Soc 3000 Midterm

Institutions

5 fundamentals

family, economy, policy, religion, and education

Do the 5 fundamental institutions differ between societies?

No, some may be added, but the 5 remain

organizations

structured along institutional lines

groups

structured along class, gender, age, race, and ethnicity lines

anatomy of society (in order macro to micro)

institutions

organizations

groups

individuals

anatomy of culture

symbols

language

values

norms

beliefs

material culture

non-material culture

symbols

anything that carries meaning/shows status (wedding rings)

language

the foundation of communication/cultural transmission

values

shared ideals about what is good/desirable/important

norms

expectations for behaviors

beliefs

shared understandings of reality/religion/worldviews

material culture

physical objects

non-material culture

ideas/traditions/customs/ethics/laws/rituals

sociological theory

the conceptual lens through which we make sense of the social world

5 major paradigms of soc theory

structural functionalism, conflict theory, exchange theory, postmodern theory

the renaissance

-intellectual rebirth of europe

-recapture artistic, philosophical, scientific, + commercial glory

-curiosity about society’s nature revived

-rise of humanism

humanism

emphasized secular culture over religion as the highest intellectual standard

age of science

-discoveries in physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry

-belief knowledge has control over nature

-commitment to scientific method and positivism

-emphasis on progress, evolution, and systematic knowledge

positivism

only empirical evidence can prove something is real/not real

the enlightenment

-reason move over authority + tradition

-both physical + social world understood through reason

-emergence social sciences and sociology

-individual takes control of means of science/reason

3 stages of human progress

theological, metaphysical, positivistic

theological stage

-phenomena explained through supernatural/divine forces

-no scientific study

-church = state

metaphysical stage

-phenomena explained by abstract ideas with no empirical evidence

-speculation > fictitious imaginings

-start to pushback of ideology/doctrines

positivistic stage

-phenomena is explained by observation, experimentation, + scientific reasoning

-emphasis on direct observation

Comte’s major contributions

-3 stages law

-body social

-social statics

-social dynamics

body social

analogy for society being a biological organism held together by adaptation and growth

social statics

study of institutions and organizations that allow society to maintain order/harmony/stability

structure + order

social dynamics

study of process through which societies develop/transform over time

change + evolution

historical materialism

-quest for sufficiency in eating and drinking for habitation + clothes were primary needs

-when primary needs are met, secondary needs are created

dialectical materialism

-competing material interests of opposing social classes create tension towards revolution

-produces change of the system

label theory of value

where does value come from if everything is exchanged for its true value?

surplus value

profit comes out of the extra hours of work over what the worker is paid for

alienation

-workers sell their labor as a commodity, stripping meaningful relationship to the produced good

-alienated from the production process and distribution as well as themselves and other workers

commodity fetishism

social relationships among people that come to appear as relationships between commodities so that social forces are hidden

false consciousness

-not seeing capitalists as the enemy

-once this ceases they can stand up for change

herbert spencer’s contributions

-pioneer of structural functionalism

-organismic analogy

-society as super-organic

How did Spencer pioneer structural functionalism?

he established society is complex and has interdependent components

organismic analogy

used by Spencer to compare parts of society to organs in the human body, each important to society’s function.

what does it mean for a society to become “super-organic”?

it became more complex and specialized, more interdependent units with more division of labor

german idealism (in relation to Marx)

-GW Friedrich Hegel

-Marx flipped his dialectical method and ideas

-idea change leads to social change

french socialism (in relation to Marx)

-Saint-Simon

-human history is history of wars between classes over property control

-property relations = central to understanding history/real basis of the social edifice

british economy (in relation to Marx)

-Adam Smith

-value of anything is the amount of labor needed to produce it

-law of market/supply and demand applied to labor market

Marx v. Spencer on societal structure and social order

Marx:

-societal structure = economic base

-material conditions create class relations that caused historical conflict

-social order maintained by the dominance of one class over another

-true social order = working class overthrows capitalism and creates classless society

Spencer:

-society as a living organism

-develops through competition/adaptation/survival of the fittest

-social order maintained by interdependence of different groups

-each group has a role

-conflict resolution = remove less efficient group

-conflict = inevitable and beneficial

what are Durkheim’s 2 types of societies?

mechanical solidarity, organic solidarity

mechanical solidarity

-small-scale traditional societies

-undifferentiated social structures

-little division of labor

-held together by sense of oneness/similarity

organic solidarity

-modern/large/differentiated societies

-held together by interdependence of needs for survival

-engage in different yet related tasks/jobs in society

anomie

-weakening of normative controls due to social disconnection

-inevitable when society is in fast transformation from old to new systems

-disappears when individuals are integrated into collectivity

Durkheim’s 4 suicide types

egoistic, altruistic, anomic, fatalistic

egoistic suicide

caused by weak conformity

altruistic suicide

caused by over-conformity

anomic suicide

caused by under-regulation

fatalistic suicide

caused by over-regulation

punitive and repressive laws

-mechanical solidarity

-focuses on punishment to preserve collective order

-social cohesion comes from similarity (beliefs and values)

-small/traditional societies view all offenses as crime against entire community

restitutive law

-organic solidarity

-complex/modern societies where wrongdoing disrupts smooth functioning

-focus on compensation, restitution, and restoration of balance

-shift from punitive to restitutive laws = increasing importance of division of labor in maintaining social order

verstehen

german word for interpretive meaning/understanding/insight

ideal type

method of constructing a concept allowing for generalizing and simplifying data by ignoring minor difference to accentuate major similarities

Weber’s 3 Types of Authority

traditional, charismatic, rational-legal

traditional authority

based on belief in old age rules and powers

charismatic authority

based on belief in a person with extraordinary characters (often believed with divine powers)

rational-legal authority

based on belief in state’s constitution and procedural law

Weber’s Rationalization Theory (disenchantment of the worl)

rationalization = historical process where social life becomes increasingly organized by calculation/efficiency/predictability/formal rules/technical knowledge rather than by tradition/emotion/personal relations

Weber’s theory of bureaucracy

-bureaucracy as a product of modernity

-created by modern rationalization trends

-allow large-scale enterprises to become operational in political/administrative/economic realms

the iron cage

once you have a knowledge base, there is no room for change or expansion; you are stuck with what you know

Weber’s perspective on social change

ideas and culture shape human action that become the force for social/economic change

THINK CULTURE!!!!

Marx’s perspective on social change

historical materialism and dialectical materialism is the route for change

historical materialism

view production and reproduction as a fundamental process of change

there is a focus on fulfilling primary needs and then secondary needs being created

dialectical materialism

tension between classes and opposing interests leads to revolution, producing change in a social system

Marx’s one-dimensional conceptualization of social stratification

class focus: working class is against the capitalists

Weber’s three-dimensional conceptualization of social stratification

cultural, economic, and political: class is not the only source of conflict

Simmel’s conception of society

society as an intricate web of multiple relations between those in constant interaction with one another

Simmel’s formal sociology

distinguishes forms and content of social life

forms (Simmel)

structures of recurring patterns in social interactions (conflict, competition, hierarchy, cooperation)

content (Simmel)

specific goals, interests, or emotions involved in a particular social interaction (love, ideological debates, purposes that drive people)

Simmel’s analysis of freedoms and tensions in modern life

-more personal freedoms and individuality, expands diversity of social relationships

-harder to maintain autonomy, urban life and money economy weaken personal ties and increase independence

Simmel’s view of money

it is a unit of social exchange that can be used as a tool to manipulate the environment for personal benefit

gives people choice but also objectifies/depersonalizes social life

Looking-Glass Self (Cooley)

self develops through social interaction by imagining how we appear to others/how others evaluate us

2 social functions of looking-glass self

self is constructed from the view/judgement of others

self is seen as a basis for social control (shame/pride)

symbolic interactionism (Mead)

theoretical perspective that emphasizes the role of symbols and language in the development of self and social interaction

3 stages of self development

mind, self, society

the mind (Mead)

mental capacity for using/interpreting significant symbols

behavior emerges through interaction with others

what are 2 parts of the self

I-spontaneous, inner, creative, subjective phase

Me-organized attitudes of others/community; determines self-consciousness

the self (Mead)

the capacity to use symbols and take roles of others'; 2 parts: I and Me

society (Mead)

built upon process of role-taking and assuming perspective of the generalized other; role taking provides framework for conduct adjustment in individuals

society is constructed and maintained in the human mind because…

role-taking of others/understanding symbols and gestures work together in the mind to make social order possible by allowing people to work together to make/maintain society and continue the process

Mead’s vision of society vs Durkheim’s vision of society

Mead—process-oriented; ongoing process of social interactions through symbolic communication and shared meaning

Durkheim—structure-oriented; objective social reality beyond individuals consisting of facts, norms, and institutions that share individuals

In short: Mead = individuals maintain society; Durkheim = society maintains individuals

4 diagnoses of the error of modernity

alienation (marx), anomie (durkheim), the iron cage (weber), blasé attitude (simmel)

Marx and alienation

individuals lose control over labor and products, human relations appear as relation between things (dehumanization)

Durkheim and anomie

rapid change outpaces moral regulation, desires lose limits and norms lose hold

Weber and the iron cage

instrumental rationality and bureaucracy spread, draining world of meaning/enchantment

Simmel and blasé attitude

overstimulation and money economy produce reserve/indifference/tragedy of culture