Social Analysis and Problems Midterm

sociology

study of how society is organised and how organization impacts peoples behavior

social structure

boundaries people confront as they make decisions about thier individual and collective actions

sociologist

studys how the social structure is formed and how it operates in specific social institutions or central elements of society

social imagination

by C. Wright Mills; thinking about or lives in relation to the social structure and social institutions that impact out lives and is iused to ask questions about the social structure

social problem

things that happen in society that get constructed as problems; exist throughout the social structure and social institutions

3 perspectives of social problems

1. objectivist

2. subjectivist

3. social construction

objectivist

to become a social problem, something must meet an objective standard

subjectivist

to be a social problem, something must seem harmful to people

social construction

understanding everything is subjective and looking closely at who is making the claim that something is a problem and how they argue for their claims; we identify social problems as they meet our personal standard of harm and examine them even if we don’t agree with them

social construction of social problems

process of experiences, institutions, or other phenomena being identified as social problems

stages of a social problem

1. claimsmaking

2. media coverage

3. public reaction

4. policy making

5. social problems work

6. outcomes + backlash

social problems claim

argument that something harmful is happening if enough people believe it is harmful then it is harmful

3 components of social problems claims

1. grounds

2. warrants

3. action steps

grounds

naming the problem, usually by asserting a fact

warrants

emotional/moral appeal to solve the problems; explains why people should care about the problem in grounds

action steps

the conclusion of the claim, suggestions for what to do to solve the problem

counterclaims

argue against a claim and can deny that something is a problem; sometimes there is agreement t that a problem exists, but disagreement about what the problems are or agree on a problem, but not on what the solution is

how do claims spread?

media coverage

framing

making something look a certain way using multiple grounds, warrants, and action steps

frame bridging

when a social claim builds on a preexisting social problem; linking of 2/ more ideologically congruent, but structurally unconnected frames regarding a particular issue/problem

examples of frame bridging

sign with BLM, water is life, love is love

frame extension

broadening the social problems claim to include new audiences; extending a frame beyond its primary interests to include issues and concerns that are presumed to be important to potential adherents

example of frame extension

Make America healthy again and MAGA

steps to media literacy

1. who is the claimsmaker

2. use lateral reading

3. media bias chart

4. consult all sides chart

examples of media bias

mind reading, opinions as facts, flawed logic

moral panic

purposefully constructed mass expression of fear over something perceived to be harmful to the fabric of society and with information that is usually false; often has a “folk devil” or a person or group to become a scapegoat

example of moral panic

Salem witch trials to punish women who deviated from traditional gender nroms to maintain status quo

when does something become a moral panic?

anytime there are multiple falsehoods and stirring up of emotions

Cycle of structural inequality

structural inequality→ history→ institutional practices→ laws and policies
this influences individual bias and behavior

structural inequality

unequal organization of society

stratification

structured inequality between groups where some have more resources than others; organized in unequal way

social structure

the boundaries people contront as they may decisions about their individual and collectiive actions

what does structural inequality impact?

• how people understand harm

• how many sources a claim receive

• severity of harm

individual level

absorbing messages can lead to implicit bias, prejudice, stereotypes, discrimination, and or internalized bias

positionality

social and political context that shape how you see the world; is good and bad because it can be helpful to name position, but can also restrict

implicit bias

subconscious positive or negative association between a group and a set of characteristics

internalized bias

when a member of agroup internalised negative beliefs about their own group or might feel normal that other things are hard to see

predjudice

preconceived beliefs, attitudes, or opinions about members of a group; explicit bias

stereotypes

widely shared perceptions about personal characteristics, tendencies, or abilities of a particular group (ex. basketball)

discrimination

treating people badly based on implicit bias, prejudice, or stereotypes; thought to action

structural racism

the result of history, policies or law, and institutional practices that position white people as superior, more deserving, and more meritorious than people of color

race

a system that humans created to classify and stratify groups of people based mostly on skin tone and other phenotypic characteristics, such as eye shape, nose shape, and hair texture

ethnicity

common culture, religion, history, or ancestry shared by a group of people

What had race been used to do?

create, maintain, and strengthen group distinctions and disparities

How is race a social construct?

no biological basis for racial categorization ex. Jewish and Black people

Census Categories

US census is a count of residents in the US that takes place every 10 years; residents are categorized based on a large set of variables, including race and ethnicity

white supremacy

the belief that the white race is inherently superior to other races which is a structural concept

race ideology

how people think about race

colorblindness

i don’t see color, we’re all the same; color evasive pretends that racism is not structural and makes it easier to believe that racism is no longer an issue

diversity

were all one big, diverse, happy family! lets not talke about the hard stuff; acknowledges that race is a meaningful category in society, but still are not actively challenging racist structures

anti-racist

i recognize the legacy of harm in the US and actively work to dismantle it; acknowledging the harmful legacy of racism int he US and working against it whenever possible

economic stratification

social class differences

social class

a group of individuals who share a similar economic position based on income, wealth, education, and occupation

income

how much money someone earns in a year

wealth

total money a person would have if they sold all their assets

Gilbert’s social class model

1. capitalist class

2. upper middle class

3. middle class

4. working class

5. working poor

6. underclass

ascribed status

status that you are born with or take on involuntarily later in life

achieved status

at least in part through acheivements, abilities, or efforts

social mobility

moving from an ascribed social class to a new achieved social class (upward or downward)

Is social class ascribed our acheived?

we all experience the social structure different so based on your own identities, hard work does not pay off for everyone in the same way

myth of meritocracy

idea that hard world and talent alone lead to success

meritocracy

system where personal responsibility and individual efforts are the sole determinants of success

examples of myth of meritocracy

• SATs prep

• college admissions

GINI index

statistical measure that shows the level of inequality within a region our country and is used to compare inequality across countries; US has second highest rate of family income inequality

Racial wealth gap

• housing

• DEI

• Affirmative Action

• Resume study (white names over black ones more)

intersectionality

a metaphor for understanding the ways that multiple forms of inequality or disadvantage sometimes compound themselves

How is intersectionality related to positionality?

understanding how your own identities, biases, and experiences of inequality infor your worldview and using that consideration when thinking of how social problems impact those outside your own experience

sex

biological distinctions

gender

social and cultural meanings, roles, expectations; often, we are socialized into socially acceptable roles and appearances

binary

two things

spectrum

scale

cisgender

sex assigned at birth corresponds to gender identity

transgender

sex assigned at birth does not correspond to gender identity

intersex

sex at birth doesn’t fit either male or female sex characteristics (due to genetic, hormonal, or anatomical differences)

non-binary

falls outside the binary gender/sex system

gender fluidity

gender identity is not fixed

socialization

learning how to behave through interactions; starts before birth (gender reveal)

trad wives

fundamentalist religious values often work to control women and the tiktok trend makes this control seem enticing; gender policing

policing gender

gender affirming care and policies; can be good, but often can lead to discomfort

feminism

a collection of movements that advocate for equality for all sexes and genders

motherhood penalty

less likely to get promotions, lower salaries, held to higher standards

fatherhood bonus

becoming a parent tends to increase men’s earnings

“second shift”

household chores, childcare, emotional labor, and other unpaid domestic labor

disability in the structural inequality cycle

extreme exclusion from society—> inaccessible buildings, lack of education about accommodations—> weaknesses of ADA, IDEA

medical model of disability

the individual of the disability is the problem

social model of disability

people are disabled by societal barriers

ablemism

assigning value to people’s bodies and minds based on socially constructed ideas of normality, productivity, desirability, intelligence, excellence and fitness; ideas that are rooted in systemic oppression

anti semitic tropes

ideas that jews secretly want to run the world, will do anything for money, jews are responsible for killing jesus

islamophobia

discriminatory practices and hatred targeting anyone who might seem muslim; activated during 9/11

white christian nationalism

movement that believes that the US should be an exclusively white, christian nation

nimbyism

“not in my backyard”; term for people who object to things like increased affordable housing in their neighborhoods as a way for people with power (usually white, high SES) to try to maintain control over their neighborhoods by keeping lower SES people and POC out

example of nimbyism

new jersey towns joining forces for a lawsuit against the state that could bring the current court enforced wave of affordable housing construction to a halt

gentrification

when wealthier newcomers displace established working class communities and communities of color

redlining

the practice of categorically denying access to mortgages not just to individuals, but to whole neighborhoods; lenders marked neighborhoods they rated the lowest, the riskiest for mortgage lending in red

example of redlining

changing census categories racializing mexicans as nonwhite to discriminate against them in housing; home owners loan corporation map of high risk neighborhoods

effects of redlining

communities living in poor conditions with worse air quality, water quality, noise pollution, less green space, and closer to oil and gas wells

how schools reproduce inequality

schools functioning as sorting agents

tracking

practice of dividing students by level, often resulting in students having completely divergent experiences from their peers which can influence student outcomes, ability to access high quality courses, etc.

example of tracking

teacher recommendations (stereotype threat)

concerted cultivation

parent actively fosters and assess child’s talents, opinions, and skills

• multiple child leisure activities are orchestrated by adults

• reasoning/directives; child contestations of adult statements and extended negotiation between parents and child

• weak extended family ties

• criticisms and interventions on behalf of child

• training of child on his or her own behalf

• emerging sense of entitlement on the part of the child