sociology chapter 1

antonio gramsci theory

we all have intellect and use our minds to make sense of the world, thinking powerfully shaped by experiences in life, take things for granted

c wright mills ideology

connect personal problems with larger forces in society, experiences must be understood in tehir social context

betty friedan findings

found that educated housewives were generally unhappy, thought unhappiness was their own fault

binary thinking

use of either/or propositions

most important binary distinction in contemporary social theory

between structure and agency - being born into something vs choosing our course of action

august comte

invented sociology, wanted to create a science of society that allows us to understand social life

comte’s “law”

thinking passes through three stages

1. world run by supernatural powers

2. philosophy and science - god instead of nature

3. applying scientific knowledge of the laws of nature to change the physical world to suit themselvesapproac

approach after comte

positivism

positivism

the strongest/best individuals rise to the top of the social pyramid, and the poor/weak sink to the bottom

max weber ideas

people act on the basis of what they intend and what they believe, have to take subjective factors into account

functionalist theorists

want to identify the basic functions that must be fulfilled in all societies and understand how they are accomplished

marx famous line

purpose of social theory is not to understand the world but to change it

three most important classical theorists

1. emile durkheim

2. karl marx

3. max weber

emile durkheim

studied relationship between individual and society, argued simplest societies held together by practices like celebrations or gift giving, thought that sacred part of life overshadowed by secular

anomie

people no longer united by a single code of right adn wrong

durkheim’s view on marriage

better to stay in an unhappy marriage than to abandon your duty

organic solidarity

everyone in society plays a part in maintaining social life

durkheim’s view on self destruction

social fact that could be understood scientifically and objectively

what did karl marx’s theories inspire?

movements the origins of revolution and reform that have had deep and lasting consequences for sociological theory

what did marx want to understand?

the origins of modern society and the forces leading to change within it

how did marx believe you should start to analyze a society?

by analyzing the way it produced and distributed the basic necessities of life - its economic system

marx’s views on capitalism

working class provides profit for rich, priests, and government

what did marx believe would happen because of capitalism?

working clas revolution would replace capitalism with a more cooperative nad collective society (socialism)

alienation (marx’s definition)

to be separated from other people, from control over your work and the product of your labor, and from your true human potential

max weber

understood that modern society was increasingly individualistic and tried to uncover roots of capitalism

weber’s views on politics

politics has become “legal-rational authority” - regulations determien how we choose who overns us and the rules they follow

weber’s views on capitalism

family traditions, religious beliefs, or political values have strangled its development, and capitalism was creating a new working class (the middle class)

verstehen

need to understand someone subjectively

intersubjectivity

people orient their action according to what they think (subjectively) what others think

maternal feminists believe that:

women are superior to men by their nature

socialist feminism

emphasizes economic role of women

feminist sociology

begins with the perspectives of women adn offers a counterbalance to the values and techniques that have been skewed to favor men

positivist sociologists

wanted to predict and control human action

romantics:

claimed there were deeper, more profound sources of knowledge than rationality, people are emotional beings to their core

post-modernism led to:

extreme relativism (no way to validate one view over another, all claims equal)

post-modernism draws our attention to:

new cultural forces that change the way people experience, understand, and responsd to teh world and the problems within it, emphadizes diversity, etc

structural functionalism

• Views society as a system,

• Assumes that each element contributes to the functioning of society and has a role in sustaining equilibrium. Like the human body, everything has a role in ensuring survival. There is a function for everything. (So, society is a structure, and every piece of it has a function)

• durkheim

conflict theory

• Issues of power are used to explain society, rather than focusing on the function of different elements and how they maintaining balance (equilibrium)

• Conflict theory sees society as a set of competing social groups, not a system that creates equilibrium

• Confrontation are understood to happen because of differences in power

• Even if there is not overt conflict you can analyze issues or topics by examining who has power over whom, and what the implications of that are

• Society is not about equilibrium, but about struggle and social change.

• Marx is often associated with this theoretical perspective, as is Weber.

symbolic interactionism

• Society is fluid and constantly built and rebuilt through individual actions

• People behave according to the meanings things and situations have for them

• The meaning of things comes out of social interaction with others

• We are born into ongoing interactions and existing meanings. We learn them, but we also alter them in our performance of them and through interpretation

• We act as we do because of how we define the situation we are in

• Weber is connected to this approach because of his focus on interpretation and meaning making

feminist sociology

• Gendered inequality shapes all components of social life

• This is not only about inequality between men and women, but also differences in how masculinity and feminity are valued

• Feminist sociology challenges and works to rectify the ways gender has been left out of understanding how society works

• Emerges from Conflict Theory, and can also be incorporated into Symbolic Interactionism, Marxism