Sociology Key Concepts: Bureaucracy, Social Stratification, Deviance, Race, and Power

What is a bureaucracy according to Max Weber?

A formal organization structured by clear rules, hierarchy of authority, division of labor, and impersonality, designed to achieve goals efficiently and predictably.

What are key features of bureaucracy?

Rules and procedures, hierarchy, specialization, impersonality, and efficiency.

What is biological determinism?

The belief that personality, behavior, and social outcomes are caused by biological factors rather than social forces.

How does biological determinism explain gender differences?

It argues gender differences are natural, fixed, and based on sex at birth.

How do sociologists critique biological determinism?

They argue gender is socially constructed, not biologically inevitable.

What is Marxist class analysis?

The idea that social stratification results from people's relationship to the means of production.

What are the two main classes in Marxist theory?

The bourgeoisie (owners) and the proletariat (workers).

According to Marx, what causes inequality?

Ownership of the means of production, not merit or effort.

What is anomie?

A state of normlessness caused by social instability or rapid change.

What are effects of anomie?

Confusion, lack of direction, and increased deviance.

How did Durkheim view deviance?

As normal, inevitable, and necessary for society.

What are the functions of deviance according to Durkheim?

Clarifies norms, promotes social cohesion, and allows social change.

What are folkways?

Informal norms with weak social sanctions.

What are mores?

Strongly held moral norms with serious sanctions.

What are laws?

Norms that are formally codified and enforced by the state.

How do Omi and Winant define race?

As a socio-historical concept shaped by social, political, and historical forces.

What is racial formation?

The process by which racial meanings are created, transformed, and destroyed.

What is intersectionality according to Kimberlé Crenshaw?

The idea that systems of oppression such as race, gender, and class intersect and cannot be examined separately.

Why is intersectionality important?

It explains how overlapping identities shape lived experience and inequality.

What is causality?

A cause-and-effect relationship between variables.

What is the first requirement for causality?

Temporal ordering, where the cause occurs before the effect.

What is the second requirement for causality?

Correlation, meaning the variables are related.

What is the third requirement for causality?

Non-spuriousness, meaning the relationship is not caused by a third variable.

Why does correlation not equal causation?

Because variables can be related without one causing the other.

Who was Zora Neale Hurston?

A writer and anthropologist who centered Black cultural knowledge and lived experience.

What was Hurston's major contribution to sociology?

She challenged race science and academic exclusion by valuing Black voices and lived experience.

Why did Hurston turn to literature instead of academia?

To express knowledge true to lived experience outside biased academic standards.

What is charismatic authority according to Weber?

Authority based on the exceptional personal qualities of a leader.

What is the source of charismatic authority?

Emotional devotion to the leader, not rules or tradition.

What is routinization?

The process of converting charisma into rules, norms, or laws.

What is traditionalization?

The process of converting charisma into authority based on tradition or lineage.

What is the symbolic interactionist perspective on politics?

A focus on symbols, images, and face-to-face interactions that represent power.

According to symbolic interactionists, how does politics operate?

Through everyday interactions and shared symbols of authority.

What is the conflict theory perspective on politics?

The view that politics is dominated by elites who use power to protect their interests.

What is the power elite according to C. Wright Mills?

A small group that controls economic and political power.

What is resource mobilization theory?

A theory that explains social movement success based on access to resources and organization.

What kinds of resources matter for social movements?

Money, leadership, time, organization, and media access.

According to resource mobilization theory, why do some movements succeed?

Because they are better organized and better funded.

How do functionalists view social movements?

As responses to social strain that help restore stability.

What is structural strain?

When social expectations are unmet, creating tension.

What is mobilization?

When leaders organize people to take collective action.

What is secularization?

The decline of religion's social influence over time.

How does secularization affect society?

Religion becomes more private while public life becomes non-religious.

What is the conflict theorist perspective on religion?

Religion reinforces inequality and supports dominant groups.

How can religion function as social control?

By encouraging acceptance of suffering and inequality.

What are supernatural compensators?

Promised spiritual or afterlife rewards that offset earthly suffering.

Why are supernatural compensators important in conflict theory?

They reduce resistance by encouraging people to tolerate inequality.

What is rationalization according to Weber?

The increasing reliance on rules, efficiency, calculation, and control.

What is the Iron Cage?

A condition where individuals feel trapped by bureaucratic and rational systems.

What causes the Iron Cage?

The spread of rationalization and bureaucracy.

What is the effect of the Iron Cage on individuals?

Loss of freedom, creativity, and meaning.

Who was John Rawls?

An American political philosopher who developed the Veil of Ignorance.

What is the Veil of Ignorance?

A thought experiment where people design society without knowing their social position.

What is the purpose of the Veil of Ignorance?

To create fair and just social arrangements.

Behind the Veil of Ignorance, what do people not know?

Their race, class, gender, abilities, or social status.

Why does the Veil of Ignorance promote fairness?

Because rules cannot be designed to benefit oneself specifically.