Sociology introduction-Week 2

Question 1

American Sociological Association definition of sociology

Answer 1

a science guided by the basic understanding that “the social matters: our lives are affected not only by our individual characteristics but by our place in the social world.”

Question 2

Howard Becker’s definition of sociology

Answer 2

study of people “doing things together.” This reminds us that society and the individual are inherently connected, and each depends on the other.

Question 3

Sociologists study this link:

Answer 3

how society individual affects the individual and how the individual affects society.

Question 4

What is Society?

Answer 4

is a group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and patterned ways that distinguish their group from other groups.

Question 5

What is Sociological imagination?

Answer 5

the ability to look beyond the individual as the cause for success and failure and see how one’s society influences the outcome.

Question 6

What did Classic sociologist, C. Wright Mills do?

Answer 6

observed that people must understand how outside forces contribute to their situation – both the history and biography of a situation to generate this imagination

Question 7

What is Microsociology?

Answer 7

the level of analysis that studies face-to-face and small-group interactions in order to understand how they affect the larger patterns and institutions of society.
Focuses on small-scale issues
ex. a man at a computer

Question 8

What is Macrosociology?

Answer 8

the level of analysis that studies large-scale social structures in order to determine how they affect the lives of groups and individuals.
focuses on large scale issues
ex people in a library

Question 9

What Is a Theoretical Paradigm?

Answer 9

paradigm- refers to a theoretical framework through which scientists study the world

theory-an abstract proposition that both explains the social world and makes predictions about future events. seek to explain society, which itself can change overtime

Question 10

What is functional perspective? focus, argue, criticisms

Answer 10

Focus- order and stability
View of society- as a system of interrelated parts

Functionalists -everything exists because it serves a function…otherwise it would cease to exist

Argue- social institutions are critical for society to function properly ex; marriage, family, economic systems, school, political systems

Criticisms-defends existing social arrangements/supports the status quo;
offers no technique to establish a part’s net effect (final effect);

the paradigm does not take into consideration wealth and power on the formation of society.

Question 11

What are the key functionalist Theorists ?

Answer 11

Auguste Comte
Herbert Spencer
Emilie Durkheim
Talcott Parsons
Robert Merton

Question 12

Who is Augustine Comte?

Answer 12

coined the word sociology and also started sociologists thinking about the functionalist paradigm
felt one should discover social laws or statements of fact that are unchanging under given conditions and can be used as ground rules for any kind of society
felt one should discover social laws or statements of fact that are unchanging under given conditions and can be used as ground rules for any kind of society
best known for Positivism in which he discussed how people gain knowledge about the world through their senses.

Question 13

Who is Herbert Spencer?

Answer 13

first great English-speaking sociologist. Spencer was an advocate of the idea of evolution before Darwin
believed that societies, like living organisms, evolve through time by adapting to their changing environment
social Darwinism

Question 14

Who is Emilie Durkheim?

Answer 14

trying to establish sociology as an important academic discipline. argued that the sociologist’s task is to analyze & explain solidarity—the ties that bind us to one another. He wrote The Division of Labor in Society
Mechanical (pre-industrial)/ Organic (post) solidarity
known for his work on suicide anomie, a sense of disconnection

two forces determine whether a person will take his or her own life:

Solidarity- to the level of connectedness and integration a person feels to others in the environment and;

Social control - to the social mechanisms that regulate a person’s actions.
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Question 15

Who is Talcott Parsons?

Answer 15

addressed the types of functions that social structures (or institutions) might fulfill, such as adaptation to the environment (socialization of children), realization of goals (opportunity for success provided by education system), social cohesion (shared values provided by religion helping to bring people together), and the maintenance of cultural patterns (the passing along of traditions by families).

Question 16

Who is Robert Merton ?

Answer 16

clarified the difference between manifest functions, the obvious intended functions of a social structure for the social system, and latent functions, the less obvious unintended functions of a social structure.
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Question 17

What is conflict theory? focus, theory, central question, criticisms

Answer 17

focus is over scarce and valued resources known for its opposition to Capitalism
theorists -view conflict as a major agent of change; emphasize role of competition in producing conflict; see the parts of society as very unequal; and believe that the elite at the top determine the rules for those below.
see society as a system of - have’s and have-not’s
tend to focus on macro process es
central question- who benefits from a particular pattern or social arrangement?
Criticisms-
exaggerates tensions & divisions in society, centering on the idea that the powerful people oppress the weak

Question 18

what is Proletariat? what is Bourgeoisie ?

Answer 18

Proletariat-working class
Bourgeoisie- elite class, owners of the means of production

Question 19

What is Means of production? What is Façade of Legitimacy?

Answer 19

Means of production- anything you need to produce (capital,labor,materials)

Façade of Legitimacy- an explanation that the elite give to justify their oppression against the weak

Question 20

Who were the key theorists:

Answer 20

Karl Marx
Harriet Martineau
W.E.B DuBois
Jane Adams

Question 21

Who is Karl Marx?

Answer 21

German philosopher and political activist whose contribution to sociology can be found in conflict theory
argued- it is the sociologists task is to analyze & explain conflict
that conflict is the major force that drives social change
HUGE critic of the Capitalist system
credited saying
the Bourgeoisie thrived off sucking the living blood of the Proletariat!
Published- The Communist Manifesto/ Das Kapital
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Question 22

Who is Harriet Martineau?

Answer 22

established the foundation for non-judgmental research methods (something we largely take for granted today).
Work- Society in America
traveled unchaperoned
She analyzed the impact of slavery and the position of women in society, she observed that only white men could vote despite democratic ideals, she noted that enslaved people and women did not have equal rights, and she presented her data without bias and left reader to make own judgments. Her contributions helped to expand the conflict paradigm.

Question 23

Who is W.E.B. DuBois ?

Answer 23

identified, what he referred to as, the problem of the 20th Century—the problem of the color line.
Double-Consciousness & two-ness, or the experience of being bi-racial (and now applied to the experience of multi-racial), but being viewed as one thing by society.
referred to himself as ‘mulatto’
examined being Black in America—physical recognition & categorization vs. personal perspective & heritage
Wrote-The Souls of Black Folk/ The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study
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Question 24

Who is Jane Adams?

Answer 24

participated in and wrote about the life of the poor. She helped initiate the settlement house movement in Chicago. Her work was based on 3 principles:

Workers would live in the slums to better understand the problems there

Every person has dignity and worth regardless of race/ethnicity, gender or social class

Dedication, education, and service can overcome ignorance, disease and other problems often associated with poverty

Question 25

What is Symbolic Interactionism? focus, argues, central question, criticisms

Answer 25

focuses on a micro perspective

argues -that interaction depends on shared symbols; they believe that the root of society comes from its symbols which vary from society to society; and they see society as fluid
symbols- language, pictures, flags, nonverbal communication

Central question- how do people define reality? How do people make sense of the world? How do they experience and define what they & others are doing?

Criticisms-
No systematic framework for predicting which symbolic meanings will be generated or for how meanings persist or change;

ignores the coercive effects of social structure;

Symbolic interactionists focus too much on the power of the individual to co-create his or her world;

We are limited by our culture, status and time and place we are born

Question 26

Who are the key theorists ?

Answer 26

George Herbert Mead
Herbert Blumer
Erving Goffman
Howard Becker

Question 27

Who is George Herbert Mead?

Answer 27

founded symbolic interactionism suggested that the root of society is the symbols that teach us to understand the world
argued the building blocks of society start with our minds, the place we interpret symbols we learn to interpret symbols in interaction with others, in this way the self, or a person’s identity, and what makes the person different from others develops.

emphasized symbols as the key to society and argued that symbols have meaning and meaning directs our lives. The symbols a society uses help us understand the people in that society. Symbols help us to define a situation and determine what we should do about it.
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Question 28

Who is Herbert Blumer?

Answer 28

3 basic premises that define symbolic interactionism:

Human beings behave toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things

The meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with others and society

These meanings are handled in and modified through an interpretive process used by the person in dealing with the things he or she encounters

Question 29

Who is Erving Goffman?

Answer 29

developed a theory called Dramaturgy. Dramaturgy is a theory of interaction in which all life is like acting

primary insight is that we are constantly trying to manage the impressions that others have of us. Impression management is the action we use to control what others think of us.
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Question 30

Who is Howard Becker?

Answer 30

suggests that human action is related to the labels attached to it. believes that a label is attached to a certain behavior when a group with powerful social status labels it deviant. suggests that deviance is rooted in the reactions and responses of others to an individual’s act. Labeling theory applies to all identity issues including gender, sexual orientation and personal identity.
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Question 31

Theorists that transcends categorization?

Answer 31

Max Webber
emphasized how values influence our goals in the Protestant Ethic which appears to lay the foundation for the symbolic interactionists. wrote partly as a response to Marx about the multidimensional aspects of social class so one might see him as a conflict theorist. analyzed bureaucracies and how they function in society.

Question 32

What is Feminist Theory?

Answer 32

looks at gender inequalities in society and the way that gender structures the social world

Question 33

What is Queer Theory?

Answer 33

is a paradigm that proposes that categories of sexual identity are social constructs, and that no sexual category is fundamentally either deviant or normal

Question 34

What is Critical Race Theory?

Answer 34

is a paradigm focused on relationship among race, racism, and power

Question 35

What is Postmodern Theory ?

Answer 35

a paradigm that suggests that social reality is diverse, pluralistic, and constantly in flux.

Question 36

What is Exchange theory?

Answer 36

a paradigm that looks at our choices through the assessment of cost and reward. People attempt to minimize cost and maximize reward. Tends toward a micro perspective. Applied often in the study of marriage and family.

Question 37

What is Environmental Theory?

Answer 37

the most recently recognized theories. Blends social thought and ecological principles to explore how environmental attitudes have changed, and how environmental justice movements impact society. Connected to this is the concept of environmental racism