Studied by 1 person
The Enlightenment
A European intellectual period where individuals strayed from religious traditions and opt for art, politics, and pihlosophy
The Industrial Revolution
A European movement where societies moved from an agrarian society to an industrial one as a result of technological advancement.
Capitalism
An economic system that is driven by profitmaking and competition between the owners of production.
The French Revolution
A period of political and social change in which citizens called for equality and freedom
Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
defined ‘sociology’ as a science of society
a positivist
Positivism
A scientific approach to knowledge based on ‘positive’ facts as opposed to mere speculation
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Evolutionary view of social life
Raised the theory of historical materialism
Historical materialism
the social world, including individuals’s behaviours and perspectives, are shaped by the environment they reside in
Durkheim
Society as ‘sui generis’: as existing independently of individuals
Individuals share a ‘collective conscience’
Societies as moving from mechanical to organic solidarity
Weber
Society as the outcome of the thoughts and actions of individuals
Beliefs and values make societies distinct
Capitalism and industrialisation as a result of the turn to rationality
Functionalism
Tends to see society as something like a body - all the parts need to work together to be operational
Anomie
As societies increasingly individualise and experience greater freedom, there is a risk or decline in social solidarity and moral direction.
Talcott Parsons (1902-1979)
Values and morals are the social glue that holds a society together
A society must have mechanisms that align their values and norms so that society works together in a cohesive fashion
Talcott Parsons (1902-1979)
the process in which individuals learn and internalise the norms, values, behaviours, and social skills of their society and cultures
Socialisation
the process in which individuals learn and internalise the norms, values, behaviours, and social skills of their society and cultures
Erving Goffman (1922-1982)
Interested in face-to-face interactions between two or more people.
Compares social life to actors performing in a theatre
Post-structuralism
How words and ideas change depending on who’s using them and the situation
Questions if there are any absolute truths and realising that language shapes how we see the world.
Post-structuralism
How words and ideas change depending on who’s using them and the situation
Questions if there are any absolute truths and realising that language shapes how we see the world.
Michael Foucault (1926-1984)
Power operates through discourses
Governmentality - which is a rationality enacted upon individuals who are free.
Sexuality has been constructed through knowledge discourse
Theory
An explanation based on evidence and reasoning why, and how it happens
It can be proved through experiments
Concept
An abstract idea or a general notion that represents something in our mind
The building block to a theory
Macro theory
looks at large scale social life - at how networks and systems shape society as a whole
Micro theory
explains interaction and experience in everyday life
Meso theory
explores the relationship between the micro and macro
Paradigm
A way of thinking that acts as a framework in sociology (e.g schools, traditions and styles)
Note
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