Intro Sociology SOC 1005 (Baruch) Chapter 1 (week 1) What is Sociology

sociological imagination

The application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions. Someone using the _ "thinks himself away" from the familiar routines of daily life.

C. Wright Mills

_ is remembered for several books, such as The Power Elite, which introduced that term and describes the relationships and class alliances among the US political, military, and economic elites; White Collar: The American Middle Classes, on the American middle class; and The Sociological Imagination, which presents a model of analysis for the interdependence of subjective experiences within a person's biography, the general social structure, and historical development.

social structure

The underlying regularities or patterns in how people behave in their relationships with one another.

social construction

An idea or practice that a group of people agree exists. It is maintained over time by people taking its existence for granted.

socialization

The social processes through which children develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self. Although _ processes are particularly significant in infancy and childhood, they continue to some degree throughout life. No individuals are immune from the reactions of others around them, which influence and modify their behavior at all phases of the life course.

Auguste Comte

_ invented the word sociology to describe the discipline he wished to establish. _ believed that the scientific method could be applied to the study of human behavior and society, and that this new field could produce knowledge of society based on scientific evidence.

Herbert Spencer

British philosopher, biologist, anthropologist, and political theorist— was both highly influenced by, and highly critical of, Comte's writing. _ held that development is a natural outcome of individual achievement. In The Study of Sociology (1873), _ argued that society can change and improve the quality of life for all people only when everyone changes their behavior to maximize their individual potential.

Emile Durkheim

_ drew on aspects of Comte's work, but _ thought that many of _ predecessor's ideas were too speculative and vague and that Comte had not successfully carried out his program— to establish sociology on a scientific basis. To have a scientific basis, according to _, sociologists must develop methodological principles to guide their research. Sociology must study social facts— aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals, such as the state of the economy or the influence of religion.

social facts

According to Émile Durkheim, the aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals. Durkheim believed that _ could be studied scientifically.

organic solidarity

According to Durkheim, the social cohesion that results from the various parts of a society functioning as an integrated whole.

social constraint

The conditioning influence on our behavior of the groups and societies of which we are members. _ was regarded by Durkheim as one of the distinctive properties of social facts.

division of labor

The specialization of work tasks by means of which different occupations are combined within a production system. All societies have at least some rudimentary form of _, especially between the tasks allocated to men and those performed by women. With the development of industrialism, the _ became vastly more complex than in any prior type of production system.

anomie

The concept first brought into wide usage in sociology by Durkheim to refer to a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior.

materialist conception of history

The view developed by Marx according to which material, or economic, factors have a prime role in determining historical change.

Karl Marx

a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary. Born in Trier, Germany, _ studied law and philosophy at university. Due to his political publications, _ became stateless and lived in exile with his wife and children in London for decades, where he continued to develop his thought in collaboration with German thinker Friedrich Engels and publish his writings, researching in the reading room of the British Museum. His best-known titles are the 1848 pamphlet The Communist Manifesto and the three-volume Das Kapital (1867-1883). _ political and philosophical thought had enormous influence on subsequent intellectual, economic and political history. His name has been used as an adjective, a noun and a school of social theory.

capitalisim

An economic system based on the private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested in order to produce profit.

bureaucracy

A type of organization marked by a clear hierarchy of authority and the existence of written rules of procedure and staffed by full- time, salaried officials.

Max Weber

the German- born _ cannot be labeled simply a sociologist, because his interests spanned many areas. His writings covered the fields of economics, law, philosophy, and comparative history as well as sociology, and much of his work also dealt with the development of modern capitalism. He was influenced by Marx but was also critical of some of Marx's major views. For instance, he rejected the materialist conception of history and saw class conflict as less significant than did Marx. In _ view, economic factors are important, but ideas and values have just as much effect on social change.

Harriet Martineau

born and educated in England, has been called the "first woman sociologist." As with Marx and Weber, her interests extended beyond sociology. She was the author of more than 50 books, as well as numerous essays, and was an active proponent of women's rights and the abolition of slavery. _ is now credited with introducing sociology to England through her translation of Comte's founding treatise of the field, Positive Philosophy (Rossi, 1973). Additionally, she conducted a systematic study of American society during her extensive travels throughout the United States in the 1830s, which is the subject of her book Society in America

W. E. B. Du Bois

was the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University. Among his many contributions to sociology, perhaps most important is the concept of "double consciousness," a way of talking about identity through the lens of the experiences of African Americans

rationalization

A concept used by Weber to refer to the process by which modes of precise calculation and organization, involving abstract rules and procedures, increasingly come to dominate the social world.

symbolic interactionism

A theoretical approach in sociology developed by George Herbert Mead that emphasizes the role of symbols and language as core elements of all human interaction.

symbol

One item used to stand for or represent another— as in the case of a flag, which _izes a nation.

functionalism

A theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform— that is, the contributions they make to the continuity of a society.

manifest functions

The functions of a type of social activity that are known to and intended by the individuals involved in the activity.

latent functions

Functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the members of a social system in which they occur.

conflict theory

A sociological perspective that emphasizes the role of political and economic power and oppression as contributing to the existing social order.

Marxism

A body of thought deriving its main elements from the ideas of Karl Marx.

power

"The ability of individuals or the members of a group to achieve aims or further the interests they hold. _ is a pervasive element in all human relationships. Many conflicts in society are struggles over _, because how much _ an individual or group is able to

achieve governs how far they are able to put their wishes into practice."

ideologies

Shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups. _ are found in all societies in which there are systematic and ingrained inequalities among groups. The concept of _ connects closely with that of power, since _ systems serve to legitimize the power that groups hold.

feminist theory

A sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the uniqueness of the experience of women. There are many strands of _, but they all share the desire to explain gender inequality in society and to work to overcome it.

feminism

Advocacy of the rights of women to be equal with men in all spheres of life. _ dates from the late eighteenth century in Europe, and _ movements exist in most countries today.

rational choice approach

More broadly, the theory that an individual's behavior is purposive. Within the field of criminology, _ analysis argues that deviant behavior is a rational response to a specific social situation.

postmodernism

The belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress. _ society is highly pluralistic and diverse, with no "grand narrative" guiding its development.

microsociology

The study of human behavior in the context of face- to- face interaction

macrosociology

The study of large- scale groups, organizations, or social systems.

Ethnography

The firsthand study of people using participant-observation, in-

depth interviewing, or both. Also called “fieldwork”.

Status/Position

A determinate position one holds in a social field, relative to

others. Positions carry responsibilities, expectations and relative benefits and

handicaps. There are (generally) ascribed statuses/positions (such as

“Latino/a/x” or “daughter”), achieved statuses/positions (such as “college

graduate”), and temporary statuses/positions (such as “bus passenger”)

Intravidual

Due to social media and our digitally mediated social world, our

sense of individuality has exploded. We are multiple selves who manage these

selves within different media streams (e.g., how we are on Instagram and

TicTok is not who we are on LinkedIn or at the dinner table or when we are

anonymously browsing the web). We are also living in worlds of constant

communication (e.g., texts, social media messages) and, hence, our sphere of

privacy has dissolved

Path of Least Resistance

Social systems and structures incentivize certain

kinds of beliefs and behavior by rewarding these. Examples of paths of least

resistance include normative gender expression and avoiding eye contact on

Multiracial and Intersectional Feminism

A feminist framework and

approach that looks to understand the interplay between social identities of

gender, race, class, ability status, and sexual orientation even though many

social systems and institutions (such as the law) try to treat these individually

Ideal-Type

Typologies used by the historical sociologist, Max Weber, as an

analytic tool. Ideal-types are not empirical cases but, instead, scholarly

constructions that accentuate features for purposes of comparison (e.g.,

remember our discussion comparing typical Baruch, Hunter, and NYU

undergraduate students)

Bourgeoisie

Associated with Marx’s analysis of capitalism, these are the

Associated with Marx’s analysis of capitalism, these are the

owners of the means of production who employ wage labor.

Ideology

A system of beliefs, attitudes, and values that directs a society and

reproduces the status quo of the bourgeoisie.

Collective Effervescence

Associated with the functionalism of Émile

Durkheim, the intense energy in shared events where people are swept up in

something larger than themselves and reinforces the collective values of the

community (e.g., the Super Bowl in American culture reinforces norms of

gender, competition, and consumption).

Othering

The “other” is perceived in stereotypical terms by the dominant

culture and can simultaneously be rendered invisible and stick out like a sore

thumb

Role

The regulating norms of behavior and social scripts that are attached to

statuses/positions (such as the patriarchal norm that mothers should be more

caring than fathers)

Sociological Imagination

The ability to connect the most basic, intimate

aspects of an individual’s life to seemingly impersonal and remote historical

forces. The sociological imagination allows us to see the connection between

personal troubles and public issues. The theorist most closely associated with

this approach is C.W. Mills