Module 3 — Sociological Theories Flashcards
What did Comte argue about social life?
Comte argued that natural laws shaped social life and scientifically-investigated, they could be applied to controlling society and its population; He was interested in scientifically developing a social theory that would reinstate and maintain order and social peace.
What did Durkheim argue about mechanical societies?
Primitive societies operating through mechanical solidarity lived in a proper social order; people in communities kept in line by a sense of duty and obligation to society through religion and personal relationships. This mechanical fashion produces a common set of values and beliefs that helps members of society cooperate.
Durkheim’s term for the unity (a shared consciousness) that people feel as a result of performing the same or similar tasks
What did Durkheim argue about organic societies?
The only way to resolve anomie and social instability was that modern societies needed to make a new code - everyone in society had to see themselves as a part in maintaining society and social life.
Societies that have a high division of labor and thus a low level of agreement about societal norms, largely because everyone has such different roles in society
What is Durkheim’s concept of the collective conscience?
Durkheim’s concept of the collective conscience is the idea that people among societies share a common set of values, practices and beliefs that helped the simplest societies live together.
What is Durkheim’s concept of anomie?
Because secularism overshadowed religious rules and conduct, people no longer untied by a single code of right and wrong and this created a sense of social instability.
The loss of direction felt in a society when social control of individual behavior has become ineffective as a result of industrialization, secular life overshadowed religion and breakdown of traditional institutions
What did Marx argue was the basis of all societies?
Marx argued that the basis of all societies was how societies created their economic system and how they produced and distributed basic needs to societies’ members.
What did Marx argue about social inequality?
Marx argued that social inequality is born from the idea of capitalism. The majority of people in society worked the land and began to produce more than what was necessary for their own use yet this surplus of goods was provided to the elite class (middle-class families and landowners) who exploited the labour of the majority working class. Eventually, these societies became unequal and turned into slave societies with owners and workers.
What did Marx argue about how social inequality emerged?
Social inequality emerged through the industrial revolution with the idea of industrial capitalism. Through capitalism, the middle class began to grow increasingly wealthy into their own class called the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie would profit off the labour of the proletariat as they produced an excess of goods while being paid very little.
What did Marx argue re: difference between traditional societies and modern capitalist societies?
Marx argued that the development of capitalism distinguished traditional societies and modern societies. Capitalism pushed the upper-middle class to emerge and become distinct from the aristocracy through their growing wealth and power and as a result, the upper-middle class established themselves as the economic and political elites.
What did Marx argue about the role of religion in modern industrialized societies?
Marx argued that religion was the “opium of the masses” as it operated to maintain social control over the majority and subdued their suffering from their miserable lives. He believed that religion is an illusion that provides reasons and excuses to keep society functioning just as it is (for the interests of elite class).
What did Foucault argue about power?
Foucault believed that power is not simply repressive and not something composed by those at the top and resistance by those at the bottom. No one is powerless - people who exercise institutional power through the position they occupy - they also provoke resistance - the ways that people find to subvert power against external authority.
What did Weber argue about the difference between traditional societies and modern societies?
Weber argued that the idea of rational thinking created a difference between traditional societies and modern societies. Traditional societies were shaped largely by religion; modern societies used scientific inquiry to dispel these religious beliefs (therefore, Weber referred this to “disenchantment of the world”). Modern societies were shaped by rationalization that involved determining the most efficient means to achieve a goal through scientific evidence such as education, experience and qualifications.
What did Weber argue about the emergence of capitalism in Europe?
Weber believed that capitalism was not the intended product of feudalism, but capitalism was prevalent throughout history but religious discourse and political values halted its development in society in the past. Capitalism created a new middle class which occupied positions of higher status and wealth than factory workers.
What did Bourdieu mean by cultural capital?
Bourdieu referred to cultural capital as the culturally-acquired practices and lifestyles such as hobbies, leisure activities, mannerisms and clothing choices which can be used to gain access to higher classes and greater access to resources.
What did Bourdieu mean by social capital?
Bourdieu referred to social capital as the social resources such as higher education, and people in higher status social circles to gain access to higher classes and resources.
What did DuBois argue about anti-Black racism in the US?
DuBois argued that Blacks should be fighting for full civil and legal rights which is necessary for their liberation and social change overall in society.
What did Mead and Goffman study?
Mead studied the concept of reflexive thinking which explains the ability for individuals to empathize and view perspectives of the world through the lens of the other. Reflexive thinking causes one to think of oneself through the way they are treated by others. Goffman built on Mead’s argument that individuals influence perception of themselves to others by mannerism, speech and dress.
What are the limitations of the Chicago School?
(1) reduces every person’s social location + experiences in life to being a product of their interactions in society
(2) the perspective ignores how our lives shaped by macro-social influences such as racism and class;
(3) the perspective blames individuals for their inability to get upward social mobility by ignoring how racism, sexism and class shape individual privilege and life.
What did maternal feminists argue for?
Maternal feminists argued that women’s superiority to men was inherent and claimed that feminine values were absent but needed from the public sphere that was dominated by men. They fought for voting rights and women’s rights, specifically to be recognized as persons and reinforced women’s traditional role through their arguments for rights. These women were part of the Suffragette Movement and the Temperance movement.
What did Mary Wollstonecraft argue?
Mary Wollstonecraft argued that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men, especially with education rights; women were not simple minded and only seen that way because of the lack of education received in comparison to their male counterparts. By achieving the same education rights as men, there can be equal rational thought with men.
What did second wave liberal feminism arise in response to?
Second wave liberal feminism arose in response to civil rights movements with a focus on anti-racism, sexism, class relations and LGTBQ+ movements.
What kind of changes occurred in the relations of production when societies transformed from feudal to capitalist societies, especially with respect to women?
Change theorists at the time argued that capitalism relied on women’s free domestic labour and that they could never be liberated until society moved to a socialist model of economic production.
What did radical feminists argue?
Radical feminists argued that the dominant patriarchy facilitates male domination over women especially with violence against women through the state.
What were the goals of radical feminists?
The goals of radical feminists sought to abolish the patriarchy, end heterosexism and recognize non-heterosexual forms of women’s sexualites and identities.
