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Sociology quiz 1

Terms in this set (53)

sociology
the study of human society
concerned with how social events are situated in context
an empirical discipline - sociologists seek to understand social phenomena by collecting and analyzing empirical data

sociology focuses on making comparisons across cases to find patterns and create hypotheses about how societies work now or how they worked in the past
looks at how individuals interact with one another as well as at how groups, small and large, interact with one another
sociological imagination (mills)
the sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. That is its task and its promise. To recognize this task and this promise is the mark of the classic social analyst.
the ability to connect the most basic intimate aspects of an individual's life to seemingly impersonal and remote historical forces
Personal troubles vs public issues (mills)
troubles - occur within the character of the individual and within the range of his immediate relations with others; they have to do with his self and with those limited areas of social life of which he is directly and personally aware.
Issues - with matters that transcend these local environments of the individual and the range of his inner life. They have to do with the organization of many such milieux into the institutions of an historical society as a whole, with the ways in which various milieux overlap and interpenetrate to form the larger structure of social and historical life
social institution
networks of structures in society that work to socialize the groups of people within them
exp: legal system, labor market, educational system, military, family

a group of social positions, connected by social relations, that perform a social role

Have a great influence on our behavior and are constantly changing
social identity
the way individuals define themselves in relationship to groups they are a part of (or in relationship to groups they choose not to be a part of)
karl marx (proletariat and bourgeoisie)
conflict theory
Marxism - not interested in differences in individuals or group behavior within the same society
Preferred to compare existing capitalist society with ideal, future socialistic systems.
Believes the industrial revolution and the emergence of capitalism was a problem.

Bourgeoisie and proletariat have different interests
The political and economic philosophy of the dominant class influences all the aspects of life
consciously or unconsciously artists, writers, teachers, and philosophers work to the whims of the capitalistic system
max weber (verstehen)
influence on functionalism .
Thought marx went to far into effect and not cause of how societies evolve
Famous for economy and society.
vertehen - german; understanding. The concept of verstehem forms the object of inquiry for interpretive sociology - to study how social actors understand their aciotns and social world through experience.
being in the shoes of others to understand, give their world there own understanding and own meaning
People need to understand the meanings people attach to their actions
emile durkheim (anomie)
functionalism
Focused on themes similar to those studied by his german colleagues. He wanted to understand how society holds together and the ways the modern capitalism and industrialization have transformed how people relate to one another.
division of labor didn't affect work and productivity but had social and moral consequences

anomie - a sense of aimlessness or dispair that arises when we can no longer reasonably expect life to be prediactable, too little social regulation. - leads to suicide and such

founded positivit sociology - a strain within sociology that believes the social world can be described and predicted by certain describable relationships taken to a social physics
WEB dubois (double consciousness)
First african american black sociologist at his time describe the two behavioral scripts, one for moving through the world and the other incorporating the external opinions of prejudiced onlookers, which are constaantly maintained by african americans. (the sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity
The chicago School
early american sociology became prominent at the University of Chicago, so it became known as the chicago school way of thinking for american sociology. Focused on empirical research, with the belief that people's behaviors and personalities are shaped by their social and physical environments
charles horton Cooley
George Herbert Mead
W. I. Thomas
W.E.B Dubois
Jane Addams
Theory
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Functionalism
Based by Durkheim Theoretical framework
Very influential to 20th C. sociology
The theory that various social institutions and processes in society exist to serve some important or necessary function to keep society running
Social inequality - a device which societies ensure that the most important positions are filled by the most qualified person.

Background:
1950s and 1960s functionalism reigned as the dominant theoretical perspective in sociology
Often referred to as structural functionalism because of its dual focus on the structural forces that shape human behavior and the attention given to system needs

Talcott parsons and robert merton were leading structural functionalist

views society as having interrelated parts that contribute to the functioning of the whole system. It is a macro sociological theory

2 assumptions:
1. interdependent parts - this is a society's institutions that are all linked together. A change in one leads to a change in other. IN order to function properly, the system will seek equilibrium, or stability
2. general consensus on values: members of society must have a general agreement on issues of right and wrong, basic values, and morality issues in order to function properly.

explains social change as a result of such variables as population growth and increased technology.
Rapid change is not something it is geared to handle
Conflict Theory
conflict between competing interests is the basic, animating force of social change, and society in general
Known as the Marxist theory
Inequality = unfair and exists at the expense of less powerful groups

the idea that conflict between competing interests is the basic, animating force of social change and society in general. Opposite of functionalism
Social Construction
that examines the development of jointly constructed understandings of the world. It assumes that understanding, significance, and meaning are developed not separately within the individual, but in coordination with other human beings. The elements most important to the theory are (a) the assumption that human beings rationalize their experience by creating a model of the social world and how it functions and, (b) that language is the most essential system through which humans construct reality

FROM THE BOOK
an entity that exists because people behave as if it exists and whole existence is perpetuated as people and social institutions act in accordance with the widely agreed upon formal rules or informal norms of behavior associated with that entity
Macrosociology/ microsociology
macrosociology - looks at social dynamics across whole societies or large parts of them and often relies on statistical analysis to do so

microsociology - understands local interactional contexts, focusing on face-to-face encounters and gathering data through participant observations and in-depth interviews
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