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Three key elements of sociological imagination:
connection between behavioral patterns and social forces
Historical
Anthropological: different groups of people
Critical
The Life Cycle of a Social Problem
Initial Awareness - something is wrong
Public Issue- this is a big issue
Active Debate: Causes/Policies
Political "Solution" (may be temporary -> back to Step 1 bc it is unusual to solve a problem completely)
Lessons of Social Problem Life Cycle
Different people/ groups see issues in distinct ways depending on ideology and material interests
Even the most "technical" social problems are ultimately "political"
Powerful people (and those with media access) get to set agendas and mold discussions
social pathology
social Darwinism- survival of the fittest
Some people are less fit → fit/isolate them and let them die
BIOLOGICAL
Modern Proponents: "innate inferiority"/THE BELL CURVE → Strongly suggest that black people are less intelligent than white (IQ test is inherited )
WEAKNESS:
non-sociological and based on faulty biology
victim blaming
Social Disorganization
truly sociological
functionalism"/rapid change causes problems - rising "deviance," etc.
Policy: restore equilibrium, readjust society, help deviants "fit in"
WEAKNESS:
group blaming
Social Structural
Emphasizes how society routinely generates conflicts and inequality
change institutional political economy not individuals → NON-person blaming
WEAKNESS:
Extreme
version denies any personal responsibility → perceiving people as “robots”
why do ppl believe in fake news
We often “believe” things we don't fully understand or cant fully explain: climate change, the contagion of the COVID virus
confirmation bias
people believe what they want to believe → MOTIVATED REASONING (The Atlantic-Beck)
misinformation can spread quickly
no trust in US → motivated by fear and insecurity
possibility of social threats, which steers them away from wanting to see the truth
How to combat fake news
With information followed by disscussion and debate that encourages ciritical thinking
Capitalism (ideal typical)
competition between rich and poor people
private property
personal profit
competition (many buyers/sellers)
Laissez-faire (no government interference)
Monopoly Capitalism (actually existing)
big companies controlling everything ex: amazon
megamergers
Oligopoly- two or three companies are competing
Interlocking Directorates
Transnational or Multinational Corporations
Socialism (Ideal typical)
Democratization and participation
Egalitarianism- equality and same social power
Community (cooperation)
Public ownership of basic industry
Corporate Socialism (actually existing)
-Privatization of profit
Various corporate "bailouts" → gov saving banks
political system bias that favors rich and corporate interests
ppl without money are not well represented in politics
big businesses have control over legal policies
Uneven distribution of income
US income inequality is much higher
tax cuts with rich and creates debt with poor
cuts of funding in social services, health, education
Deregulation of banks, stock market, trade etc -> massive profits for business
The US poverty line
poverty: lack of income/resources
assumes that poor families spend one third of their income on food
"real" poverty line should be more than 50% higher
It underestimates the true rate of poverty in the US → leaves out housing, medical, and transportation
Innate inferiority Theory (explains poverty)
bell curve and biological reasoning
you are poor because you are weak
WEAKNESS:
victim blaming
poverty is inevitable
accepts IQ as legit reason
encourages policymakers to ignore poverty
Culture inferiority theory (explains poverty)
Poor have different values/lifestyles from the mainstream
These cultural differences are crucial disadvantage that explain continued poverty
WEAKNESS:
The poor largely share the dominant values
Structual Theories (explains poverty)
How society is organized creates poverty/inequality and makes certain kinds of people especially vulnerable to economic distress
Institutional discrimination: accepted social arrangements and ways of doing things disadvangous various “minority groups”
Political Economical Approaches - Capitalism
Capitalism prioritizes profits rather than needs; globalization and high tech economy → promotes poverty
employers don’t pay workers
investments decisions are made without regard for employees
businesses move offshore to lower costs and maximize profits (less jobs)
Why Poverty is Rising
Presidents push:
to cut welfare and public assistance
budget cuts for food stamps, job training, and aid
2008 Recession led to loss of high paying jobs in manufacturing and increase of low paying sector service jobs (fast food, mail)
Strategies to End Poverty
Job training, guaranteed incomes, income supports, higher minimum wages, new job creations, childcare, health insurance
Define Minority Groups
powerless
appear differently
negative stereotyping
unfair treatment and discrimination
Theoretical Views of Race
Social pathology: biological inferiority
Race (genes) -> IQ
IQ -> socioeconomic status (SES)
Social disorganization -
Moynihan Thesis
“The Vanishing Black Family,” black people aren’t because lack of jobs, they are poor because of their “ghetto culture”
To promote “personal responsibility” and “the work ethic,” poor single mothers with children over three must find employment
1996 Welfare Reform (Clinton)
denies aid to mothers and children
Denies aid to legal immigrants
Imposes 5-year lifetime limit for mothers
Provides almost no funding for childcare, job training, etc
Assumptions:
1 . free market will solve issue - people are desperate enough to find work when forced
welfare dependency - people don’t have work ethic and have “culture of poverty”
Bias Theory
Dominant groups are biased towards minorities (make assumptions, believe the race problem is solved)
Levels of Discrimination
Derogation: Stereotyping language, culture, popular depiction, TV
Denial: exclusion, segregation
Violence: kkk, lynching, gay-bashing, SA ex) police brutality
Institutional Racism
explicit attitudes or racial bias of individuals by the existence of systematic.
Themes:
History helps to determine present conditions and affects resistance to change
Discrimination can occur without individual conscious bigotry or racism
Institutional discrimination is more invisible than individual racism
Institutional discrimination is reinforced because institutions are interrelated
Trends in US Racial and Ethnic Relations
Hostile towards immigrants (more immigrants causes tensions in society)
Hate crimes against Hispanics and people people “who look Muslim” are rising
The widespread police practice of profiling and maltreating Blacks and Latinos, and Arab-Americans
Rising racial and ethnic tensions on a college campus
Affirmative Action
1st: Passive nondiscrmiantion
2nd: Pure affirmative action
3rd: Affirmative action with a preferential selection
4th: Hard Quotas
Immigration Patterns
Settlement to different regions- less in big cities and farms
California as the “harbinger” of the future, whites now minorities
More than ¼ of US “non-white”
Immigration part of US population growth
Why “gender” not “sex”
Many of the crucial differences actually may NOT be due to biology (ex: socialization)
We “play” certain “parts” based position, status, etc
Cost of Traditional Gender Roles
For women:
Relative powerlessness
Limits of Academic/occupational potential
Lower respect for women's abilities
Lower self-esteem
Create identity problems “am i a mother or a career person”
“Empty nest syndrome” -> kid leaves -> now what
Aging and feminine beauty
For men:
Limits full development emotionally and psychologically
distance from family/interpersonal communication
Tends to steer men away from traditionally “female” jobs or avocations (homophobia)
May explain why men life expectancy is lower than men
Androgyny as an alternative
Refers to when someone is not required to play a male or female role
How Technology has Influenced Gender Relations
Frees people from biologically based roles (ex. jobs requiring physical strength)
contraceptives and reproductive technology access
tv perpetuates ideas about gender roles
Societal Costs of Gender inequality
Limits use of human talents through discrimination
Underpaying women hurts family and the domestic economy
Rising feminist consciousness and activism create disruptions like lawsuits
Heteronormality
Heteronormality- heterosexuality is normal and everything else is deviant
Well known attempts to force hetronormality involve gay weddings/”religous freedom” and the transgender “bathroom bill”
Myths about Family
dad is breadwinner, mom is homemaker, two kids in family
in reality, both parents can work. there are many single parent families and extended family homes
Recent trends about Family
Young adults living with parents because of very high housing costs
High housing costs also leading to more “nonfamily households” (unrelated people living in one household)
Fewer households with children – more parents are either not having children or postponing them; more minority households have children
Rising number of dual-worker families – raises the issue of family/work balance for parents and issue of “family leave”; childcare is expensive
Children of single parents face various challenges: lower academic achievement, higher absenteeism, and drop out, more drug use, and more issues in their own marriages
Consequences of Divorce for Men & Women
Men
better off economically
"freed" from childcare (more time for other activities including work and school)
depression, loneliness, and psychological issues
Women
initiate 2/3 of all divorces
mothers with children struggle to parent and survive economically
Causes of Child Abuse
mentally ill parents, actually only 10%
30% of child abusers were abused as children themselves
Chronic substance abuse and addiction
high correlation between poverty and child abuse and neglect
Consequences of Child abuse
brain damage, growth, speech problems, etc.
depression and low self-esteem
language deficits and learning disabilities
do poorly in school on various measures
Anti-social behavior, aggression, fear, anger, stress, poor coping ability
Victims more likely to run away or have contact with police