Sociology, Race, Family, and Social Institutions Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering sociology concepts, theoretical perspectives, race and ethnicity, family dynamics, and historical marriage and fertility patterns based on the lecture notes.

Postracial

A state or social condition in which race no longer plays a very meaningful role in people's lives.

Race

A social construction defined as a group of people who are perceived, by both themselves and others, as possessing distinctive hereditary traits.

Ethnicity

A group of people who are differentiated by culture rather than by perceived physical or genetic differences.

U.S. Census Bureau Race Categories

The five official racial categories defined by the U.S. Census Bureau: White, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander.

Social Stratification

A process involving members of one group in power seeking to maximize their position by restricting others' access to resources such as jobs, education, health services, and political power.

SNAF (Standard North American Family)

An ideological code described by Dorothy Smith ($1993$) that derides, stigmatizes, or abandons those who do not or cannot follow the nuclear family model of a husband, wife, and young children.

Kinship as a Survival Strategy

A class-based survival strategy in response to economic difficulties where individuals engage in mutual practical assistance and relies on extended kin ties.

Greediness of Marriage

A concept describing how marriage detracts from broader community and extended kin ties by reducing co-residence, visiting, contact, and caregiving across race and class lines.

Median Age at First Marriage Chart

A chart illustrating the historical trends in the median age at first marriage in the United States for males and females from $1890$ to $2020$.

Total Fertility Rate Trends in the U.S.

The progression of U.S. fertility rates, dropping from $7$ in $1800$ to $3.6$ in $1900$, reaching $2.2$ in $1940$, peaking at $3.8$ in $1957$, and declining to $1.7$ by $1976$.

Baby Bust

A demographic period lasting until the late $1970\text{s}$ during which the U.S. fertility rate dropped sharply from $3.8$ in $1957$ to $1.7$ in $1976$.

How America Achieved Full Marriage Equality Map

A graphic map showing the distribution of state-level policies regarding marriage equality, categorized into Constitutional Ban, Statutory Ban, and Same-Sex Marriage.

Sociology

The study of human behavior in society, based on the principle that all human behavior occurs within a societal context.

Sociological Imagination

A concept formulated by C. Wright Mills in $1959$ defining an awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society, both today and in the past.

Troubles vs. Issues

The sociological distinction made by C. Wright Mills between troubles (privately felt personal problems) and issues (problems affecting large numbers of people across society).

Stereotypes

Beliefs about members of a group that are usually false, or at least exaggerated, but serve as the basis for assumptions made about individual group members.

Discrimination

Any behavior, practice, or policy that harms, excludes, or disadvantages individuals on the basis of their group membership.

Macrosociology

The branch of sociology focused on studying large-scale social phenomena and structures.

Microsociology

The branch of sociology focused on studying small groups and micro-level social interactions.

Functionalist Perspective

A theoretical framework viewing each part of society as a functional contributing factor to the overall survival, stability, and balance of that society.

Conflict Perspective

A theoretical perspective viewing different parts of society as constantly at odds and engaged in a power struggle over scarce, highly valued resources.

Feminist Perspective

A theoretical perspective derived from the conflict perspective that views gender as the primary sorting device in all societies.

Interactionist Perspective

A micro-level perspective studying everyday, taken-for-granted forms of social interaction to understand how face-to-face interactions construct the social world.

Anomie

A term identified by Emile Durkheim describing a loss of direction felt in society when normative controls break down.

Auguste Comte

The philosopher known as the founder or father of sociology.

Karl Marx

The co-author of 'The Communist Manifesto' (with Friedrich Engels) who examined how capitalism shapes society through class conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat.