Intro to Sociology

Thorstein Veblen

________- studied the economy socially, researching the chronically unemployed and the working classes.

Durkheim

________ believed that society is held together by shared values, languages, and symbols.

Jane Addams

________- founded Hull House, which informed research on child labor, immigration, health care, and other areas of public policy.

Sociological imagination

________- an awareness of the relationship between a persons behavior and experience and the culture that shaped their choices and perceptions.

WEB Du Bois

________- pioneered the use of rigorous empirical methodology into sociology.

Harriet Martineau

________- introduced Comtes ideas to English scholars by translating his writing from French to English.

Max Weber

________- established a sociology department in Germany.

Constructivism

________- the idea that reality is what humans cognitively construct it to be.

Sociologists

________ study social interactions and develop theories to create a hypothesis (a testable proposition) about society.

Grand theories

________- attempt to explain large- scale relationships and answer fundamental questions like why societies form and change.

Structural Functionalism

________- originated with Emile Durkheim, said society is a complex system that keeps stability by fulfilling certain social functions.

Figuration

________- the process of simultaneously analyzing the behavior of individuals and the society that shapes that behavior.

Dynamic equilibrium

________- all parts working together to maintain stability in a society.

Robert E Park

________- the founder of social ecology, focused on how individuals lived within their environment.

Symbolic Interactionism

________- established by Max Weber.

Criticism

________: The structural- functional theory is no longer seen as useful as a macro- level theory by many sociologists, but it is seen as having a useful purpose in mid- level analyses.

Cons

________: the theory completely ignores stability or any possibility for it.

Dysfunctions

________- social processes that have undesirable consequences for the operation of society.

sociology

In ________, it is impossible to study a person or persons without also studying their surroundings and the things that affect their decisions and life.

Humans

________ interact with things based on meanings ascribed to those things; the ascribed meaning of things comes from our interactions with others and society; the meanings of things are interpreted by a person when dealing with things in specific circumstances.

Scientists

________ study society either through micro- level analysis, in small groups and individual interactions, or through macro- level analysis in large groups and entire societies.

Conflict theory

________ looks at society as a competition for limited resources, most identified with the writings of German philosopher and sociologist Karl Marx.

social scientists

He created the idea of positivism, which means that ________ can help improve society.

Culture

________ is not meant to be seen as alive and real, it is an abstract concept.

Verstehen

________- to attempt to understand actions from an insiders point of view.

Charles Herbert Cooley

________- established the idea of "the looking glass self- "that individuals compare themselves to others in order to check themselves against social standards and remain part of the group.

George Herbert Mead

________ technically founded the theory, but his student Herbert Blumer coined the term.

Manifest functions

________- the consequences of a social process that are sought or anticipated.

Émile Durkheim

________- established the first European department of sociology at the University of Bordeaux.

Functionalism

________ (structural- functional theory), sees society as a structure with interrelated parts to meet biological and social needs of those within the society.

Marx

________ rejected positivism and believed that societies changed due to the struggles of different social classes over the means of production.

Karl Marx

________- Coauthored the Communist Manifesto.

Latent functions

________- the unsought consequences of a social process.

__Conflict Theory __

________- established by Karl Marx, economics, race, gender, and other social theories are important when establishing society.

Social institutions

________- patterns of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs, such as government, education, family, healthcare, religion, and the economy.

Sociology

________ also teaches critical thinking skills.

Criticism

________: conflict theory is criticized for its focus on conflict and the complete exclusion of stability.

Culture

________ is the product of the people in a society and just a word used to encapsulate real things.

George Herbert Mead

________- focused on the ways in which the mind and self were developed due to social processes.

Conflict theory

________ sees society as defined by our chaos, society only functions through inequality.

Culture

________- a groups shared practices, values, and beliefs, encompassing a groups way of life.

Sociology

________ can teach about how to understand the world around us, and to question things we never questioned before.

Chapter 1

An Introduction to Sociology

society

a group of people who live in a defined geographical area, who interact with one another, and who share a common culture

Culture 

a groups shared practices, values, and beliefs, encompassing a groups way of life

Sociological imagination 

an awareness of the relationship between a persons behavior and experience and the culture that shaped their choices and perceptions

figuration 

the process of simultaneously analyzing the behavior of individuals and the society that shapes that behavior

Auguste Comte 

pupil of social philosopher Claude Henri de Rouvroy Comte de Saint-Simon

Harriet Martineau 

introduced Comtes ideas to English scholars by translating his writing from French to English

Karl Marx 

Coauthored the Communist Manifesto

Georg Simmel 

German art critic, anti-positivism

Émile Durkheim 

established the first European department of sociology at the University of Bordeaux

Max Weber 

established a sociology department in Germany

verstehen

to attempt to understand actions from an insiders point of view

W.E.B Du Bois 

pioneered the use of rigorous empirical methodology into sociology

Thorstein Veblen 

studied the economy socially, researching the chronically unemployed and the working classes

Jane Addams 

founded Hull House, which informed research on child labor, immigration, health care, and other areas of public policy

George Herbert Mead 

focused on the ways in which the mind and self were developed due to social processes

Robert E. Park 

the founder of social ecology, focused on how individuals lived within their environment

social solidarity 

social ties within a group

grand theories 

attempt to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental questions like why societies form and change

Social institutions 

 patterns of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs, such as government, education, family, healthcare, religion, and the economy

Dynamic equilibrium 

all parts working together to maintain stability in a society

manifest functions 

the consequences of a social process that are sought or anticipated

latent functions 

the unsought consequences of a social process

dysfunctions

social processes that have undesirable consequences for the operation of society

Criticism

The structural-functional theory is no longer seen as useful as a macro-level theory by many sociologists, but it is seen as having a useful purpose in mid-level analyses

Conflict Theory

macro level

Out of conflict theory came critical theory 

a holistic theory and an attempt to address structural issues causing inequality

Criticism

 conflict theory is criticized for its focus on conflict and the complete exclusion of stability

IndentSymbolic Interactionist Theory

micro level

The importance of symbols in society led Erving Goffman to create the technique of dramaturgical analysis 

using theater as an analogy for social interactions and showing that most interactions have distinct patterns of cultural "scripts"

Constructivism

the idea that reality is what humans cognitively construct it to be

Criticism 

critics few only studying symbolic interaction as very narrow and the field is scrutinized based on the difficulty of remaining objective in these studies

Structural Functionalism 

originated with Emile Durkheim, said society is a complex system that keeps stability by fulfilling certain social functions

Cons

doesnt see any actions as negative and doesnt help explain change

Cons

the theory completely ignores stability or any possibility for it

Symbolic Interactionism 

established by Max Weber

Cons

in this area it can be hard to make objective judgements