Global Perspective - Lecture notes 1 PDF

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Global Perspective: It is the study and analysis of the phenomena and events that occur worldwide, will preside over the study of sociology... (In this perspective it is necessary to take into account the position that the society occupies in relation to the others and within the world system)
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Global Perspective: It is the study and analysis of the phenomena and events that occur worldwide, will preside over the study of sociology... (In this perspective it is necessary to take into account the position that the society occupies in relation to the others and within the world system) Sociology: It Is The systematic, rigorous and scientific study of society. The social context Is studied. Comte referred to that term as a new way of thinking about the world. For him, sociology is a treaty of society. Is to understand the mechanisms that keep society together ("Social static") and the study of social changes and transformations ("Social dynamics"). With These two points we deduce that sociology shows us the patterns and social processes that end up affecting our actions, behaviors and our decisions Sociology, according to Comte, is the physics of the social sciences, is the science that summarizes all the sciences and that comes to complete the whole of the knowledge. Sociology comes to seek the laws of the functioning of society: theology, Physics and metaphysics. Sociological Perspective: (The sociological Imagination): According To Peter Berger, it consists basically in seeing the general in the particular. It Means that we are thinking with a sociological perspective when we recognize that the categories with which a society classifies people will influence the vital experiences of those people. . Overpopulation: A Term that arises in the NINETEENTH century, due to the large concentrations of production, which give rise to the industrial cities, which are going to be very populated. Paradigma: The first to speak of paradigms was Kuhn, a philosopher dedicated to epistemology (philosophy of science). Paradigma is a theoretical framework that helps us to discover new concepts and helps us to reflect on the new theories. The paradigm also serves to reflect on the conclusions. The three major theoretical paradigms of Sociology: functionalism, conflict sociology and action theory (including symbolic interactionism) Theory: It is a statement that expresses how and why certain facts are related. Functionalism: One of the three main theoretical paradigms of Sociology that society considers as an orderly, stable, understandable whole, with a "natural" command. Functionalism understands the social structures in term of the social functions that they fulfil or perform, that is, the basic functions for the maintenance of the society. Social Darwinism: Current derived from Spencer's theory, who defended the victory of the strong in time. This current (with great influence in the X. XIX), justified the competition without hindrances, because thus it is allowed the survival and the success of the best. Human Solidarity: How societies are able to stay together, even though they are so different in space and time. Solidarity can be mechanical (= small societies, with direct relations, based on knowledge and mutual affection) or organic (= when the society is complex, where the organizations that regulate it begin to function)

Manifest Functions: (according to Merton) known consequences of social action, intentional and recognized. Latent Functions: (according to Merton) unknown or unintentional functions of social action. Social dysfunctions: (according to Merton) negative consequences for the balance and progress of society as a whole; They derive from the functioning of some structure or guideline. Sociology of the conflict: one of the theoretical paradigms of sociology. It Is characterized because It maintains inequality, conflict and social change. It will Seek the causes and effects of social inequality (economic, racial, cultural, ethnic, religious, gender...) It Studies the relationships of domination and the reactions of the dominated, which leads to social conflicts that can derive in social crises The maximum Representative is Marx. Action Theories: One of the most important theoretical paradigms of sociology. It Carries Out The study of the society from the point of view of the person (micro orientation). Not part of the study of structures, but the analysis of interactions between people and in different contexts. Max Weber (1864-1920) will be your chief representative. He Argues that the actions of individuals and meanings that they themselves give to their actions is what is setting up society. He Believes that the explanation comes from ideas, not from economics, especially from beliefs and heats, which orient the actions of individuals in one direction or another. They end up conditioning societies to develop in a certain sense. Ideal Types or "ideal type": It is a conceptual tool, created by Weber, that serves to schematically reconstruct a pattern of social relations. Symbolic interactionism: Current pertaining to the paradigm of the theory of action. Part of Weber's theories and focuses on studying how people build their own identity and define themselves through their social experiences (their interactions). It Focuses its research, especially in urban Sociology: What happens in cities, in relationships between people, where they are located... According To This theory, a society is the result of the daily interactions of people, who are giving meaning to the social world around them. Of course, this process does not guarantee that all people attributed the same meaning to actions or act in the same way. Dramaturgic Approach (Goffman, USA, 1922-2982): a very close approach to symbolic interactionism. He Believes that people are like actors who have to play the social roles that correspond to them and make them credible. This will be adapted people... It Is The culture that defines the roles, the guidelines, and redefine them: that Is why in a society there are different cultures Method: It is a systematic plan to carry forward an investigation (the way to find results to the problem posed). Techniques: Strategies or specific aspects of the method Experiment: Systematic and controlled Method of investigation in which the conditions of a subject are manipulated and the effects are measured in the dependent variable. It Is Used to find the causal connections between variables. It Implies quantitative data. The objective of an experiment is always to explain the phenomena, why it happens.

Experimental Group: Group of people who participate in an experiment and who undergo changes in the independent variable. Control Group: A group of people who participate in an experiment and who is only subjected to a "placebo" that has no effect. As its name indicates it is used to contrast the results of the experiment carried out in the experimental group. Hawthone Effect: It Can happen that individuals alter their behavior simply by the fact they know themselves investigated Survey: A method of investigation consisting of a formal questionnaire. Questionnaire: Battery of questions (from a survey or interview) Participant Observation: Also called, from Anthropology, field work or ethnography. Research Method for exploratory and descriptive studies of human groups, which are studied in their natural contexts, in their environment, in everyday situations, in a time-delay period. Sociological Profile: Sample characteristics or studied population. Culture: A set of values, beliefs, acritudes and material objects that constitute the way of life of a society. Non-material Culture: The set of values, beliefs and attitudes shared by a group. Also the words, which are perhaps the most cultural aspect: language. Material Culture: All material goods produced by individuals; Any physical substance modified and used by people. It Is The result or application of non-material culture. Symbols: Everything that has a specific meaning for people who share a culture Semiotics: Science or study of the ways in which symbols can generate different meanings in different context Language: A system of symbols that allows members of a society to communicate with each other. There Is Oral, written and sign language, as well as body language. Although The language par excellence is speech and writing. All cultures use speech as a means of communication. Scripture was a great advance for the knowledge of societies and for a society to situate itself in space and time. With it you can store the knowledge, it does not need to be transmitted only by oral tradition. It can accumulate more knowledge than a person can store on its own without the help of writing. Values: They are culturally defined models with which people evaluate or define the desirable, the beautiful, good... And they are necessary for life in society. They Are statements that indicate how things should be from the point of view of culture. These Are general principles that serve as a basis for beliefs. (values describe what it should be and what beliefs it is) Beliefs: Describe what it is. They Are Specific statements that people consider true and adapt without rational justification. They Are shared by most members of a society.

Norms: These are the social rules or expectations that govern the conduct of a society or culture. They Describe how to act. It Affects everything and varies from one culture to another. They Can be prescriptive (they indicate what to do) or proscriptivas (they forbid certain things). Reflect the cultural clash. You need to know them. Mores (according to Sumner, 1906), indicate the essential standards for the maintenance of a way of life. They Are valid for all time and place and all are expected to respect them (e.g. banning incest, child abuse...) They Serve to distinguish moral and immoral. Customs: The rules of conduct that govern daily life. They refer to the rules of etiquette, courtesy, protocol... They May be collected in laws. Technology: The applied knowledge of a society that serves to survive. It Is The bond of Union of a society with its natural environment and between the natural environment and its cultural universe. Subculture: A subculture has diverse cultural traits to those of the culture in which it is immersed. It Has cultural manifestations that distinguish a sector of society, but maintaining cultural elements of the culture in which they are immersed. There Are Occupational, religious, regional, social-class subcultures... Subcultures develop their own vocabulary, a slang, with dual purpose: to protect against outsiders and reinforce the bonds of the members of the subculture. They Can be coined own terms or common terms applied with different meaning. Counterculture: A subculture that rejects some of the values or norms of the dominant culture. Cultural Universals: We Understand by cultural universals the values or forms of behavior shared by all human cultures (Murdock, 1945). Among them, the language, the marriage or family system, the funerary rites, the humour, the songs, the dance... Elitist Culture: The elites develop certain traits, cultural manifestations of their own to distinguish themselves from the rest. Popular Culture: Cultural manifestations widely disseminated in society (which can be an extension of ancient forms of elitist culture) Ethnocentrism: Habit of judging a culture by the parameters of ours. It Is a natural and universal disposition that results from being very related to the culture in which we were born (Sumner) Etnometodología (Garfinkel) It Is The study of how people understand or give meaning to everyday life. These understandings are given by assumptions by those who interact and allow the interaction to develop in the right way. Social Group is the set of people who maintain an interaction in a regular and structured way, that share at least certain values and norms, and that have a sense of global identity as such set. Global Identity It means that they are group-aware, feel part of a group, and recognize the other members of the group and the people who do not belong to the group.

Social Category: Group of persons related by a criterion and the judgement of the Observer. At least people in that category have that element in common. There is No interaction, no group consciousness, no shared values... (Ex: Young people) Conglomerate: (= meeting, agglomeration) grouping of people who, being in physical proximity to each other, lack reciprocal communication and are not guaranteed to share the same cultural elements. The bonds of union are usually basically cyclical. Its components are anonymous to each other. The demand for changes in behavior for membership Is minimal. This conglomerate depends on the fact that they share the same physical space. Intragroup and Extragroup (Sumner) The criterion is the own belonging. The groups we belong to or the groups that we are strangers to. With This criterion the term of Autocentrismo was coined. Endogrupo y exogrupo (Kurt Lewin) Practically the same criterion attached to a person's living space (that which is not indifferent to the person). Endogroup shall be that group with which the person identifies and Exogrupo, with whom he is not identified. Membership Group and Reference Group (Merton) Merton asserts that the individual is self-aware not directly, but from the generalized views of the other members of the group to which he belongs (belonging group). But not always the benchmark is in the membership group, but can be considered groups that are not belonging (reference groups). -Membership Group is the one we are part of. -Group of reference, that which fulfils functions of guiding reference or of reference evaluator, since it provides a benchmark standard for the evaluation. It Constitutes a normative, behavioral model to establish the modes and behaviors conducive or expected. Community and Society (Tönnies) (Community y Gessellschaf) The differentiating element is the nature of the relationships that are established and the type of will on which they settle. Distinguishes two types of will: Essential will or organic will: spontaneous links of cooperation (family, friends...) From This arises the community, which responds to the impulses of the heart. Reflective or arbitrary Will: demands of reason. It Gives rise to the society, where the relations are based on the demand of the achievement of particular interests (Eg: the State) Community and society are opposed, although neither of them is in the pure state. Primary Group and Secondary group (Cooley) Not only Does It refer to the size of the group, but to the nature of the relationships:

Direct, face-to-face, personalized interactions based on affective (or primary) ties predominate In the primary group. The purpose of the primary group is in itself: to find pleasure, satisfaction, mutual pleasure, mutual affection... In the interaction itself. EX: Family, friends... It Has a small number of people. In the secondary group, the bonds are of formal type, therefore, impersonal and aim at functional goals. The Group exists while they have a task to fulfil. The end is out of the group. Its Temporality is limited. The interaction between the members of the group is generally indirect. Relationships are basically reduced to a single activity. Formal Organizations Association of persons who have specific objectives (known to all) and who work according to a pre-established scheme; That is to say, with an organizational structure that governs internal relations (usually due to principles of authority). Examples: Hospital, University, political party, company... They Are present in society because we need the coordination of activities and resources. This Coordination Is facilitated by the organizations. Utilitarian Organizations: People work in exchange for a salary (EG: Company) Org. Norms: People work driven by moral or ethical reasons. (Eye!: Not all volunteering and support groups are "organizations") Org. Coercive: Membership is not voluntary (Eg: jail) Bureaucracy Etymologically it refers to the government of the scribes (or officials). It is Not a modern "invention", but it has its origin in the first empires. (A) Bureaucracy (GOURNAY, 1975) refers to "the type of organizations that are designed in a rational way and according to criteria that seek maximum efficacy." (In less time and effort) Bureaucratic Alienation: The same M. Weber recognized that the bureaucracy can dehumanize the people, because it marks the procedures, it obliges the norms, imposes a chain of authority... The initiative, creativity and peer communication Are lost. Inefficacy and Ritualism: In everyday language we identify bureaucracy with inefficiency and paperwork. According To Merton, this happens when we transform the rules and procedures of management into ends in themselves. Bureaucratic Inertia: tendency to perpetuate (even if the objectives have already been fulfilled) Oligarchy: (Michels, 1911) The Division of tasks and responsibilities puts in the hands of the leaders such a number of resources that it is difficult not to succumb to the temptation of putting them at the service of perpetuating themselves in power. For Michels, oligarchy = bureaucracy. The Parkinson's Law: (1957) The work tends to dilate until it occupies all the time (and all the resources) available for its execution.

Peter'S principle: The bureaucrats ascend to occupy positions for those who are not well prepared....