Soc Notes Ch 1 - Dr. Debjani Chakravarty, \"Introduction to Sociology\" textbook, Seagull 11th PDF

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Dr. Debjani Chakravarty, "Introduction to Sociology" textbook, Seagull 11th Edition...

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“Intro to Sociology” 11th Edition Ch. 1 - What Is Sociology? -social norms/expectations -researched by surveys/in the field -natural vs. social; agency vs. structure -Society: a group of people with commonalities (beliefs, ethnicity, rules, etc); a self contained group of people who share common space and organized for survival, share common authority figures and identity -Social structure: enduring patterns of social arrangement, practices, rules, and norms; basis of human life and familiarity -Agency: capacity to push back, negotiate, or change social structures -Socialization: processes through which humans learn to integrate into society (social learning) -Social construction: agreed upon idea, practice, or culture which maintains social order *Social values given to natural processes (eg “age appropriate”) CLASSICAL SOCIOLOGY -foundational theory; broad framework to study society -post French and industrial revolutions; workings of modern society FOUNDING FATHERS 1. Karl Marx a. Economy (capitalism) b. Social class (bourgeoisie/proletariat) c. Historical materialism (basis of human society) d. Laborers vs. capitalists (selling oneself as a commodity, ie. labor) e. Job specialization as a product of capitalism f. Alienation: repeated actions and lack of varied stimulation leads to “mental numbness” g. Democratic society, feudal economy 2. Emile Durkheim a. Social “facts” in every society, eg. religion; study facts as things b. Division of labor leads to social change c. Social change causes change from mechanical to organic solidarity d. Organic solidarity: social cohesion that results from the parts of society functioning as a whole e. Suicide i. Fatalistic: extreme pain/distress, death seems better than life ii. Anomic: lack of social structure (eg. post war)

iii. Altruistic: “martyrism” (eg. soldiers, suicide terrorism) iv. Egoistic: individual not connected to family or society 3. Max Weber a. Capitalism as an ideology; delayed gratification b. Protestant ethic as a driving force of capitalism c. Organizational theorist; bureaucracy d. Society is being rationalized (less superstition, more reason) e. Power: realization of one’s will to create change (good or bad) NEGLECTED FOUNDERS 1. Harriet Martineau a. Do not study social institutions in isolation i. How institutions affect one another b. Do not exclude some social actors from study (eg. women, working class, etc.) 2. W.E.B. DuBois a. Do not ignore double consciousness (how others view us affecting our view of ourselves) b. Do not indulge in social analysis without social reform -Symbolic interactionism: communication depends on shared social symbols (eg. language); society understood through interactions -Structural functionalism: social structures have functions, manifest or latent (intended or unintended consequences); maintains order -Marxism and Neo-Marxism: study of power and social class, as well as materials; base and superstructure -Feminist Theory: gender is a social stratification that determines life outcomes; intersecionality of stratifications (race, age, location, class, gender, etc) -Postmodern Theory: society is too diverse to be understood through just theory; reality is socially constructed; chaos is more likely than coherence; new media allows everyone to create new knowledge and meanings...