Disciplines and Ideas in Social Sciences

Vocabulary flashcards covering the three major social science theories (Structural Functionalism, Marxism, Symbolic Interactionism) and related concepts from the notes.

Structural Functionalism

A school of thought that sees society as a system of interrelated parts (institutions, relationships, roles, and norms) that work together to maintain stability and social order.

Collective conscience

Shared beliefs and values that bind a society and underpin social order.

Social order

The arrangement of practices and structures that maintain stability in a society.

Education (functionalism)

Knowledge about the roles and functional norms of society; not necessarily tied to degrees.

Deviance and crime (functionalism)

Deviance and crime are socially constructed concepts that help explain how society defines boundaries and maintains its functional structure.

Herbert Spencer

The primary advocate of structural functionalism who compared society to a human body with interdependent parts.

Marxism

A conflict theory focusing on the struggle between capitalists (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat) within the capitalist mode of production.

Capitalist mode of production

An economic system where capitalists exploit workers through ownership of the means of production.

Exploitation and alienation

Workers are exploited under capitalism and may feel estranged from the products of their labor and the production process.

Class consciousness

Awareness by workers of their social class position and collective interests in relation to the capitalist system.

Emancipation of the workers

Proletariat's liberation from capitalist domination, achieved through their own action and solidarity.

Historical materialism

The idea that material economic forces and class relations shape social, political, and ideological structures through history.

Bourgeoisie

Owners of the means of production in capitalism; the capitalist class.

Proletariat

The working class that sells labor and is exploited under capitalism.

Symbolic Interactionism

A sociological perspective focusing on how people create and interpret meanings through social interaction.

Meaning

The core premise that human actions derive from the meanings attached to people, objects, or events.

Language

The process of naming or identifying things; meanings arise through language.

Thought

The interpretive process by which individuals evaluate symbols and meanings, often involving imagination.