Sociology The study of people in Groups through the actions of

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
•
•
•
•
•
•
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
•
•
•
•
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
•
•
•
•
•
•
Prejudice
Discrimination
Racism
Social definition of Race
Institutional Racism
Minority Status
Race: More Key Terms
•
•
•
•
•
•
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?
•
•
•
•
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...
•
•
•
•
...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?
U.S. Income Distribution
43
42
41
40
Top 5th
39
38
37
1945
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
U.S. Income Distribution
45
40
35
30
25
Top 5th
Fourth 5th
20
15
10
5
0
1945
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
U.S. Income Distribution
45
40
35
30
Top 5th
Fourth 5th
Third 5th
25
20
15
10
5
0
1945
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
U.S. Income Distribution
45
40
35
30
Top 5th
Fourth 5th
Third 5th
Second 5th
25
20
15
10
5
0
1945
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
U.S. Income Distribution
45
40
35
Top 5th
Fourth 5th
Third 5th
Second 5th
Bottom 5th
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1945
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995