SOCI 101 MT 1

false consciousness

Workers' internalization of ruling class ideology, causing them to misrecognize their own exploitation as natural

class consciousness

workers's awareness of their shared interests and collective position within capitalist

Opium of the masses

religion acts as a false comfort for oppressed people and distracts them from unfair economic and social systems causing their suffering

Absoulte deprivation

an objective lack of material resources needed for basic survival and wellbeing (ex: food, shelter, income)

Relative deprivation

having basic needs met but feeling like you lack the status, lifestyle or possessions of others in society (comparing yourself to others)

Biography

the life of the individual, their personal circumstances, and private experiences that shape who they are and how they understand their situation

History

the socioeconomic, cultural, and political conditions of any given place and time that structures the lives of and circumstances of individuals born into them

Personal troubles

problems that people experience in their personal biographies

ex: in a city of 100,000, one one man is unemployed (thats his personal trouble)

Public issues

social structural problems that are rooted in historical conditions and affect a large number of people in any given society

ex: in a nation of 50 million employees, 15 million men are unemployed (that is an issue)

Collective effervescence

the passion or energy that arises when groups of people share the same thoughts and emotions.

Totem

sacred object or symbol that represents the collective identity of the group (ex: eagle)

Sacred Ritual

A symbolic action involving sacred things or beliefs, such as praying or performing a religious ceremony (strengthens group bonds)

Profane Ritual

A repeated action in everyday life that is ordinary rather than sacred, such as a family eating dinner together every Sunday

Social integration

how much you are integrated into your social group or community

Proletariat

working class

Bourgeoise

capitalist ruling class

Moral community

A group united by shared sacred objects, rituals, and beliefs that generate collective obligation and belonging

Ritual

repeated practices in which collective effervescence is achieved

Settled times

periods of comparative stability in which culture operates in the background through established repertoires, habits, idioms, and expressions

Unsettled times

periods of comparative instability and social change in which cultural beliefs and values become explicit in guiding new courses of action

Ideas as the Switchmen of History

Ideas influence the direction society takes by guiding people's actions and choices, much like a railway switchman directs a train onto a particular track

Looking glass self

an individual's self image based on them having internalized how other people perceive and judge them

Primary group

an emotionally close small and intimate group based on lasting personal bonds (ex: family)

Reference group

a group (we may or may not belong to) that we compare ourselves to when evaluating our own status, behaviour or identity

Essential self

the common belief that each person has a fixed inner core that stays the same regardless of where they live or who they are around

Hyphenated or hybrid identity

A self description and self concept that strings together multiple identities

Being "read"

having others perceive and categorize you a particular way regardless of how you describe yourself

Identity politics

shared identity is treated as life defining, named openly and used as the basis for friendship and organizing

Post-identity politics

people are open about points of shared identity but DONT treat it as the defining feature of who they are, organizing social life instead around work, hobbies, politics, or place

Double consciousness

The ability to see yourself through both your own eyes AND the eyes of a dominant society, which can be a burden and also a source of insight

Two-ness

The felt experience of being two selves at once, never fully one thing or the other

The veil

The barrier of racial division that distorts how white society sees black americans, not being able to see past their race to understand their full humanity, individuality, experiences, and perspectives

"someone cant see who I am past my race"

Ethnic liminality

The migrant experience of not fully fitting in both in the "sending" and "receiving" society

Return migration

when someone moves back to their country of origin after perviously migrating elsewhere

Dramaturgy

framework for understanding social life as a theatrical performance (individuals act out roles for audiences using performances and impression management to shape how others perceive them)

Situation

the socially defined context of an interaction, including the shared understanding of what is happening, what roles participants are expected to perform and what conduct is appropriate within the encounter

Impression Management

The conscious and unconscious ways people control how others perceive them by adjusting their behaviour, appearance, or words (shaping the definition of the situation)

Gaffe

a slip or blunder in an encounter that unintentionally undermines the performer's own presented self or disrupts the smooth definition of the situation, threatening the face of one or more participants

Breach

a break in the working consensus of an interaction, where the shared definition of the situation is disrupted or an expected rule of conduct is violated

Face work

the actions people take to maintain their own or others' positive social image ("face") during social interactions.

defensive and protective practices

collaborative actions people use in a situation to prevent disruptions in the interaction, protecting the definition of the situation and the face of those in it

front stage

setting in which a person is aware of being observed and actively manages their appearance and behaviour for an audience

back stage

the setting in which a person is out of view of their audience and can relax the performance, rehearse, or contradict the front stage

audience segregation

practice of keeping different audiences separate so that incompatible performances are never exposed to each other simultaneously

civil inattention

acknowledging another person's presence in public with a brief glance, then looking away to respect their privacy

trajectory guarding

strategies women use to anticipate and preemptively redirect potential flirting, sexual talk, or harassment

Idioculture

the unique set of shared beliefs, inside jokes, rules, and traditions that develops within a particular group

Shibboleth

a word or phrase that marks membership in a group and distinguishes insiders from outsiders

Institution

a stable, rule governed social arrangements of norms, roles, and practices that organizes behaviour around a recognized social need or function

Total Institution

an institution separated from the outside world that require group level commitments, beliefs, and action that supersede individual identity (ex: prison)

Mortification of self

the loss of a sense of self or individual identity that individuals feel when encountering total institutions

Depersonalization

the conversion of individuals into categories by a total institution (calling students numbers instead of names)

The brand (morehouse man)

idealized version of masculinity that morehouse students are expected to adhere to

Cultural Curriculum

unofficial expectations for how to look, talk, and act that are learned in school independently of the formal curriculum

Bureaucracy

A rigid organizational structure with fixed rules, a defined hierarchy and impersonal decision making

Rationalization

the organizing of society around efficiency, calculation and formal rules instead of tradition, emotion or communal loyalty

Iron Cage

metaphor for how modern society traps individuals in overly rationalized bureaucratic structures that prevents them from leading meaningful lives

Traditional Authority

legitimacy that comes from unchanging customs and power structures (ex: royalty)

Charismatic Authority

legitimacy that comes from the personal qualities of a leader who inspires devotion and loyalty (ex: beyonce)

Rational-Legal Authority

legitimacy that comes from legal rules and laws (ex: police)

Panopticon

a circular prison designed so that one guard can observe all inmates without being seen, causing inmates to self monitor even when they're not being surveilled

Disciplinary Power

a form of power in which individuals self regulate in service of the powerful even without the threat of direction coercion or punishment

cumulative advantage/matthew effects

the tendency for small early advantages to compound over time, meaning those who start ahead keep pulling further ahead regardless of ongoing effort or talent

alienation

Feeling disconnected from your work, other people, or society because you lack control or a sense of meaning

Base and superstructure

relationship between the "base" of society, meaning its economic structure and its "superstructure" meaning the ideas and instituions that legitimize the "base" (base= economy, superstructure= ideas and instituions built around it)

Ideology

the taken for granted ideas and beliefs that serve the interest of the ruling class

Meritocracy

belief that success is the result of talent and effort, meaning the successful deserve their successes and those who fail have failed because they lack the talent, effort or ability to succeed

Rhetoric of rising

the political promise that anyone can succeed through talent and hard work

Meritocratic Hubris

A belief among the winners in a meritocracy that they have earned their success, which causes them to look down on people who have not succeeded in the meritocracy

Meritocratic Humiliation

feelings of shame or blaming one's self for not having succeeded in a meritocracy

Elite overproduction

A condition in which more people compete for elite positions than there are positions available, intensifying competition and producing a class of frustrated, credentialed aspirants shut out of power

Counter-Elites

credentialized people who challenge the existing ruling elite and seek to replace them or change the power structure.

Strategies of Action

the different recurring patterns through which people organize their behaviour and what they do overtime