of regulation can produce morally ambivalent people. As a result, people are in a constant uncertainty, experiencing feelings of vulnerability and fear of falling behind, missing out, and being left behind. All told, postmodernists highlight the diverse and ever-changing nature of a society that is not defined by an overarching ——.

Answer 81

• tolerant
• accepting
• identities
• external, controlling social structure

Question 82

simulacra+ex

Answer 82

Something that replaces reality with its representation.
Ex: reenactments of historical events or replicas of landmarks, such as Colonial Williamsburg and the Eiffel Tower

Question 83

Poststructuralists, argue that analyzing discourse can reveal patterns of power and knowledge. By studying who produces discourse and who is excluded, one can understand the —-

Answer 83

power dynamics at play in society.

Question 84

Foucault’s argument is

Postmodernism

Answer 84

those who have power or authority within a field produce knowledge that further reinforces their position and challenges or marginalizes those with alternative perspectives.

Question 85

Is postmodernism macro or micro?

Answer 85

Neither