Sociology final review, Comprehensive Sociology and Social Movements: Democracy, Religion, Family, Urban Planning

What is a democracy?

A political system where citizens could participate in political decision making or elect government representatives, enabling them to directly or indirectly decide laws they live under

What is participatory democracy and direct democracy?

Direct: Citizens decide on policies, laws, or initiatives directly, rather than electing representatives to do so (final decision making like voting on laws, town meetings)

Participatory: Decisions are made communally and focuses on influencing decisions (participatory budgeting and assemblies)

What is a Vermont Town Meeting? How is it run? What does it accomplish?

Talks about democracy, towns in Vermont are a coherent unit, legislative process, public policy face to face. Town meetings say they don't trust people to make laws.

What is a constitutional monarchy?

Form of government where a hereditary monarch (king or queen) is head of state within written or unwritten constitution, unlike absolute monarchy their powers are limited with legislative and policymaking authority held by elected parliament and prime minister.

What is a representative democracy?

More realistic, citizens vote for representatives who then vote on laws and policies.

What are power and authority?

Power is the ability to influence behavior or control outcomes (force or charisma) and authority is legitimate, hierarchical, right to exercise power (granted by position, law, or structure).

What does it mean to be a citizen?

Native of naturalized state or nation entitled rights (voting, protecting, allegiance to government) and inhabitant of a city or civilian member of a community (native, resident, subject, national, civilian).

What are the civil, political, and social rights of citizenship?

Civil is individual freedom (speech/contract), political is participation in power (voting/holding office), social is economic security rights (education/health).

What is democratic elitism?

Max Weber, theory of the limits of democracy, which holds that in large scale societies democratic participation is necessarily limited to the regular election of political leaders.

What are pluralist theories of modern democracy?

Theory that emphasizes the role of diverse and potentially competing interest groups, none of which dominates the political process.

Who are the power elite theories and how do they operate?

By C. Wright Mills, small networks of individuals who hold concentrated power in modern society, federal government, corporations, military.

What was the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Ended unequal voter registration requirements and racial segregation in school, workplaces, restaurants, hotels.

Why is Voter Turnout in the U.S. low compared to other countries?

Difficult to vote, mail in voting due to Covid increased turnout, half countries have universal voter registration (U.S. does not), other countries have election day as a holiday or weekend, voters want more choices, more political parties, more representation

What is gerrymandering?

The political manipulation of electoral district boundaries to advantage a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency.

What do we know about the political participation and representation of women in the U.S.?

Less women in senate and house, based on gender, race, religion

Do our elected officials reflect the population in terms of age, gender, race, and religion?

Are becoming more diverse but do not represent the diverse population.

Leaders: More religious than the public

Public: Many not identified with religion

Secular humanist: Human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or belief in a deity

Why do some advocate for the lowering of the voting age?

States allow 17 year olds to vote in primaries and caucuses, 1960s movement to lower voting age from 21-18, 26th amendment prohibits minimum age to 18.

Felony disenfranchisement

The exclusion from voting due to felony convictions, jurisdictions vary.

How could voter turnout be increased?

Easier and more convenient, mail in voting, more windows to vote, reminders, etc.

SAVE America Act 2026

Voter ID requirements need a passport or birth certificate, married women who changed their last name aren't accepted, need required documents to prove citizenship, mail in voting eliminated, must register in person

What is work and why is it important to study?

Carrying out tasks that require the expenditure of mental and physical efforts, objective to produce goals and services that cater human needs.

What is an occupation?

Any form of paid employment in which an individual regularly works

What is an economy?

System of producing, distributing, and consuming goods, services, and resources within a region.

What is capitalism?

Economic system based on private ownership of production and operation for profit (factories, mines, land). Competitive markets, voluntary exchange, price determination through supply and demand.

What are the 6 characteristics of work?

Money, activity level, variety, structuring ones time, social contacts, personal identity

What are two types of unpaid labor?

Housework: Domestic labor, unpaid work carried out at home, usually by women

Volunteer work: Important social role

What is the division of labor?

Specialization of work tasks like different occupation combined with production system, and highly complex division of labor like distinct characteristics of the economic system of modern society.

What is Economic Interdependence?

Dependence on other workers for products and service. Most people in modern societies don't grow their food, build their houses, produce material goods they consume.

What are low-trust and high-trust systems?

Low trust: Organizational or work setting where people are allowed little responsibility for, or control over work task. Workers closely supervised, dissatisfaction, absenteeism, conflict

High trust: Organizational or work settings in which individuals are permitted a great deal of autonomy and control over the work task. Workers control pace and content

What is the informal economy?

Economic transactions carried on outside the sphere of orthodox paid employment.

Downsides: No official records, unregulated, unprotected, abusive, no contribution to taxes/pension

What is a strike?

Temporary shortage of work by a group of employees in order to express a grievance or enforce a demand.

What is a lockout and why is it used?

When an employer prevents workers from working during a labor dispute, to pressure workers during contract negotiations, force acceptance of lower waves or fewer benefits, prevent strike, demonstrate control in bargaining.

Union values

Solidarity, equality, disdain for elitism, workers have rights

What do workers want

Influence, representation, participation

What is the general history of unions from 1929 to 2018?

1929-1955 unions are active, 1955-2016 unions decline, 1981 air traffic controllers, 2016-2022 teacher strikes, 2018 supreme court ruling.

What are the values of labor unions on a macro level?

Deteriorating quality, wage freezes, cuts in benefits, increasing part time or temp labor, off shoring, not a stepping stone to higher wage work

What has happened to the service industry the last 100 years?

Transformed from a minor sector into the dominant economic engine driven by automation, global economic shifts, massive decline in manufacturing.

Marx's four types of alienation

Worker from product, act of production, species, other workers

What is a family?

A group of individuals related to another by blood ties, marriage, or adoption, who form an economic unit, the adult members are responsible for the upbringing of children.

What is marriage?

Culturally, socially, legally recognized union between individuals (typically spouses) that creates rights, obligations, and restrictions.

What is the census definition of a family?

Two or more persons living together and related by birth, marriage, or adoption.

What is the social science definition of a family?

Emotional bonds, material support, household labor, sense of belonging to the primary group.

How do most Americans define the family?

Most thought family is beyond birth, marriage, and adoption, but emotional bonds.

What is a nuclear family and an extended family?

Nuclear family are parents and children, extended family are aunts and uncles.

What is a family of orientation and a family of procreation/cohabitation

Family of orientation is a family you are born into, family of procreation/cohabitation is a family you chose

What is matrilocal and patrilocal?

Matrilocal is newly married couples reside with or near the bride's mother or her family. Patrilocal is newly married couples resides with or near the groom's father or his relatives.

What is monogamy and polygamy?

Monogamy is where an individual is married to one person at a time, polygamy is a marriage system involving more than two spouses at the same time.

How does functionalist theory approach the family?

Essential functions performed by family for society. Structure of society affect families.

What is the traditional family?

A nuclear family unit consisting of a married man and women with biological or adopted children.

What does the family approach emphasize family?

Contextual and subjective nature of family relations, interpersonal communication, negotiation, children's influence.

How does Family theory look at the parent-child relationship?

Dynamic build on shared meanings, symbols, daily interactions rather than static roles. Emphasizes that family members create realities through communication, role taking, interpreting behaviors, shaping identities (parent, child, rebel, protector).

What does feminist theory say about the family?

Families are not always harmonious or healthy, challenges ideas with traditional family structure.

How does Family theory address domestic tasks and the division of labor?

Analyzing them as not natural or personal choices, but systemic, gendered, and exploitative roles rooted in patriarchy.

Perceptions of family life in the past

Golden age like stable marriages, clear gender roles, close knit households, strong moral values

Family shift from the 1500s to the 1800s

Premodern household families were economic units, industrialization occurred, rise of nuclear family, changing gender roles, emotional shift in relationships

Affective individualism

Lawrence Stone, individual choice and emotional satisfaction become central to relationships

Federal recognition of gay marriage

Nationwide in 2015 in Obergefell V. Hodges

Changing attitudes and culture of LGBTQ

Increased public support for LGBTQ rights, more representation in media and public life, younger generations showing greater acceptance, legal milestones (marriage equality, anti discrimination laws). Change is real but uneven

Rights provided by marriage

1,000 legal rights and benefits under federal law such as tax benefits, inheritance rights, hospital visitation, medical decision making, immigration sponsorship, social security and survivor benefits

Children's well-being in cohabiting families

Doing well emotionally and socially. A stable, loving home environment, open communication, supportive communities and schools helped. Bullying or stigma from peers, lack of legal protection for parents, and social isolation in less accepting environments hurt them

Cohabitation

Young unmarried couple living together in a romantic relationship, sharing household and finances to some degree. Testing compatibility before marriage, financial reasons, convenience, alternative to marriage, step toward marriage

Cohabitation vs. marriage

Shared household, emotional and romantic commitment, sometimes shared finances and parenting. Differences are legal status, stability expectations, social norms, and rights/benefits

Cohabitation, marriage, and divorce relationship

Often selection, not causation. People who cohabit may already be less traditional or less committed to marriage, cohabitation itself does not necessarily cause divorce

Effect of cohabitation on children

They do well in cohabitating families, but outcomes depend on stability, not just structure. Relationships can be on average less stable, so child needs a stable, low conflict household with strong parenting and economic security

Homogamy

Tendency for the individual to seek a mate with similar characteristics. Race, ethnicity, age, education, religion, social class

Reasons: Geographic closeness (propinquity), social pressure, interpersonal dynamics

Divorce rates in the last 50 years

Rise, peak, modest decline, with growing inequality

Changing attitudes about divorce

Have become more accepting over time. Mid century it was stigmatized and seen as amoral failure, now it is widely accepted and viewed reasonably in cases of unhappiness, conflict, and abuse. Cultural shift ties back into Affective Individualism which emphasizes personal fulfillment and emotional satisfaction in relationships

Consequences of divorce

Economic consequences with a drop in income, social consequences such as changes in friendships and extended family relationships, emotional conflicts like stress and adjustment challenges, emotional distress for children

Credentialism

The diploma or certificate more important than context or curriculum

Reproduction of Inequality

Marxist theories, education system perpetuate social stratification

Hidden Curriculum

Some students from different social classes and background provide different types of educations, traits of behavior or attitudes that are learned not in the curriculum

Conditions of the schools in the film 'Children in America's Schools'

Underfunded schools have overcrowded classrooms, outdated materials, poor building conditions, limited access to technology. Well funded schools have smaller class sizes, model facilities and equipment, wide range of courses, strong support services

Film's support of reproduction of inequality

Social reproduction, schools in wealthier areas get more funding, students in poorer areas receive fewer resources. System does not just reflect inequality, but helps maintain and reproduce it

Tracking

Placing students into different academic groups based on perceived ability (honors, regular, remedial classes based on test scores and teacher recommendations), reproduces inequality

Policies around school discipline and corporal punishment

Many schools use zero tolerance policies, strict automatic punishments (suspension, expulsion), common for fighting, corporal punishment for physical encounters

Concerns around student discipline

Racial disparities (black and latino disciplined harsher), subjective enforcement (based on teacher interpretation), school-to-prison pipeline (harsh discipline increases dropouts), impact on learning (removed students miss instruction)

Reason for increased standardized testing

Accountability to measure school and teacher performance, data driven policy to compare schools and districts, equity goals to track achievement gaps

Percent of the world population that is illiterate

12-14%, 750-770 million worldwide

Gender differences in literacy rates

Women make up ⅔ of the worlds illiterate populations, in many regions they have less access to schooling, higher dropouts rates, gender inequality in education is a driver of global illiteracy

Regions with high levels of illiteracy today

Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, parts of the Middle East. These regions face poverty, conflict, and limited access to schools

Impact of colonialism on education and literacy

Education systems designed to serve colonial administrations, train a small local elite, indigenous knowledge/languages were suppressed, after independence countries had limited school infrastructure, unequal access persisted

Percent of children that are homeschooled

3-4%, number increased significantly during Covid

Sick role

Developed by Talcott Parsons, defining socially accepted behaviors, rights, and obligations of those experiencing illness, posits that illness is a form of social deviance allowing individuals to temporary exempt from responsibilities, provided they seek medical help and aim to recover

Three normative expectations of the sick role

Exemptions from normal social responsibilities (work or school), understanding the person is not responsible for their condition, obligation to seek help and get well

Unconditionally legitimate sick role vs. illegitimate sick role

Unconditionally sick applies to individuals with severe, incurable, or terminal illnesses exempt from normal obligations and not expected to recover. Illegitimate are stigmatized or blamed conditions on the individual, resulting in a loss of rights and societal sympathy

Critiques of the sick role theory

Does not capture lived experience, not applied to all cultures, social factors like gender, race, class affect how readily sick role is granted, some misdiagnosed, some appear healthy, fluctuating symptoms

Chronic illness coping

Illness is a lived experience, regular treatments or unpredictable effects, challenge/changes sense of self, effect energy/time of others

Three types of work performed by the chronically ill

By Corbin and Strauss Illness work which is managing the condition (meds, tests, therapy), everyday work like managing daily lives (relationships, household, interests), biographical work like incorporating illness into one's life, making sense of it, explaining to others

Stigma

Physical/social characteristics labeled by society as stigmatized

Stigmatizing illness

Adapting to illness may be particularly difficult for those who have stigmatized health condition

Treatment of stigmatized individuals

Treated with suspicion, hostility, or discrimination, rarely based on valid understandings

Discredited vs. discreditable

All individuals have attributes that would disqualify them from 'full social acceptance', making them appear less 'normal'

Important parts of illness experience

Patient practitioner interaction is crucial, diagnosis moment like shock can trigger fear or relationships, fertility, and future, stigma and identity could make someone feel dirty

Combining morality and medicine

For range of patients with stigmatized diagnoses, healthcare is a site of social control, reinforcing norms about sexuality and gender, patients negotiate stigma, there needs to be improved care and less judgement.

Access to better health in the U.S.

Members of social groups with more status, power, economic resources, black and white gaps widened over decades.

Health literacy

One's capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information/services needed to make decisions.

Unequal distribution of nutritious diets, exercise, and clean water and air

Diet/nutrition lack of education of good food, exercise looks at gyms or parks that are safe, food/air quality might not be great in some areas.

Food desert

Lack of access in areas, no easy way to fresh food.

Racial bias affects health of Americans of Color

Chronic stress due to discrimination, systemic bias and unequal care in American Health Care system, disproportionate exposure to harmful toxins as result of environmental racism, housing discrimination due to redlining.

Health inequities on a global level

Most developing countries have some sort of healthcare, water and sanitation are critical but some nations don't achieve this.