SOCI 1301- Exam #2 (chapters 5,6,9)

Social structure

Rules and norms of everyday life become enduring patterns that shape and govern social interaction
Key components: roles, hierarchies, norms, and institutions

Roles

The rules and expectations that are associated with different positions
-Roles assigned to us: race, ethnicity, gender, religion

Life course

Transition individuals make as they age through their lives

social hierarchies

social positions that grant some individuals/ groups more power than others

Power

ability to influence the behavior of others

privilege

ability or right to have special access to opportunities or claims on rewards

Social movement

Organized groups engaged in collective efforts aimed to bring change

Negative stereotypes

false or exaggerated generalizations about a subordinate group applied to all members of the group

The glass ceiling

a barrier imposed by a dominant group in order to limit a subordinate group's access to opportunities

Institutionalization

Process which a social practice or organization begins to come more like an institution
-Build institutions to ensure that things are being done a certain way and that there is a continuity over time

Large formal organizations

groups of people acting together in pursuit of some common goal- are important elements of the overall institutional context in any society

formal rules

written down and provide explicit context in any society

Socialization

Process which we are trained & learn how we are expected to behave in society or in particular social settings
-how we come to understand expectations & norms

Path dependency

Outcomes of the past impact actors and organizations in the present, making some choices are outcomes logical & illogical

Individuals

play a role in reproducing social structure through our everyday actions that conform to existing norms expectations, and institutional roles

Political

once a particular element of social structure comes to be established, be it either roles/hierarchies or norms/institutions, it may generate its own interest groups

Critical juncture

moment- often triggered by an event- when new norms, rules, or ways of doing things emerge to organize & structure human interaction

social norms

shape the way we interact with one another by providing a complex set of rules we are supposed to know and follow

Marx's Theory of Exploitation

-exploitation= relying on others labor to maintain our own way of life
1.ideological control: belief in ideas that support ruling class
2.false consciousness: don't recognize issue (true condition)
3.class consciousness: recognize interests, throw off false consciousness

Chapter 6- culture, media, & communication

Culture

Shared system of beliefs and knowledge, more commonly called a system of meaning and symbols; a set of values, beliefs, & practices; and shaped forms of communication

Pierre Bourdieu

argued that we all develop certain sets of assumptions about the world & our place in it: tastes, preferences, and skills
-we develop habits Bourdieu called Habitus= in course of growing up and socializing with others that become so routine we don't even realize we are following them
-concept of habitus helps explain how our future choices and opinions are always guided by our past experiences

tool-kit

set of ideas & skills that we learn through the cultural environment we live in and apply to practical situations in our own lives

Language

comprehensive system of words or symbols representing concepts, & it does not necessarily need to be spoken, as the hundreds of different languages in use around the world

mass communication

communication that can occur at large within a society
- mass communication is now used through mass media: tv, radio, and newspapers
-internet has emerged as the main medium for mass communication today

Manuel Castells

argued we are participating in a new form of internet-centered communication
"mass self-communication": can potentially reach a global audience, but its content is self-generated and self directed

digital divide

social, economic, and cultural gap between those with effective access to information technology and those without

Group style

set of norms and practices that distinguishes one group from another

mainstream culture

most widely shared systems of meanings and cultural tool-kits in a a society- expressed in the activities and norms of many groups

subcultures

small groups of people whose affiliation is based on shared beliefs, practices, preferences that exist under the mainstream and distinguish them from mainstream

counterculture

a group whose ideas, attitudes, and behaviors are in direct conflict with mainstream culture, & who actively contest the dominant culture practices in the societies of which they are apart

Antonio Gramsci

Argued that the dominant economic classes in any society attempt to maintain their power by encouraging certain moral and cultural understandings that are favorable to them

hegemony

powerful groups gain legitimacy and hold power based in establishing or reinforcing widely shared beliefs about what is right or wrong, proper or improper, valuable or not

Culture wars

disagreements about the proper role of family and religious values in society

Multiculturalism

beliefs or policies promoting the equal accommodation of different ethnic or cultural groups within a society

Ethnocentrism

inability to understand or accept cultural practices different from one's own
-problem: leads us to make incorrect assumptions about others in the basis of our own experience

cultural relativism

evaluating cultural meanings and practices in their own social contexts, central to sociological imagination

nationalism

people think of themselves as inherently members of a nation and often take pride in that identity

cultural capital

education, tastes, & cultural knowledge and your ability to display sophistication in your speech, manners, and other everyday acts

cultural omnivores

demonstrate their high status through a broad range of cultural consumption, including low-status culture

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Argued those who have the most wealth and power in a society, also have the greatest ability to produce and distribute their own ideas and culture

public sphere

- Jurgen Habermas
a social space- physical, virtual, or theoretical- where private citizens can come together as a public body to discuss and express opinions about matters of general interest

class reproduction

The process that cause class boundaries and distinctions to be maintained over time

counter publics

alternative public spheres through which they produce and circulate their own values, beliefs, and ideas

network public

online public space

Theodore Adorno

argued that the popular culture dominates the public sphere and encourages a passive, conservative public

culture industry

production for profit of popular music, movies, books, Tv, Social media, and other types of mass-culture products by capitalist enterprises

Marshall McLuhan

declared that the message is the medium
-different media encourage different ways of communicating, of organizing power, and of centralizing or decentralizing social activity

Journalism

production and dissemination of information of general public interest- is above all else a form of cultural communication

Corporate Consolidation

media are less responsive to the local communities that they serve, & the quality of democratic politics and cultural life suffers as a result

cultural universal

a cultural trait common to all humans and societies

national culture

set of shared cultural practices and beliefs of people living within a nation-state

Taste

a persons cultural preferences

Symbol

something that communicates an idea while being distinct from the idea itself

Converted cultivation

approach to child-rearing that actively fosters children talents

Consolidation

fewer and fewer corporations owning more and more of media outlets in a given media market

Theodor Adorno

-founded the Frankfort school= understanding the problems thrown up by modern capitalism
- how capitalism corrupts us:
1. leisure time becomes toxic= should be opportunity to expand and develop ourselves, to change society
2.capitalism doesn't sell us the things we really need= our real wants are shielded from us and forget & settle for desires, they know and crave community and connection

Cultural capital

collection of symbolic elements such as skills, tastes, pasture, clothing, mannerisms, belongings, credentials, etc. that one acquires through being part of a particular social class
-comes in 3 forms:
1.embodied= ones accent or dialect
2.objectified= luxury car or record collection
3.institutionalized= credentials & qualifications- degrees or titles

Culture jamming

- a form of alternative media
-idea that individuals are not given the choice as to whether they are exposed to ads or not
-jammers believe everyone should have the opportunity to voice their opinions just like the corporate advertises

values

judgments about what's important and meaningful

Non-material culture

nonphysical (intangible) human creations

cultural industry perspective

people passively accept what they are given by corporate media (Adorno)

cultural democracy perspective

corporate media give the people what they want, vote with money (Gans)

Chapter 9- cities & communities

urbanization

growth of population living in cities & urban areas

metropolitan regions

another word for an urban area

Rural

less dense & not adjacent to an urbanized region

Kingsley Davis

argued that in the modern world, process of urbanization is slow & gradual- long tail @ the bottom of the "s' curve
-onset of industrialization, cities grow rapidly as large segments of the population move from rural to urban areas down by jobs & technological advances- The steep upward slope of S

Migration

-movement of people from the country to cities

conurbs

continuous urban regions extending across city and suburban political boundaries
ex: dallas, Fort Worth, Seattle, tacoma

Megacities

cities with population more tan over 10 million people
ex: Mexico city, Lagos, Nigeria

Megaregions

two or more large cities in geographical proximity are linked together through infrastructure and economic activity
ex: Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore

The new scale of urban areas and mega regions problems:

water treatment, transportation, pollution, & the provision of housing and social services

Suburbs

Areas within metropolitan regions, but outside political boundaries of central cities

White flight

movement of white families out of central cities and into the suburbs

redlining

determination by the gov't & banks that neighborhoods with high percentages of racial minorities were ineligible for house/ mortgage loans

Edge cities

Self- contained world typically located @ the junction of major freeways & transportation systems, & they feature businesses as well as social & cultural activities that used to be primarily located in central cities

Urban ecology

the study of cities, social change, & urban life introduced into sociology by the Chicago school to explain how different social groups within cities complete over scarce resources

Robert Park and Ernest Burgess

argued that organisms adjust to their surroundings & find the best fit within their environment
- used to explain the formation of different types of areas based on their role or function within the city

Growth machine

investors and gov't work to increase the size of the city's population and make it attractive for businesses to locate there to enhance the overall level of economic activity occurring within a city

Gentrification

neighborhoods undergo a process of change where new investments, new people, & new establishments move and alter the character of the neighborhood

Louis Wirth

argued that city dwellers interact in largely, anonymous, superficial, and territory & transitionary was in their day-to-day exchanges with one another

George Simmel

argued that the shift in the environment surrounding such a substantial portion of the population must have consequences on the ways individuals act & interact
-constant barrage of stimuli found in urban settings & the impressional character of economic interactions leads individuals to live life with an indifferent, blasé attitude that provides a shield against the chaos of the city

Herbert Gans

we should not think about an urban way of life or, for that matter, a suburban way of life, but we should focus on demographic and economic differences between groups in different places

Jane Jacobs

argued that vibrant neighborhoods that encourage use of public spaces can foster social connection, interactions, & public safety

Suburban sprawl

continuing geographic spread of sparse residential areas

social ties

various types of connections individuals make with other people

Barry Wallman

argued that thinking strictly about geography & the layout of neighborhoods unnecessarily limited urban sociology's focus, making it unable to capture how community works in modern life

social capital

resources available to individuals through their relationships & network

Urban renewal

Attempt to improve impoverished areas by tearing down existing structures and even whole neighborhoods

Urban Ghetto

section of a city that is characterized by severe racial or ethic segregation & deep poverty

The great migration

Movement of African Americans from the rural south to the industrial north

William Julius Wilson

argued how manufacturing jobs began to disappear from cities in the Northeast and midwest, leaving minority populations w/o the stable working-class jobs that had drawn northward in the Great Migration

Concentration of poverty

Geographically bonded areas experience extremely high rates of economic disadvantage leading to higher rates of social problems

Segregation

Spatial separation of the population based on race or ethnicity

1968 Fair Housing Act

made discrimination in the public and private housing markets illegal and carried the hope that America's neighborhoods would no longer be divided by race

global neighborhood

diverse neighborhood made up of people from several different national and ethnic groups

Carrying capaxity

how much an area can hold or maintain

segmented assimilation

Immigrants and their children follow one of several possible pathways of assimilation

remittance

money sent from an individual in one country to an individual in another country