SOCIOL 1Z03 Term 1 Test

C. Wright Mills

Developed the idea of the sociological imagination, showing how personal troubles are connected to public issues like class, race, and gender

Peter Berger

Ability to see the world from two perspectives: seeing the general in the particular and seeing the strange in the familiar

Marx

Society is divided in two; those who own the means of production and those who only have their labour to sell

Durkheim

Human action originates in the collective rather than the individual

Weber

social action and rationalization

enlightenment

a pivotal 17th and 18th-century intellectual and philosophical movement emphasizing reason, empirical research, and critical thinking, which laid the foundation for modern sociology.

positivism

a paradigm that applies the scientific method to the study of society, emphasizing objective, quantifiable data and observable facts to discover social laws and patterns

anti-positivism

argues that the social world, with its subjective meanings and interpretations, cannot be studied using the same empirical methods of the natural sciences

microsociology

the study of everyday, small-scale social interactions and relationships between individuals and small groups, focusing on face-to-face encounters rather than large societal structures

macrosociology

a level of sociological analysis focused on large-scale social forces, structures, systems, and institutions, such as social class, race, gender, national economies, and the global system

functionalism

a sociological theory viewing society as a complex system with interconnected parts, like a human body, that work together to promote solidarity and stability

symbolic interactionism

a sociological theory focusing on how individuals create and interpret meaning through their daily social interactions using symbols like language

conflict theory

a sociology framework that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and social change

ideology

a system of beliefs, values, and ideas that interprets the world, provides a framework for understanding social and political issues, and influences behavior

Bell Hooks

applied sociological theory to analyze interlocking systems of oppression, particularly race, class, and gender, within the framework of "imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy”

bourgeoisie

the capitalist class that owns the means of production—such as factories and capital—and exploits the labor of the propertyless proletariat to generate surplus value and accumulate wealth

proletariat

the social class having no significant ownership of the means of production (factories, machines, land, mines, buildings, vehicles) and whose only means of subsistence is to sell their labour power for a wage or salary.

Dorothy Smith

Sociology for women

The Everyday World as Problematic

• Begins in the ‘actualities’ of people’s lives- their

lived experience (doesn’t this sound like Marx?)

• Everyday world contains different experiences

and thus sees it as the starting point of inquiry

• Standpoint-preserves the presence of the

subject as an active and experiencing perso

coercion

the act of compelling an individual or group to act in a specific way against their will through the use or threat of force, punishment, or other adverse measures

consent

a mutual agreement to engage in an activity, characterized by voluntariness, informed understanding, and ongoing communication, which is shaped by power dynamics within society and can be withdrawn at any time. It involves an individual's willing, positive cooperation or expression of desire to participate, free from coercion, manipulation, or incapacitation.

civil society

the sphere of social life beyond the state, the market, and the family, where people voluntarily associate to advance shared interests through non-governmental organizations, social movements, and community groups

knowledge and power

posits that they are inseparable and mutually constitutive. Power isn't merely about physical force but about creating and disseminating knowledge that shapes what is considered true and normal, thereby controlling and influencing people and society. Knowledge grants power by allowing individuals to understand and manipulate social structures, while power shapes knowledge by determining what is deemed important and how it is taught, ultimately controlling subjects by making them objects of knowledge. 

Domination

Exercise of power over a group of people to direct them to comply with specific commands

Agency

The idea that each of us has, to some extent, the ability to alter our socially constructed lives

Quality of Mind

The ability to perceive the broader social context within something that you perceive as being individual.

Looking-Glass Self

the belief that through the cues we receive from others, we develop our own self-image

Social Fact

Conditions and actions that exist on their own, separate from individual manifestations.

Cheerful Robots

People who cannot see the world as it truly exists

Globalization

A worldwide process involving the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services

Mechanical Solidarity

Describes early societies based on similarities and independence

collective consience

shared beliefs, values, and norms that unite a society

sociology

The systematic study of human groups and their interactions. sociological perspective is the unique way that sociologists see the world