Process of research

Vocabulary flashcards covering key sociology terms from the lecture notes.

Sociology

The scientific study of the relationship between the individual and society.

Society

A group of people who share a culture and a territory.

Sociological imagination

A concept by C. Wright Mills that helps study society by linking history, personal biography, and social structure to show how individuals and larger social forces shape each other.

History

The first element of the sociological imagination; awareness/understanding of historical forces that shape the present and future.

Personal biography

The individual's life story; the second element of the sociological imagination; intersects with history and influences how one views events.

Social structure

The structural framework of society; the third element of the sociological imagination; changes over time as history and biography interact.

C. Wright Mills

A sociologist who introduced the sociological imagination and wrote influential works such as The Power Elite and White Collar.

The Power Elite

Mills' book analyzing the small group that holds power in U.S. society.

White Collar

Mills' book examining the business world in the 1950s.

The Sociological Imagination (book)

Mills' book that defines the concept of the sociological imagination and outlines its three components.

Industrial Revolution

The historical period when factories emerged, cities grew, and urban life transformed society; a key moment in the rise of sociology.

Democratic revolutions

Two revolutions that helped sociology get its start: the United States (1776) and France (1789).

Blowback

The unintended consequences of a political action, such as US actions abroad influencing events like 9/11.

Rule of thumb

Historically, a guideline allowing a stick no thicker than a man's thumb for beating; illustrates how phrases change meaning over time.

Home correction

Historic term describing the beating of a wife as a form of ‘correction’ within marriage.

Domestic violence

Abusive behavior within intimate relationships; contrasted with the historical concept of home correction.

Mujahideen

Afghan freedom fighters funded by the CIA during the Cold War to oppose the Soviet Union.