Transcript Sociology

Sociology
• The study of people in groups
• Groups in the process of selfformation
• through the actions of individuals
• through the actions and forces of
the groups themselves
The Study of People in Groups
• The “Scientific” study of
–groups and
–group formation
• Groups, as collections of people
in the process of self-definition
Scientific Study of Groups
• Involves Methods of Study
• Involves Theories of Study
METHODS of STUDY
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Observation (obtrusive and unobtrusive)
Surveys
Experiments
Historical Comparison
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Archival Research
Suspending Judgement
• A key attitude in the study of society is
the research approach called cultural
relativism
• This is in contrast to the common
approach, which views other cultures and
societies from the point of view of one’s
own values and beliefs-- otherwise known
as ethnocentrism
Theories of Study
• Functionalism (and variations)
– structuralism
• Social Conflict Theory
• Symbolic Interactionism
• Gender Theory (Feminist Theory)
Functionalism
• Social groups and society are viewed like
“living organisms”
• groups and group processes are studied
as parts of a functioning whole
• aspects and behaviors of society may
have obvious (manifest) functions or
“hidden” (latent) functions
Functionalism: Durkheim
• Emile Durkheim: French Sociologist
• (1858-1917)
• Considered one of the “fathers of
modern sociology”
Social Conflict Theory
• Society is created from the ongoing
conflict between key groups
• According to some theorists, these groups
are the main economic “classes” of
society
• these are made up of those who own the
main wealth of society, and those who
own little but their ability to labor
Social Conflict Theory:Marx
• The main theorist representing this
approach is Karl Marx (1818-1883)
• He saw society as being built out of the
conflicting interests of the “owner class”
and the “working class”
• In his view, the ensuing struggle between
classes would lead to a classless society
Symbolic Interactionism
• “Symbols” are the basis of social life
• Individuals and societies develop through
people’s interaction through symbols
• Individuals develop a sense of themselves
as they learn to use symbols
• Individuals develop a sense of themselves
as they learn to see themselves the way
they believe others see them
Symbolic Interactionists
• Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)
• George Herbert Mead (1863-1947)
• Erving Goffman
– “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life”
Culture and Society
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Material and Non-Material Culture
Culture as “Webs of Meaning”
...As “Blueprint of/for society”
Made up, as well, of norms, values, mores
and folkways
• The culture of a society is passed on from
one generation to the next
Culture and Society
• The culture of any group is passed on
from one generation to the next through
ongoing, lifelong processes of socialization
• A related concept is enculturation
• Social members may even be resocialized
in their lifetime if they do not “conform”
to the values, mores, norms etc. of their
group
Socialization
• Socialization (enculturation) is a life-long
process, that begins at birth
• We are first socialized by those who are
closest to us in our early months and
years
• This first development is called primary
socialization
• Later we are socialized through our
wider society, and this is called secondary
socialization
Groups
• Sociology is the study of groups of people
in process of self-definition as groups
• A group is a collection of people (but not
all collections of people are groups!)
• Sociology studies, among other things,
how individuals impact and shape groups
• Sociology studies, as well, how groups
impact and shape individuals
Groups: Common Terms
• aggregate
• category
• voluntary and involuntary groups
• reference groups
• peer groups
• primary and secondary groups
Groups: More Terms
• status
– achieved
– ascribed
• roles
• in-group
• out-group
Formal Organizations
• Formal organizations are usually largescale groups that have a planned focus
and a clearly defined structure
• Such organizations are often referred to
as bureaucracies
• Max Weber studied bureaucracies as
ideal organizations of complex, modern
society
Bureaucracies
• According to Weber, bureaucracies
represented the ideal organization of
large-scale, modern society
• ....with such characteristics as the
complex division of labor
• ...with a hierarchical structure of
authority
• ...and a complex system of clear and
predictable rules
Social Inequality
• A persistent character of groups
throughout the world is that of
stratification
• Stratification is the unequal division of
societies
• This division can be based on a variety of
factors including:
Stratification:
• Class...
• Race...
• Gender...
• Power...
• Prestige...
Class: Marx
• According to Marx (and other social
conflict theorists) class is the division of
societies into several main groups,
including:
• ...those who own the productive wealth of
society
• ...those who own only their labor (the
workers)
Class: Marx
• In this theory, this was the fundamental
difference between the classes of
industrial society
• ...and this division would eventually
disappear as workers struggled for the
power of the owner class
Class: Weber
• According to Weber, the stratification of
society was based on a broader range of
factors, including
• ....wealth
• ....power
• ....prestige
• And one could have any one of these to
be in a “higher” class..... (examples?)
Poverty Among the Stratified
• Poverty is a persistent feature of
stratification throughout the world
• While many would argue about its very
definition
• And many would argue about its real
cause(s)
Relative and Absolute Poverty
• Much of poverty in the world is what
could be termed “relative poverty”....
• While much of the world lives in
“absolute poverty...
• ...the latter being a state in which one’s
very survival is threatened by the lack of
resources (eg. food, clothing, medical care
etc.)
Causes of Poverty
• Why does poverty persist in the world?
• Functionalist view....
• Social-conflict theory...
• Social-interactionist theory...
• Gender/Feminist theory...
Other Divisions: Race and
Ethnicity
• Race and ethnicity are also dividing
factors in our society (and our wider
world)
• Race is the social definition of people
based one biological characteristics
• Ethnicity is the social definition of people
based on cultural ties (like language,
dress, customs, beliefs, etc.)
Race: Key Terms
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Prejudice
Discrimination
Racism
Social definition of Race
Institutional Racism
Minority Status
Race: More Key Terms
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Genocide (“ethnic cleansing”)
Expulsion
Segregation (apartheid)
Assimilation
Amalgamation
Cultural pluralism
Other Divisions: Gender
• Sex: biological characteristics
– xy/xx, hormones, primary and secondary sex
characteristics
• Gender: the social definition of groups
based on biological characteristics....
• (sound familiar? see the variation of this
theme under “race”)
Gender: Nature vs. Nurture
• How much of what we are as “masculine”
and “feminine” is
• .....learned through socialization...
• .....or “built-in” to us through our genes,
hormones and brain-structure?
Gender: biological destiny?
• How much of the stratification of our
society along gendered lines is “natural”-based on our biological make-up....
• ....and how much is the result of social
definition of opportunities etc. based on
biological makeup....?
Gender: biological destiny?
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the “glass ceiling”...
female job-ghettos
the “feminization of poverty”
Are these “natural divisions” of the
world?
Social Institutions
• Society is in process of self-definition...
• As social practices of groups become
familiar, accepted and expected they
become what sociology calls institutions
• This refers to organized practices and
relationships of society, rather than to
physical places...
Social Institutions Include...
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...family
...religion
...economics and politics
...education
Family: The way we
never were...
• The sociological study of family:
• historical comparison...
– Kodachrome...”the good-old days”...
• cross-cultural comparison...
– “family values” around the world...
• family today: the “ideal” vs. “the real”
Religion= Primitive Science?
• The “enlightened view” of “religion”...
– “science” replacing “religion”
– the emergence of “rational” explanation of
the world
• Classifying the world’s cultures : from
“savagery” to “civilization”?
• Sociologists get involved.....
– Durkheim et. al
Religion vs. Science?
• Is there necessarily any conflict between
religion and science?
• examples of conflict in history....
– the earth is the center of the universe
– there is no such thing as a vacuum
– “God” created “man” on the 7th day... not
through “evolution”....
Religion vs. Science?
• Why did such scientific assertions
challenge religion?
• Do they necessarily undermine, or
contradict religious beliefs and tradtitions?
• Today, does the sociological study of
religion necessarily mean the rejection of
religion?
Sociology and Religion:
Which theory would say...
• “Religion dulls people to the reality of
class conflict...”
• “Religion should be studied for the things
it does for the cohesion of society...”
• “Religion should also be studied for its
gendered character in history and
contemporary society...”
Deviance and Social Control
• Remember... “Sociology is the study
of.....”
• Groups in “self-definition” set
boundaries...
– who belongs
– who does not
• This is done by the way people talk, dress,
behave etc.
Deviance and Social Control
• “Deviance” is relative to values of the
wider society.... How is this so?
– or.... if a “deviant” fell in the woods, and
nobody was around to hear this....
• “Deviant” behavior and beliefs often find
their way, eventually, into “mainstream”
society:
– or... underwear as outerwear....
Deviance and Social Control
• “Deviant behavior” today may also have
been accepted social practice in the past...
• spare the rod and avoid the DCYF
• no smoking! you @#@!@!##@
• opium under the Pastor’s porch...
Which theory would....
• ...See “deviance” as the definition of the
powerful in a society?
• ...See “deviance” as learned through
processes of seeing oneself in relation to
others and their expectations?
• ...See “deviance” as having some
“positive” functions in society, as well as
being a sign of the malfunction or
dysfunction of society?
A Rap on Deviance
• The “latent” and “manifest” functions of
“parental advisory”stickers
• But isn’t Rap just “missing a C”?
• Rap... In context of history....
• A conflict of power in history and
contemporary society?
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