Theory and Methods Booklet 1

Consensus theory

A sociological perspective that views society as functioning harmoniously with shared norms, values, and goals.

Structural differentiation

The process in which different institutions in society become more specialized and develop specific functional roles.

Value consensus

An agreement upon the shared practices, norms, values, beliefs, moral codes, and goals in society.

Social integration

The sense of belonging to a society or community.

Social control

The mechanisms, both informal and formal, that enforce societal norms and values and maintain social order.

Manifest function

The intended and recognized function or purpose of a social institution or practice.

Latent function

The unintended or unrecognized function or consequence of a social institution or practice.

Proletariat

The working class who own their labor and are exploited by the bourgeoisie.

Bourgeoisie

The capitalist class who own the means of production and exploit the proletariat for profit.

Lumpenproletariat

The lowest social group who are unable to gain class consciousness and act as a deterrent for the proletariat to revolt.

Petty bourgeoisie

The middle class with the lowest social status who have the same politico-economic ideology as the bourgeoisie.

Class consciousness

The awareness and understanding of one's social class and the exploitation and oppression associated with it.

Materialist theory of history

The idea that the economic base of society shapes the superstructure, including ideology, culture, and institutions.

Base and superstructure

The economic level of society (base) and the social, political, and cultural institutions that are shaped by the economic base (superstructure).

Marxism

A social and economic theory that analyzes the exploitative nature of capitalism and advocates for a revolution by the working class.

Social class

The hierarchical divisions in society based on wealth, income, and occupation.

Bourgeoisie

The top level of social class, consisting of the capitalist class who own the means of production.

Proletariat

The bottom level of social class, consisting of the working class who sell their labor to the bourgeoisie.

New class

A class that is no longer based solely on wealth or income, but on other factors such as education or occupation.

Class consciousness

The awareness and understanding of one's own social class and the exploitation by the ruling class.

Neo-Marxism

A revised version of Marxism that takes into account new developments and challenges in contemporary society.

Global Marxism

The application of Marxist principles to the global scale, highlighting the exploitation and inequalities in a globalized world.

Hegemony

The intellectual and moral leadership exercised by the dominant class to maintain their ideas and values.

Social action

The actions and reactions of individuals that shape personal identity and influence wider society.

Verstehen

The empathetic understanding of individual motives and actions, a key concept in sociology.

Instrumental social action

Actions carried out to achieve a specific goal or result.

Value social action

Actions that are carried out for their inherent value, without a measurable result.

Traditional social action

Actions that are carried out because they have always been done that way, without a specific goal.

Affective social action

Actions that are based on emotions and affections, often with little control.

Weber

Max Weber, a founding father of sociology who emphasized the importance of understanding individual motives and actions.

Typology

Weber's classification system for social action, categorizing actions into instrumental, value, traditional, and affective.

Empathy

The ability to understand and share the feelings of others, a key aspect of Weber's sociological approach.

Social structure

The pre-existing social arrangements that shape behavior and interactions in society.

Free will

The belief that individuals have the ability to make choices and act independently of societal structures.

Symbolic interactionism

A sociological theory that focuses on how individuals create meaning through the interpretation of symbols and the interactions with others.

Stimulus

The original symbol that evokes a particular reaction or response from individuals.

Interpretive phase

The process of interpreting the meaning of a symbol, which can vary depending on the individual.

Response

The reaction or response to a stimulus, which is dependent on the interpretation of the symbol.

The "I" and the "Me"

The "I" represents the individual's self-opinion and choices, while the "Me" represents the socialized aspect of the individual based on interactions with others.

Role of the other

The process of taking on the perspective of others to understand how they perceive and interpret symbols.

Looking Glass Self

The idea that individuals develop their sense of self through the perceptions and judgments of others.

Dramaturgical Analogy

The comparison of society to a stage, where individuals act out performances and manage the impressions they give to others.

Impression management

The constant effort to shape the impressions others have of oneself through performances and behaviors.

Labelling Theory

The theory that focuses on how labels applied to individuals or groups can influence their self-identity and interactions with others.

Subcultures

Groups of people with distinct cultures that differentiate them from the larger mainstream culture.

Folk Devils and Moral Panics

The concept that media can create exaggerated and distorted images of certain groups, leading to moral panics and the labeling of individuals as deviant.

Social order

The maintenance of stability and organization in society.

Ethnomethodology

The study of how people construct and maintain social order through shared meanings and rules.

Breaching experiment

An experiment that aims to disrupt people's sense of order and challenge their assumptions about a situation.

Structuration

The theory that focuses on the duality of structure, where individuals both shape and are shaped by social structures.

Patriarchy

A system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress, and exploit women.

Liberal Feminism

A feminist perspective that seeks reform rather than revolution and argues for smaller changes in the position of women in society to achieve equality.

Radical Feminism

A feminist perspective that believes women are exploited by and subservient to men, advocating for radical transformation of society to overcome patriarchy.

Marxist Feminism

A feminist perspective that links women's subordination to capitalism, arguing that women's unpaid domestic labor supports the interests of capitalism.

Difference Feminism

The belief that women of different backgrounds and experiences have unique perspectives and should not be treated as a homogenous group.

Ethnocentric

Referring to the tendency of certain feminist factions to focus primarily on the experiences of white women in the Western world, neglecting the diverse experiences of women from different ethnic backgrounds.

False Universality

The criticism that traditional factions of feminism claim to address issues about women in general, but actually concentrate on the experiences of white women, leading to a limited and biased understanding of women's experiences.

Intersectionality

The recognition that different aspects of a person's identity, such as race, class, gender, and sexuality, intersect and interact to shape their experiences and social inequalities.

Essentialism

The belief that all women share the same experiences and characteristics, disregarding the diversity and complexity of women's lives.

Post-structuralist feminism

A feminist perspective influenced by thinkers like Judith Butler and Joan Scott, which challenges fixed categories and explores how power and knowledge shape gender identities and social structures.

The Enlightenment Project

The belief in the power of reason, science, and progress to improve society and human conditions.

Power and Knowledge

The interrelationship between power and knowledge, where knowledge is seen as an exercise of power and power is seen as a function of knowledge.

Metanarratives

Grand, overarching theories or explanations that claim to provide a universal understanding of society, which postmodernists argue are no longer valid or applicable.

Late Modernity

The recognition that key features of modernity have intensified, such as rapid social change, disembedding of social relations, and reflexivity in decision-making.

Duality of Structure

The idea that social structures both enable and constrain individual actions, creating a constant interplay between agency and structure.

Risk Society

The concept that late modern society faces new types of risks and dangers, particularly those arising from human activities and manufactured risks.

Disembedding

The process by which social relations become detached from local contexts and traditional forms of social interaction, leading to a more globalized and interconnected society.

Reflexivity

The ability of individuals to reflect on their own actions and make choices based on self-awareness and evaluation of risks and opportunities.

Simulacra

The idea that in the postmodern era, media imagery has become so dominant that it has replaced reality, blurring the boundaries between representation and the real world.

Hyperreality

The condition in which the boundaries between reality and simulation become indistinguishable, resulting in a society where simulations and representations are more prevalent than actual experiences.

Late Modernity Evaluation

The assessment of the relevance and applicability of theories of late modernity to contemporary society, considering the intensified features of modernity and the changes in social structures and individual experiences.

Postmodernism Evaluation

The evaluation of the postmodern perspective, considering its critiques of metanarratives, the dominance of media imagery, and the endless versions of truth in society.