SOCI Study Guide Exam 2

Cultural capital

Symbolic and interactional resources used to gain advantages; includes embodied knowledge (e.g. speech, taste) and objectified goods (e.g. books, degrees).

Cultural field

Bounded sites of cultural practice structured by institutions, norms, and power relations.

Culture

The sum of social categories, beliefs, behaviors, and practices; includes material and non-material aspects.

Distinction

Bourdieu’s idea that tastes reflect and reinforce class divisions and social hierarchies.

Embodiment

The process where social structures shape our physical behaviors and internal dispositions.

Habitus

System of embodied dispositions that guide perception and behavior; shaped by class and socialization.

Pierre Bourdieu

French sociologist who developed theories of cultural capital, habitus, and social reproduction.

Social class reproduction

The process by which social class is transmitted from generation to generation through culture, schools, and family.

Crime

Behavior that violates formal legal codes.

Dimensions of power

Forms of power: direct domination, agenda-setting, and shaping desires or ideology.

Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

Foucault’s work on how modern societies control people through surveillance and discipline rather than force.

Formal social sanctions

Official punishments or rewards by institutions (e.g., fines, jail, awards).

Informal deviance

Minor norm violations (e.g., dressing unusually) that don't break laws.

Informal social sanctions

Unwritten societal reactions to deviance, like gossip, shame, or praise.

Michel Foucault

French theorist known for ideas about power, surveillance, and the panopticon.

Norms

Social expectations that guide individual behavior.

Panopticon

A prison design that allows surveillance without the watched knowing; metaphor for modern control.

Panopticonism

Foucault’s concept that modern societies induce self-discipline through perceived surveillance.

Power

The ability to influence or control others, even against their will.

Social control

Methods societies use to regulate individual behavior, both formally and informally.

Social deviance

Behavior that violates social norms.

Stigma

An attribute that discredits a person or group in society.

Strain theory

Merton’s theory that deviance arises when society does not give all of its members equal ability to achieve socially acceptable goals

Total institution

A place where all aspects of life are controlled (e.g., prison, military, asylums).

Black Lives Matter (BLM)

A movement protesting racial injustice and police violence, especially against Black Americans.

Color-blind racism

Ideology that ignores race in theory but reinforces inequality in practice by denying systemic issues.

Critical race theory

Framework arguing that racism is embedded in legal systems and social institutions.

Discrimination

Unequal treatment of individuals based on their race or ethnicity.

Ethnicity

Social identity based on cultural traits like language, religion, or nationality; often self-defined.

Genocide

Mass killing of a group based on race, ethnicity, or religion.

Institutional racism

Systemic disadvantage of minority groups through seemingly neutral institutions (e.g., education, housing).

Nativism

The belief in protecting native-born interests over those of immigrants.

Pluralism

Coexistence of diverse groups within society while maintaining their cultural differences.

Prejudice

Preconceived negative beliefs or attitudes about a racial or ethnic group.

Primordialism

The view that ethnic ties are deeply rooted in culture and homeland traditions.

Race

A social construct that categorizes people based on perceived physical differences; shaped by power and history.

Racism

Belief in the superiority of one race over another, often used to justify inequality.

Scientific racism

Pseudoscientific theories that claimed biological differences justified racial hierarchies.

Segregation

Separation of people based on race, either legally (de jure) or socially (de facto).

Social construct

An idea created and maintained by society that influences behavior and outcomes.

Straight-line assimilation

Park’s theory of immigrant integration through stages: arrival → adaptation → assimilation.

The New Jim Crow

Michelle Alexander’s term for mass incarceration as a new form of racial control after Jim Crow.

White privilege

Unearned advantages granted to white people in social, economic, and legal systems.

MeToo Movement

Social movement raising awareness of sexual harassment and assault, especially in workplaces.

Androgynous

Exhibiting both masculine and feminine characteristics.

Cisgender

A person whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth.

Emotional labor

Managing feelings to fulfill emotional requirements of a job (e.g., customer service).

Essentialism

Belief that gender and sex roles are rooted in biology and fixed.

Gender

Socially constructed roles and expectations for masculinity and femininity.

Gender role socialization

Process through which people learn gender norms from family, media, and society.

Hegemonic masculinity

The dominant, idealized form of masculinity characterized by strength, authority, and heterosexuality.

Heteronormativity

Assumption that heterosexuality is the default or norm.

History of Sexuality

Foucault’s work exploring how sexuality is regulated by power and history.

Homosexuality

Sexual or romantic attraction to people of the same gender.

Intersectionality

A framework for understanding how overlapping identities (race, class, gender) affect privilege and oppression.

Patriarchy

A social system in which men hold primary power in roles of leadership and authority.

Queer theory

Challenges fixed identities and binary thinking around gender and sexuality.

Sex

Biological differences between males and females.

Sexism

Prejudice or discrimination based on sex or gender.

Sexual harassment

Unwanted sexual advances or conduct, especially in professional settings.

Sexuality

Individual’s sexual identity, orientation, desires, and behaviors.

Strands of feminism

Different approaches to feminism: liberal (rights), radical (patriarchy critique), intersectional (multiple oppressions).

Toxic masculinity

Cultural norms that pressure men to suppress emotion, dominate others, and reject femininity.

Transgender

A person whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth.

Absolute poverty

Inability to meet basic needs for survival like food, shelter, or medical care.

Alienation

Marx’s idea that workers are disconnected from the product, the process, and their own humanity under capitalism.

Capitalism

Economic system based on private ownership, market competition, and profit.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

2010 case allowing unlimited corporate and union spending on elections, framing it as free speech.

Communism

Economic system where all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to needs and abilities.

Contradictory class locations

Positions in the class structure that contain traits of both the working and capitalist classes (e.g., managers).

Corporation

Legal entity with rights and responsibilities separate from its owners; dominant in modern economies.

Internal contradictions of capitalism

Inefficiencies and crises within capitalism (e.g., overproduction, inequality) that threaten its stability.

Monopoly

Market dominated by a single seller, limiting consumer choice.

Oligopoly

Market controlled by a few large firms that dominate the sector.

Relative poverty

Being poor in comparison to the average standard of living in a society.

Socialism

System where the means of production are owned or regulated by the community or state.

Theory of the ‘invisible hand’

Adam Smith’s idea that individual self-interest in markets leads to positive outcomes for society.

“Tragedy of the Commons”

Idea that individuals overusing shared resources leads to collective ruin.

Union

Organization of workers formed to protect their rights and interests through collective bargaining.

Union busting

Tactics used by employers to prevent or undermine labor union formation.