Transcript Social Structure and Social Institutions

Social Structure
and
Social Institutions
Social
Structure:
Social institutions,
organizations,
groups, statuses
and roles, values
and norms that
add order and
predictability to
our private lives.
Social Institutions
• When stable sets of statuses, roles, groups,
and organizations form to provide the
foundation for addressing fundamental
societal needs.
• “Persistent and connected sets of rules
(formal and informal) that prescribe
behavioral roles, constrain activity, and shape
expectations.” – Keohane, 1989
Social institutions
provide the
“rules for the game.”
What are some “classic”
social institutions?
• Family, law, mass media, religion, education,
governance, politics, economy, etc.
What are some of the
characteristics that make up
this institution we are
currently in?
And what are some ways this
institution is shaping us
(what are some of the
“rules of the game” here)?
Are these social institutions?
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Gender?
Race?
Marriage?
Class?
Sexuality?
There is dispute among
sociologists about
whether or not these
qualify as institutions.
• “Persistent and
connected sets of
rules (formal and
informal) that
prescribe behavioral
roles, constrain
activity, and shape
expectations.”
Institutional Effects
• Institutions are a key source of predictability
– They provide order
However…
• Institutions are also at the root source of
many social problems
Why and How?
But despite the problems,
social institutions cannot be
abolished.
There could be pandemonium
without them.
Institutional Intersections
• Micro-Macro links
– The connections between social institutions, organizations,
and individual behavior
• (E.g. Education
Unit 5
NCHS
Mr. Robinson
You)
– Or the connections between institutions, social structure,
and our socially constructed reality
• Institutions do not exist in isolation; they work
together
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Politics and economy and education
Economics and family and gender
Politics and race and gender and economy
Etc.
As we discuss different social
institutions, always be thinking
about institutional intersections.
In other words, how are our social
institutions working together or in
opposition to each other?