Module 8-12 People

Elizabeth Bott

Sociologist who introduced the distinction between segregated conjugal roles, where spouses perform separate tasks, and joint conjugal roles, where responsibilities are shared

Beaujot

Sociologist who argued that families have shifted from complementary relationships to companionate ones, with more overlap between earning and caring roles

Arlie Hochschild

Sociologist who developed the concept of the “second shift,” describing how working women often perform most unpaid housework and childcare after paid work

Nakhaie

Sociologist who applied Hochschild’s idea of gender strategies, emphasizing how individuals manage gender expectations within family and work roles

Michel Foucault

Social theorist who analyzed power, knowledge, and institutions, introducing ideas such as the medical gaze, docile bodies, and disciplinary surveillance

Talcott Parsons

Structural functionalist sociologist who introduced the sick role, outlining social rights and obligations associated with being ill

E. L. Koos

Sociologist who criticized Parsons by showing that social class affects how people understand illness and whether they can fully adopt the sick role

Ivan Emke

Sociologist who argued that in the New Economy, individuals are held personally responsible for their illnesses and are expected to limit use of healthcare services

Ivan Illich

Social critic who challenged medicalization and introduced iatrogenesis, describing harm caused by medical intervention and professional dominance

Irwin M. Rosenstock

Social psychologist who helped develop the Health Belief Model to explain health behavior based on beliefs about risk, severity, benefits, and barriers

Julian Tudor Hart

Physician and sociologist who formulated the inverse care law, showing that those who need medical care most often have the least access to it

Egerton Ryerson

Key Canadian education reformer who promoted a publicly funded, universal, and compulsory school system as a means of social order and assimilation

Schecter

Sociologist who argued that compulsory public education relies on centralization and uniformity, reinforcing inequality and serving as social control

Malacrida

Sociologist who examined how schooling sorts children through testing, health assessments, and discipline, often marginalizing those seen as “inferior”

Jean Anyon

Sociologist who demonstrated how social class shapes school curriculum and expectations through the hidden curriculum in different types of schools

Carol Thompson

Scholar who defined plagiarism as copying or patching together others’ work and presenting it as one’s own within academic contexts

Eddie Floyd

Sociologist who identified belief, ritual, emotion, and organization as the four key structural elements common to organized religions

Emile Durkheim

Foundational sociologist who viewed religion as a social institution that creates solidarity, collective conscience, and moral order

Max Weber

Sociologist who argued that religious ideas, especially Protestant ethics, influenced economic behavior and contributed to the rise of capitalism

Steve Bruce

Sociologist who defined religion as a system of beliefs, actions, and institutions based on supernatural or moral powers

Auguste Comte

Founder of sociology who promoted positivism and believed social progress followed scientific and rational development

Herbert Spencer

Sociologist who applied evolutionary ideas to society, emphasizing functional differentiation and adaptation over time

Bronislaw Malinowski

Anthropologist who argued that religion helps individuals cope with anxiety, uncertainty, and emotional stress

Karl Marx

Conflict theorist who saw religion as an instrument of domination that supports ruling-class interests and dulls awareness of exploitation

Friedrich Engels

Marxist theorist who argued that religion can sometimes inspire resistance and revolutionary social change

Otto Maduro

Neo-Marxist sociologist who emphasized religion’s potential role in supporting political struggles and social justice for oppressed groups

Arthur Kroker

Canadian postmodern theorist who described the “virtual class,” whose power comes from control over digital information and technology

Noam Chomsky

Social critic who challenged modernist ideas of progress, arguing that innovations often serve the interests of dominant elites

Lewis Henry Morgan

Early evolutionary theorist who proposed that societies develop through stages from savagery to civilization

Alexander Pope

Poet whose quote “a little learning is a dangerous thing” is used to caution against shallow or incomplete knowledge

Henry Brougham

Political thinker who argued that education empowers people and prevents domination and enslavement

Heraclitus

Ancient philosopher who emphasized constant change, famously arguing that everything is in flux