Sociology exam 3 Flashcards
social reproduction
the process by which society maintains an enduring character from generation to generation
power elite
a small group of interconnected people who occupy top positions in important institutions
social capital
number of people we know and the resources they can offer us
interlocks
board directors who accept positions on the boards of two or more companies
social closure
a process by which about age groups preserve opportunities for themselves while restricting them for others
cultural capital
symbolic resources that communicates one social status
objectified
material things
If you decorate your walls with modern art, visitors might think you’re a sophisticated person.
institutional
.organizational endorsements
If you’re chosen for an internship at Vogue, the fashion industry will be more likely to consider you an insider.
embodied
the body and its capacities
If you can play golf, you might get an invitation to spend some quality time with the CEO.
fit
the feeling that our particular mix of cultural capital matches our social contact
cultural hegemony
power maintain primarily by persuasion
collectivism
the idea that people are independents actors with responsibilities primarily to the group
xenophobia.
prejudice against people defined as foreign
What is the difference between the pluralist theory of power and the elite theory of power?
pluralist theory of power - U.s politics is characterized by competing groups that works together to achieve their goals.
elite power- the idea that a small group of networked individuals controls the most powerful positions in our social institution
How do the power elite maintain their control by coordinating their cooperation across social institutions?
power elite to maintain and expand their influence over various spheres of trying to maintaining their dominance and control over key social institutions.
How was the opioid addiction crisis caused by the connections of the power elite?
The DEA was tasked with enforcing the laws on the drug distribution but many of them try to preserve relationships Purdue Pharma.
Pharmaceutical companies had spent 102 million dollars on trying to lobby congress and got the bill passed in 2016
Explain the ethnographic research method.
also called participant observation, is a research method that involves careful observation of naturally occurring social interaction, often as a participant. Ethnographers spend months or years in the field, the place or places where they conduct participant observation.
How is coercion, as a form of exercising power, different from persuasion? Which one of the two strategies are used by leaders to make populations accept their rule (What is their plan A and plan B)?
coercion is acting in a overly aggressive ways. telling people what to do
Persuasion - convincing people to agree to conditions they might otherwise oppose.
offering any financial incentives and constructing a dangerous enemy, constructing solider as hero’s
What are hegemonic ideologies and what are some hegemonic ideologies in the U.S.?
hegemonic ideologies are shared ideas how human life should be organized that are used to manufacture our consent to existing social conditions.
Some of the hegemonic ideologies in the U.S is that of the American Dream that many people can find employment opportunities
How is the media responsible for enforcing hegemonic ideologies and how are elites responsible for reinforcing these ideologies?
Journalists can unconsciously facilitate the ideological hegemony by the way they use cultural categories and symbols. Further, reporters are inclined to choose and report those issues that are favorable to the dominant ideology and the status quo.
What is individualism and how is it related to Durkheim’s theory of solidarity (mechanical versus organic solidarity)?
the idea that people are independent actors responsible primarily for themselves. This is relating to Durkheim’s theory of solidarity is because organic solidarity is When everyone needs everyone else to do their part, he posited, we find ways to get along, even if our different roles make us very different indeed.
mechanical solidarity - the kind of social cohesion that comes from familiarity and similarity
What are the positive and negative consequences of individualism?
positive consequence - boosts self-confidence, promotes individual excellence and enhances creativity,
negative consequence - but it may also lead to resistance to #change, lack of cooperation and increased conflicts.
social change
shifts in our shared ideas , interactions and institutions
collective action
the coordinated activities of members of a group with shared goals
social movement
persistent organized collective action meant to promote or oppose soical changes
interdependent power
the noncooperation
repertoire of contention
shared activities widely recognized as expression of dissatisfaction with social condition
insurgent consciousness
a recognition of a shared grievance that can be addressed through a collective action.
moral shock
a cognitive and emotional process that encourages participation.
collective action problem
the challenges of getting large groups of people to act in coordinated ways
counter frames
frames meant to challenge an existing social movements frame
counter-movements
persistent organized collective action meant to resist social movements
critical event
a sudden and dramatic occurrence that motivates non activists to become politically active
interest convergence.
the alignment of the interests of activates and elites
What are the two steps involved in socially constructing a social problem
First, we must define a state of affairs as harmful. Second, we must convincingly claim that the harm requires a cultural or institutional solution instead of a personal or interpersonal one.
What is the collective action problem and what would it take to overcome it?
the challenge of getting large groups of people to act in coordinated ways. Leadership , mechanisms of communication , inspiration ,and even shifts in our thinking and interaction depend.
What does the example of the Montgomery Bus Boycott tell us about what makes a movement successful and watch challenges activists face?
it tells us that they first had to socially construct the problem. Churches were not only useful on a practical level; they were inspirational as well. In many of these spaces, Black people learned a liberation theology. Second, the Black people of Montgomery had to realize that they had power. they surmised, the Black community had substantial interdependent power
What is required for a successful social movement?
(Explain the importance of organizational strength, political networks, standing, and framing)
organizational strength, ideas and their spokespersons, and structures of opportunity. Organizational strength - A burgeoning activist group can write a mission statement, build a website, and begin spreading its message through social networks.
Pollical networks - This gives social movements greater fundraising opportunities and voice.
Standing -People with relevant expertise or experience are sometimes given standing, as are respected celebrities, religious figures, and public intellectuals.
framing -a succinct claim as to the nature of a social fact.
what are countermovement and counter frames
persistent organized collective meant to resists social movements
counter frames - ones meant to challenge an existing social movement’s frame.
frame wars -battles over whether a social fact is a social problem and what kind of problem it is. The abortion debate is an example of just such a battle.
What are factors external to social movements that impact the success of the movements? In other words, what are political, cultural, and economic opportunities and constraints?
politicial -includes strengths and weaknesses in the existing political system that shape the options available to social movement actors.
cultural opportunity structure- cultural ideas, objects, practices, or bodies that create or constrain activist strategies.
economic opportunity structure - a phrase that refers to the role of money in enabling or limiting a movement’s operations and influence. For one, consider a movement’s base.
globalization
the processes that are expanding and intensifying connections across national states
cultural hybridization
the production of ideas and objects and practices and bodies influenced by two or more cultures
colonialism
a practice in which countries claim control over territories and the people in them and their natural resources and then exploit them for their economic gain
global commodity chains.
a transnational economics process that involves extracting natural resources and transforming them into goods and marketing and distributing them to consumers
What are transnational corporations and how do they shape global power relations?
world capitalism supports transitional corporations one that does businesses in multiple countries.
These businesses take advantage of the same resources exploited by colonizing countries (human and natural) and the ease of international transportation (enabled by fossil fuels, the internet, and related technologies).
They are based in the richest countries
. They also have government organizations United Nations and European Union
. non government organizations - Red Cross
Why do sociologists argue that we are no longer living in a nation-state system, but in a world system?
national state system- one consisting of self contained territories
. no longer have companies of their own but has a world economy
. World system - one characterized by global market that is part of the capitalist economy
What has caused global warming and what are the harms caused by the climate crisis?
global warming is the result of an anthropogenic or human caused climate change especially the burning of fossil fuels that are releasing gases chlorofluorocarbons carbon dioxide
What are the harms caused by climate change
. As countries struggle to adapt to climate change, global economic crises will escalate.30 Rising seas, creeping deserts, and water and food shortages are forcing human migrations that nation-states are not prepared to absorb
. peripheral and semi-peripheral countries will bear the brunt of these harms.32 They’re island nations, in the arctic or near the equator, or on parts of the planet prone to floods or drought.
What is the world system theory (what are core, periphery, and semi-periphery countries)?
that suggests there is a world economic system in which some countries benefit while others are exploited.
Periphery: world economy including previously colonized regions and they contribute mostly natural resources and physical labor to the world economy
core countries: Include Japan and the United States and Canada are the nation states and the countries are mostly being control of most transitional government organizations
Semi periphery countries - Russia , South Africa and some countries in Asia and Latin America and like South Korea and Mexico. They struggle to fall into the periphery when they can and compete with richer countries.
What were the measures taken by the global power elite to block efforts for environmental protection? (The corporate climate countermovement)
. formed alliances on companies that depend on fossil fuels and members of the global power elite in order to sponsor free market capitalism
. framed climate change as a disputed scientific theory and threats to economic prosperity.
What are transnational social movements and how do they operate and grow?
transnational social movements is that it coordinates activism through more than one country
brought together by media
participants increasing from semi peripheral countries and peripheral countries
What is institutionalized global environmental racism?
Human-caused climate change, then, is institutionalized global environmental racism. Those least responsible for the emissions of greenhouse gases disproportionately poor, previously colonized, non-White, and indigenous—will pay the steepest price.
Why is it argued that climate activism is global?
is causing loss of lives, livelihoods, language, and culture, putting many at risk of food and water shortages, and triggering displacement and conflict.
. young people are engaging in activism , we see activists on trying to engage across nations and they did so transitionally
What would it take to stop climate change?
what would it take to stop climate change is to stop and reverse the runaway greenhouse effect and we need to emit fewer gases and absorb more
We can do this by trying to reduce energy consumption and protecting nature and buy local produce
What were the characteristics of the global climate strike of 2019 and what were its impacts
An organized protest that had happened during the same day as the UN climate summit in New York
. it was an international school walkout with students participating from Pacific island , India and South Africa and Ghana and Finland
The day after the protest about 16 children from 12 countries trying to file a land compliant to the United Nations on how climate change is the violation of the convention of the rights of child which was a treaty that is used by 140 countries
and it is a law that is acting as an well being of the child in mind
