SYG 2000 FALL 2018 - Lecture notes 1-3 PDF

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sociology midterm...

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SYG 2000 FALL 2018 Mid-Term Exam Review The exam will comprise of 30 multiple-choice questions (worth 1 point each) and an essay question (worth 20 points) that will include chapters from your textbook and all assigned articles and videos thus far. In addition, exam questions will draw upon classroom discussions and important themes examined within the course. The exam session will be: Tuesday, November 6nd 2018. There will be no exam review session but students are encouraged to meet during office hours to discuss any problems regarding the testable course content.

Chapter One: The Sociological Perspective and The Sociological Imagination Moving beyond stereotypes and faulty generalizations Forming Sociological Questions  Social Imagination: understanding that our "personal" issues are really issues shared by others around us o It enables us to see the relationship between biography and history o Our lives are shaped by the world around us o We look through a Sociological Lens in order to stop generalizing (stereotypes) people and what they do, we ask they they do it and why things happen. We asked what created the stereotype, what are they based on? o The things we take for granted are more complicated then they look o Ask hard questions instead of just accepting answers o We ask Sociological questions by criticizing "common sense" Social location, Social Structures and Social Context  Social Context:social environments, including economic and cultural conditions that influence people's lives o Immediate family, especially parent's education wealth and income o Neighborhood and community o Education received o Organizations joined/ have access to o Employment found o In a broader sense:  Country their born in  Period of history o Identities: conceptions we have about who we are and what groups of categories we are members of. AKA social characteristics and group affiliations

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Social Interaction: way people with each other and how they act differently in the presence of others. Governed by norms. We are always the same person but we act differently depending on the social context we are in We know how to act in certain situations because we know that acting another way will have consequences Social Location: Our social location is not just based on your geographical

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location, instead it is everything about where you stand. For example, what country you were born in, your family’s financial situation, your gender, your race, and many others. Because our social location shapes the opportunities we have it affects how we will end up, making it the perfect subject for sociologists to dissect and studyOur social location is not just based on your geographical location, instead it is everything about where you stand. For example, what country you were born in, your family’s financial situation, your gender, your race, and many others. Because our social location shapes the opportunities we have it affects how we will end up, making it the perfect subject for sociologists to dissect and study. Social Structures

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Historical factors that led to the rise of sociology:  Scientific Revolution (1543/1601) o Nicholas Copernicus (1st thinker to theorize)  Corrects the things that the universe revolved around the Earth, instead of the sun (geocentric).  Heliocentric model  His book was published after he died because the church has established that it was heresy. They were sent to burn.  He challenged religions and establish knowledge o Galileo Galilei  Astronomer  Perfected the telescope and he charted.  Came up with the law of falling bodies, bodies fall exactly at the same time without their weight mattering. o Newton  3 laws of motion. Figured this out by coming up with theories and testing them. A different approach to knowledge. 

The Enlightenment (Age of reason, 16th-18th Century) o John Locke  Dominated in thinkers in European continent and some in the Americas.  Replacing religion with science. We have a sense of progression and evolution. Declaration of the right of men and notions of equality.  Sociology is a child of sociology

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French Revolution o France was the first major power to have an internal civil war. o Louis XVI and Mary Antonienette, remembered as one of the weakest kings. No experience or inclination to rule. They used money that France

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did not have, while the people were hungry. Middle class felt over taxed while the wealthy lived perfectly It is monumental and it turns into the first beheading of the monarchy by the people. All the monarchies in Europe began to fear, because they sparked revolutions everywhere. 10 years long. Bloody times for 10 years. Ended by Napoleon who declares himself Emperor for life, and tried to conquer the world, changing the landscape. Movement from monarchies to democracies. Birth of a new society.  How did we get here? That is what sociologist ask. The need to understand these modern changes made Sociology emerge. Create continued wide repercussions Sociologist thinkers think that the FR had positive effects

The Industrial Revolution o Changed the social landscape. Cities became more prominent, instead of farms. o England was the seat of the IR o Enclosure acts= private property o Wage labor began, which increased the move to cities.  Serfs knew how to work with the lands, so when those jobs were taken away they began to sell themselves. They had no other choice, which increased child labor. o More people= looser social ties o Changed the structure of families because everyone had to work, traditional ties changed. o Lead to the birth of a new middle class, that will challenge the wealth of the aristocracy. o Birth of labor rights o Made to wear clothing--> reading to wear clothing  You didn't need a tailor to made 1 or 2 outfits, instead you got a catalogue with many options.  This was an individual action that was changed, but it was a social practice. o The birth of the Industrial food systems.  People switched from getting their food from their farms, which you couldn't store or produce too much of. Now, they had the technology to create things in surplus and store it (steam engine, navigation by sea, etc.)  Altered how we produce, altering how we consuming, altering how we work. o Sociology was born because people were trying to understand all of these changes that were happening quickly, and whys they meant. Whys the consequences? Where are we going? o New class structure, new class conflict, new wealth ranges, technology changed, pattern of consumption changed, structures of social relationships changed, etc.

In addition ensure that you know the major themes of assigned articles and videos under discussion in this section (see syllabus) Chapter Two: Social Theory What are social theories and why are they useful?  Social Theories- systematic ideas about the relationships between individuals and societies. They're analytical frameworks  Some are grand seeking o explain universal features of all societies  Some apply only to a single topic hat sociologist study, such as theories about race, gender or religion.  Sociology has many different theories and theoretical traditions, unlike the other social sciences  Sociology draw from many different theories in their work Explain the common themes addressed by major sociological theories  What is the nature of an individual? How does he individual act in the context of society?  What is the basis for social order? What is is that holds societies together  What are the circumstances or conditions under which societies change? Historical factors shaping classical social theories  Leadership and the development of social theory and sociology was no longer only in Europe and moved to America. This can be attributed to Talcott Parsons a Harvard Sociologist o Had a general theory that society built around an analysis of how the different component of society help to maintain it and keep it in order. o Published The Structure of Social Action which saw both the making of the functionalist model of society and the development of several key alternatives to his theory, conflict theory and symbolic interaction  Structural Functionalism o Williams definition: a theoretical perspective that sees society as a complex system of interrelated arts that work together to promote stability and order in society. o Social Functionalism: theory of society in which individuals, groups and the institutions of society are guided by an overarching social system. o Regulates individuality o Explained key aspects of social life by examining the functions they serve in society o Example: analogy if the body, if one organ malfunctions then the whole body may shut down o Parsons argues that they key elements of society were all organized around the broader needs of society as a whole

Ex: all societies have a religions and religious ideas and doctrines give societies a shared moral code to live by, help people explain the unexplainable and encourage social solidarity. o Social systems contain normal, values and institutions- practices of society and the orgs that manage those practices o Emphasizes that the norms, values, and institutions arise because they prove to be good ways of maintaining social order. o Social change is something that happens gradually as the latter adapt to new challenges and are eventually replaced. o The features of society that are not working are slowly discard in favor of those that do work Conflict Theory o Emerged because structural functionalist theory ignores conflict generating elements, such as inequalities between groups . However Parson, thought classic theorists exaggerated the role of conflict. o It attempts to combine elements of every thinker's ideas into a new theory. o (William’s definition) Conflict theory is a theoretical perspective that sees society as a battleground of inequality that generates conflict and change. From this perspective, sociologists are interested in understanding how factors such as : race, class, ethnicity, age, education, gender, sexuality, religion, or ability are linked to the unequal distribution of money, power and status in society. o One founding father of this theory is RALF DAHRENDORF  belived that Marx's idea that social changes came from class struggle was outdated but that this occurred because of economic conflict was still true.  Argued that noneconomic conflicts are often ignored as an important type of conflict  Ex: who has the authority to make decisions in organizations. Most work on this theory was from C. WRIGHT MILLS  Worth a series go books thet argued that America was governed by a "power elite" that worked to protect its privileges and dominated the making of govt policies. o Its popularity grew because people thought that the functionalist theory didn't provide a good way of explaining why inequalities exist, or how its extreme seemed to justify them as functional for societies. o functionalist theorists argued that economic inequality was necessary because it encouraged the talented individuals to pursue careers that would benefit them  Noted that inequalities of wealth and power are not natural outcomes but rather their privileges persist because powerful individuals and groups go to great lengths to protect them o Conflict theorist argue that people who feel oppressed will eventually struggle against those who take advantage of them o This theory never became a full-fledged system of social thought  Symbolic Interactionism o Symbolic Interactionism: theory of society which focuses on how people interact with one another and the role that symbols play In those interactions o Williams definition: theoretical perspective that sees society as been composed of individuals who negotiate, create, and recreate meaning in 

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everyday life through social interaction. From this perspective, meaning is not inherent in things or in actions but rather socially constructed and socially transformed Changing the meaning of something over time Argues that social order starts from individuals and the meanings they give to objects, events and relationships with others. Founding theorist: George Herbert Mead, Herbert Blumer and a student of Mead's Argues that understanding everyday social interaction lies at the heart of understanding society. Zooms in to focus on everyday human behavior. Mead argued that we are both subjects who act un the world as well as objects who exist in the world and are interpreted and defined by others.  I and Me Blumer distinguished 3 types of subject interpretation:  Physical objects (a table)  Social objects (people)  Abstract objects (ideas) Notes that evaluations and opinions of some people count more to us than others, depending on the relationship If our opinions of selves is determined by others opinions and we all want others to have good opinions, it makes sense that we try to behave a way that will lead others to view us positively

The theories of Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim (presented in your textbook, videos and discussed in class) Karl Marx Karl Marx  Communism is the opposite of what Marx meant, they created more oppression and he hated oppression.  People used his ideas to satisfy his needs  Excerpt 1 humanizes him:  If we have chosen the position in life in which we can most of all work for mankind, no burdens can bow us down, because they are sacrifices for the benefit of all; then we shall experience no petty, limited, selfish joy, but our happiness will belong to millions, our deeds will live on quietly but perpetually at work, and over our ashes will be shed the hot tears of noble people.Marx, Letter to His Father (1837).  He says that if we work for other people (social/noble work) instead of for ourselves we will be happier and better off. There will be nothing that can stop us, our sacrifices are for the benefit of all.  commodity: something we can buy and sell in the market. A good produces primarily for exchange. They do however have both exchange and use value.  Commodity (Marx’s view): things that we are used to working become commodities. o Ex: we did not sell apples years ago because we needed them, now we sell them.  Use value: the value of something you can use it for. Subjective.  Exchange value: what it’s worth, monetary wise.  Proletariat: workers  Bourgeois: owners

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Founding figure of social Theory He often collaborated with his friend Friedrich Engels Sociologists and theorists developed their own theories by critiquing Wrote about the idea that the way that humans produce the things they need to live is the essential foundation of any society Society's economic system , and the relationships it screamed between individuals and groups, is the defining feature of how society works Human history is understood through the history of different economic systems. Economics determines what is possible in the realm of politics and culture.

All societies except hunting communities produce an economic surplus. So they produce more goods than they need. o They do not share the surplus, someone takes over it. Who takes over the surplus? By what means do they use to do so? o This creates tensions between classes and gives rise to conflict and in some cases revolutions Clases: groups of people who share a smilie set of economic interests. Most famous work: The Communist Manifesto (MARX and Engels) o Divides the history of society into modes of production which characterize the dominant economic system in society and the classes the system gives rise to. o Modes of Production:  Forces of production: technological no productive capacity of any society at a given point in time  Ex: tools people use to make things, the relations of production are how people are organized to carry out the tasks needed o produce those things. o Social Relations of Production: which are the relationships and inequalities between different kind of people within the economy o This would determine that kinds of laws and govt systems are possible and the way people few politics no society o Marx believed that capitalists would become the dominant economic system around the world  It's all about the conflict between the bourgeoisie (those with capital aka money and assets) and everyone else.  Because they have capital they are divided from the proletariat (working class) because the working class had to seek employment in order to meet their basic  He believed intermediate groups would shrink as small businesses were becoming bankruptcy and forced to joint the working class, causing it to grow  Modes of production become stagnant causing revolutions o Believed that the working class would revolt and through capitalism out and replace it with socialism. He attributed this to Class Struggle: which is the idea that different classes are treated differently by the economic system while ultimately be in conflict with each other. o Capitalist societies have developed large government funded and operated social programs designed to eliminate poverty and inequality o For socialism to work a society has to be capitalistic first o

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Max Weber  German sociologist  Explored the history and societies of major civilizations and religious traditions of the world, as well as such technical topics as agricultural production  Wrote about the motives of individual behavior, the forms of legitimate authority, and his concept of the status group and the universal process of how groups look to monopolize opportunities for their members  He believed we had to consider the role of individual action and behavior as a foundation social order. We need to look into people's heads and understand how they look at the world around them  "Sociology is a science concerning itself with the interpretive understanding of social action" o Interpretive understanding: empathy, understanding from someone’s point of view.  Interperative Sociology: translation from a German word that means understanding  The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Captalism  Theory that capitalism grew in the US faster than anywhere else because of the protestants. They believed that if you were economically successful God was blessing you therefore it encouraged them to work in with discipline, methodical manner, and to save and reinvest what they earned.  This encouraged others and set modern behavior norms that emerged out of those religious attitudes of a small minority.  Second contribution: how and why do people respect hierarchies and obey orders?  Power: person's ability to achieve their goals even if someone else wants to prevent it o Ex: a ruler getting people to submit to them by using force  Authority:ability to get people to do this because they think they should follow their commands of people above them o Leaders gain authority through Legitimacy. We obey them not because we are forced and threatened but because we believe that obeying them is the right thing to do. This is voluntary obedience o Legitimate domination:  Traditional authority: seem timeless but we know that kingdoms don't last  Charismatic authority: related to the word charisma which is a Greek word that means "gift of grace". Unique individuals have appeared who claim power that their followers believed to be true because of their charisma. Ex: Jesus Christ o Legal-rational authority o Third contribution:  Status Groups: groups of people with similar kinds of attributes or identities such as religion, ethnicity and race. Based inside community of members that share a common identity that come from different sources for example depending the families we were born in or the ines we form as we grow up.  He acknowledged the conflict between economic classes, but he believed that the conflicts between that conflicts between religious, racial and ethnic groups are equally important.  The possible identities that become statues groups depend on distinctive communities or organizations that influence people to identify with them ...