Sociology Exam semester 1

What Is sociology

The study of the function of human society

Macro

Large scale questions about society

Micro

Smaller questions about individuals

Conflict theory/ Marxism

Macro level, society is made up of competing groups struggling for control, societal relationships are exertions of power

Functionalism

Macro level ideas, social structure are at the core of society, religion, family etc

Symbolic interactionslism

Micro level ideas, the world is made up of symbols that we interpret to communicate, we assign meaning to interaction and objects

What are the two types of identity?

Individual identity and group identity

6 factors that shape identity

Gender, ethnicity, sexuality, location, nationality, class

What does socialisation teach us

Norms, values, sanctions, taboos, folkways, mores

Socialisation

The process of learning to fit into society

Nature VS Nurture

Nature is the hereditary and genetic factor of identity and nurture is the environment variables

Looking glass self - Charles Cooley

Individuals when they base their sense of self on how they believe others view them

I and Me - George Herbert mead

Me represents learned societal behaviours and expectations and I represents an individual’s identity based on the response to those social behaviours and expectations

Dramaturgy - Erving Goffman

Assumed a place moment and audience to whom the identity is being presented

Stages of cognitive development

Sensorimotor stage, Pre- operational stage, concrete operational stage, formal operational stage

Agents of socialisation

(Both direct and indirect) family, peers, education, media

gender (general)

Male and female- biological, sociological theory has many different theories on gender not necessarily just male or female, beauty standards and gender roles in culture, socialisation

Culture

The way of life of a whole society, involves shared beliefs, norms etc. these features influence the ways that society members live their lives

Culture 2

Everything in human society that is socially rather than biologically transmitted

Cultural universals

Patterns or traits globally common to all societies

Ethnocentrism

To evaluate and judge another culture based on one’s cultural norms, it is believed a certain level of it is needed for people to be emotionally to their way of life and promotes solidarity within one culture

Cultural relativism

The belief that no one culture is better than another and the practice of judging a society by its own standards

Cultural imperialism

The deliberate imposition of one’s own cultural values on another culture

Culture shock

Ethnocentrism can be so strong that when confronted with different things in a new culture one might be disoriented or frustrated

Xenocentrism

The belief that another culture is superior to one’s own

High culture

The culture of the elite usually referring to artistic endeavours such as music, theatre, art, writing and architecture

Low culture

Forms of popular culture that have a mass appeal

Folk culture

Tradition, historical continuity and a sense of place and belonging

Popular culture

Culture based on the tastes of oridnary people rather than the educated elite

Functionalism and culture

• society and culture more important than individual

• Exists before individua is born and continues after they die

• Characterised by social order rather than chaos, people’s behaviour is patterned and predictable

• Value consensusculture bonds people so they interact successfully

Functionalism and culture - pre industrialised society

• Pre industrialised society, religions had extreme power over individua behaviour

• These societies had high levels of solidarity

• (Indigenous Australian communities)

Functionalism and culture - modern societies

• industrialisation and urbanisation have potential to undermine value consensus

• Social order generally maintained because of social institutions that continue to socialise people in shared cultures

Functionalism and culture - criticisms

• exaggerates positives, ignoring element of conflict

• Little acknowledgement that people play an active role in shaping culture

• Exaggerates degree to which culture is shared (australia - diverse social classes and ethnic groups)

Marxism and culture

• views culture as shaped by the ruling class

• Cultural ideas and values are dominated by ruling class ideology

• Social institutions such as religion, education, and media reinforce ruling class culture

• Lower social classes may perceive their own low status as natural and blame themselves

• Marxists argue that cultural hegemony perpetuates class inequalities in society

Neo Marxism

• question the idea of culture as simply being an ideology

• Argued that individuals in capitalist societies developed a dual consciousness, viewing the world through the lens of ruling class ideology while also recognising the unfairness of their own experiences of low wages and exploitation, shedding light on the role of culture in perpetuating social inequalities

• Means that ruling class idea never reach all, some members of working class will challenge this

• Although some aspects of culture will be shared others will not and different classes have different cultures

Marxism criticism

• overemphasises social class as the main source of conflict in modern societies other things may also be important causes in inequality

• Patriarchy

• Assumed the working class are passive victims or puppets of ruling class culture and ideology

Interactionism in culture

• not just shared norms, values etc but is also produced by individuals as they interact

• Approach Is known as micro theory, emphasis on actions of individuals not social structure

• Potential for individuals to change the culture of society by acting differently

Interactionism criticism

• Neglects wider structural features of society such as class or gender

Subcultures

Subcultures are any group that exist within dominant, mainstream culture

Subculture have shared ideology, shared asthetic and shared vernacular

Countercultures

Countercultures are a group whose values and norms deviate from or are at odds with those of dominant culture, usually viewed as negative or dangerous but not necessarily, the hippie movement

Class and identity

Objectively speaking it refers to economic differences between social groups. Some sociologists see wealth as the key to defining social class but others put more emphasis on income which is often closely linked to their occupation

Understanding class key idea 1

Class is differences in wealth or ownership of means of production

, the things required to produce wealth, land raw materials,machinery, capital

Divide between bourgeoise and proletariat who do not own means of production therefore work for the bourgeoise

Bourgeoise

The capitalist ruling class

Proletariat

everyone else

Understanding class key idea 2

• people who share similar socio economic status also share similar educational backgrounds and experiences lifestyles and outlooks

• There is also a distinct inequality between social classes in terms of life chances such as infant mortality life expectancy the educational achievement of their children and the distribution of poverty and wealth

Understanding class key idea 3

3 ideas of capital

Economic capital - consisting of income and wealth based on jobs savings and home ownership

Social capital- involving social contacts friendships with certain people from different occupations

Cultural capital - which is based on one’s leisure activities wether someone is participating in high or low culture activities

Middle class identity

Broad way to describe non manual workers, rely on education and intellectual abilities, 4 types of middle class groups - professionals such as doctors and lawyers, managers, self employed owners of small businesses and white collar or clerical workers. Shared values of career successs and mortgages and living in the suburbs

Working class identity

Manual workers, indenting with each other, strong sense of social divide, unions- them against us vibes,

What is a family

The people you live with who you also bond with and in almost all cases are related to you - parents, kids, extended relatives

Nuclear family

Made of two generations (parents and kids)

Extended family

Nuclear family plus other relatives

Other types of families

Single parent, same sex parents, blended families, defectors families

Family of orientation

The family a person grows up in

Family of procreation

The family we create for ourselves (when first child is born)

Changing families

Reasons and types of family, statistics etc

Functionalism and family

Nuclear family functions for greater good of society- massive contribution to maintenance of social order and stability, functionalists argue it is beneficial to both adults and kids who receive emotional satisfaction associated with married and family life, they see it as serving an important purpose as it contributes smoooth running of society and the personal development of individuals

Talcott parsons

Family is main centre of socialidation, personalities are made not born, fathers play instrumental role responsible for economic welfare and living standards of family, believe mothers play expressive role of nurturing, providing emotional support and socialising children

Sociologic imagination

Sociological imagination is an outlook on life that involves an individual developing a deep understanding of how their biography is a result of historical process and occurs within a larger social context.

Identity

The fact of being or knowing what a person is

Norms

Something that is usual typical or standard

Values

individual beliefs that motivate people to act one way or another

Sanctions

a reaction (or the threat or promise of a reaction) by members of a social group indicating approval or disapproval of a mode of conduct and serving to enforce behavioral standards of the group.

Taboos

a social or religious custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding associations with a particular person, place, or thing.

Folkways

the learned behaviour, shared by a social group, that provides a traditional mode of conduct.

Folkways are informal rules and norms that, while not offensive to violate, are expected to be followed

Mores

Mores are norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance. Mores include gossiping, stealing, lying, bullying, and breaking a promise

Sex and gender

Sex is usually categorized as female or male but there is variation in the biological attributes that comprise sex and how those attributes are expressed. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and gender diverse people

Material and non material culture

The material aspects of a culture like art or food and the non material aspects like traditions and language

The beginnings of sociology

The term sociology was first coined in 1780 by the French essayist Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès, The term sociology was first used by Frenchman Auguste Compte in the 1830s when he proposed a synthetic science uniting all knowledge about human activity, as a way to study and try to understand the changes to society brought on by the Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries