Power & Inequality

Vocabulary term flashcards based on the Introduction to Sociology II lecture notes.

Power (Max Weber)

The probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance, regardless of the basis on which this probability rests.

Class

A dimension of power that relates to economic opportunities and resources.

Status

A dimension of power involving social evaluation and honor.

Party

A dimension of power pertaining to political power and organization.

Modern State

According to Weber, the entity that holds the monopoly of legitimate means of violence.

Pierre Bourdieu (Power)

Argued that power is intertwined with culture, including classification, taste, legitimacy, credentials, and language.

CW Mills (Power)

Argued power is concentrated in elites with decision-making positions within corporations, the military, and the state.

Extractive Theories

Theories for the origins of the state, such as those by Engels, suggesting that elites extract resources from society.

Cooperative Theories

Theories for the origins of the state, such as those by Hobbes and Locke, suggesting the state solves problems on behalf of society.

Balance of Powers

A state where an increasing number of people ensures no single player or group can determine the course of the game.

Norbert Elias (Power Transformation)

Observed a reduction of power differentials between government and governed, and between different social strata, leading to reciprocal, multi-polar dependence.

Inequality

The distribution of resources within and between population groups, such as income, wealth, leisure, and life chances.

Opportunity

The probability that persons or groups will find themselves in higher or lower positions in the resource distribution.

Mobility

The opportunity to increase or decrease in resources compared with one's parents and similar people in identity groups.

Social Inequality

The existence of unequal opportunities and rewards for different social positions or statuses within a group or society.

Inequality of Conditions

The economic and material distribution of resources.

Inequality of Opportunity

Differences in life chances, such as education, health, and treatment by the criminal justice system.

Life Chances (Weber)

Opportunities regarding education, health, nutrition, and treatment by social systems.

Stratification System

A hierarchy based on property, power, and prestige.

Dominant Groups

Groups with power and authority to produce and reproduce the distribution of resources and define cultural standards.

Objective Conditions

Measurable factors of inequality such as wealth, poverty, education, and occupational attainment.

Ideological Supports

Cultural elements that justify inequality, including formal laws, public policies, values, norms, and stereotypes.

White Women's Federal Suffrage in Canada

Gained in the year $1918$.

Bill C-127

A Canada law passed in $1983$ that made marital rape a crime.

Abolition of Enslavement in Canada

Black Canadians were legally personal property until $1834$.

Alberta Forced Sterilization

Legally allowed for the 'mentally deficient' between $1928$ and $1972$.

Decriminalization of Homosexual Activity

Occurred in Canada in $1969$, prior to which people were imprisoned for 'gross indecency'.

CAGE

An acronym for major social inequalities: Class, Age-Generation, Gender, and Ethnicity-Race.

Ontology

The branch of philosophy which deals with the nature and structure of reality.

Aristotle (Ontology)

Defined ontology as the study of attributes that belong to things.

Realism

The ontological belief that one objective reality exists.

Relativism

The ontological belief that there are multiple realities based on subjective mental perceptions.

Social Ontology

The study of the nature and properties of the social world, such as identities, institutions, and governments.

Concepts

Socially and cognitively produced abstractions that help people classify, organize, communicate, and act.

Reification

The error of confusing a social abstraction with a physical entity that can act.

Relations

Connections between entities through classifications, roles, positions, practices, or actions, such as father and mother.

Theories

Abstract, simplified models used to describe, explain, or predict the world.

Scope

Defining features as valid evidence for research, including population, time period, geographical boundaries, and methods.

Operationalization

The process of deciding how to empirically measure abstract concepts.

Validity

Ensuring that the research is measuring what it intends to measure.

Reliability

The consistency of a measure across different groups, times, and places.

Tutorial #1

Scheduled for $12:10-1pm$ focusing on reading comprehension.

Critical News Analysis Step 1

A pass/fail assignment worth $5\%$ involving an article proposal, argument, and two readings, due July $7$.

Critical News Analysis Step 2

An assignment worth $10\%$ focused on structuring paragraphs with evidence, due July $21$.

Critical News Analysis Step 3

A pass/fail assignment worth $5\%$ involving writing a formal introduction and conclusion, due July $28$.

Critical News Analysis Full Draft

The complete paper submission worth $20\%$ of the final grade, due August $4$.

Soli Dubash Office Hours

Tuesday and Thursday from $2-3pm$.

Epistemology

The focus of Lecture 1, addressing the question 'What is a fact?'.

Ethnomethods & Phenomenology

The methods focus for the Lecture 3 topic 'Human, All Too Human'.

Evidence Triangulation

The methods focus for the Lecture 8 topic 'Organizations & Institutions'.