Chapter 1 What is Sociology?

sociological imagination

the application of imaginative thought to the asking and asking of sociological questions

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

• what ppl think and do are products of culture and history

socialization

the social processes through which children develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self

globalization

the development of social and economic relationships stretching worldwide

• in current times, we are all influenced by organizations and social networks located thousands of miles away

• A key part of the study for ______ is the emergence of a world system. We need to regard the world as forming a single social order

social facts

the aspects of social life that shape out actions as individuals

organic solidarity

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

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 this

anomie

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

materialist conception history

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

capitalism

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

rationalization

A concept used by Max 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.

interactionism

A concept used by Max 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.

symbol

One item used to stand for or represent another, as in the case of a flag symbolizing 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

ideologies

Shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups.

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

feminism

Advocacy of the rights of women to be equal with men in all spheres of life

rational choice approach

the theory that an individual’s behavior is purposive

postmodernism

The belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress.

• 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

Emile Durkheim

social facts, organic solidarity, social constraint, division of labor, anomie

Karl Marx

materialist conception of history, capitalism, power, ideologies

Max Weber

bureaucracy

Harriet Martineau

feminist theory, feminism

W. E. B Du Bois

• Argued that the color line persisted after slavery

• Connected race to social and economic stratification