ISS 335 Midterm Definitions

Just terms

Agency

The capacity of individuals or groups to act independently and make their own free choices within social structures.

Bourgeoisie

The social class that owns the means of production and profits from the labor of others

Capitalists

Individuals or groups who control capital

Class formation

The process by which individuals develop a shared sense of identity and common interests based on their social and economic position.

Class struggle

The ongoing conflict between different social classes

Collective identity theories

Theories that explain how individuals come to see themselves as part of a larger group with shared beliefs

Commodities

Goods or services produced for exchange in a market

Conflict theory

A sociological perspective emphasizing power differentials and struggles between social groups as the driving forces of social change.

Contending class

A class that challenges the dominance of another

Contraband

Goods that are imported or exported illegally

Critical development approaches

Theories that critique traditional development models

Critical or social justice perspective

An analytical approach that focuses on exposing and addressing systemic inequalities related to race

Crowd behavior

The study of how individuals act differently when part of a large group or crowd

Cultural change

The transformation of a society’s beliefs

Dependency theories

Theories arguing that underdevelopment in some countries is caused by their dependence on and exploitation by developed nations.

Dialectical

Referring to the process of change through the interaction of opposing forces

Dominant narratives

Widely accepted stories or perspectives that shape understanding of history

Dynamics of contention

The study of how social movements

Exploitation

The unfair use of someone’s labor or resources for another’s gain

Framing

The process of defining issues

General Strike

A large-scale work stoppage across multiple industries

Historical materialism

Marx’s theory that material (economic) conditions and modes of production drive historical and social development.

Historical sociology

The study of how societies develop and transform over time

Marx’s method

A dialectical and materialist approach to analyzing social and economic relations

Material condition

The physical and economic circumstances that shape people’s lives and social relations.

Materialist

A perspective that prioritizes material and economic factors over ideas or culture in explaining social phenomena.

Modernization theories

Theories suggesting that all societies progress through similar stages of development

Oppression

The systemic and institutionalized mistreatment or control of a group by another with more power.

Political process theory

A theory of social movements emphasizing the importance of political opportunities

Proletariat

The working class who sell their labor for wages and do not own the means of production.

Relative deprivation theories

Theories that suggest social movements arise when people feel deprived relative to others or to their expectations.

Resource mobilization

A theory emphasizing that social movements succeed through effective organization and use of resources like money

Rising class

A class gaining power

Social change

The transformation of social structures

Social class

A group of people sharing similar economic positions

Social institutions

Established systems and structures in society—such as family

Sociological imagination

The ability to connect personal experiences with larger social and historical forces

Sociological perspective

A way of understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context.

Structural change

Alterations in the fundamental organization of a society’s economy

Structural functionalists

A theoretical perspective that views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote stability and order.

Structures

The enduring patterns of relationships and institutions that organize social life and shape individual behavior.

Surplus value

In Marxist theory

Theories of biological determinism

Theories claiming that human behavior and social differences are primarily the result of biological factors.

Theory of social change

A framework explaining how and why societies transform over time through internal and external forces.

World Systems analysis

A theory by Immanuel Wallerstein that views the world as an interconnected economic system divided into core