Soci101 - Final

Gatekeeping

Gatekeeping

Controlling access to groups, communities, organizations, etc.

Families as a unit of consumption

Industrialization radically changed the family form to this (from families as a unit of production). Buying the newest goods to solidify the good provider role

Geeksploitation

Taking advantage of no-collar employees who desired creative work, friendly workplaces and the sharing of knowledge

Iron cage of bureaucracy

Excessive rationality of the system leads to following the system to meet the ends and justify the system

Generalized reciprocity (Swyers)

Exchanges with others without the expectation of immediate return

Max Weber and power

Weber argues that power is the ability to exercise one’s will over others. This is accomplished through authority; the acceptance by people to follow specific procedure.

Credentialism

The overemphasis on a credential (college degree) to indicate qualification or status

The credential does not necessarily correspond to an equal increase in job requirements

Social capital

The relationships, norms, and trust between individuals that facilitate action in others

Durkheim-Sacred vs. profane

Sacred : Spaces and practices that are considered extraordinary and special. These tend to bring about unity within groups

Profane : This is mundane and ordinary. Tends to be individual, not group, concerns

Frederick Winslow Taylor (Taylorism)

Time motion studies to find the most efficient method to complete a task

Nuclear family

The nuclear family model (father, mother, child) is the best for contemporary industrial society

Wedding industrial complex

Chrys Ingraham argues that marriage is promoted by financial interests.

Increase markets = increase profit, the merging of industry with social rituals surrounding marriage

Prescriptive structure

Clear cut rules as to who holds which position and how much power they have within the group

Species being

[Karl Marx] Production (work) is an expression of life. People find their humanness through free and meaningful work

Industrial time

The rationalization and standardization of society necessary for capitalist economies

Imagined communities (Benedict Anderson)

Benedict Anderson argues that national identities are imagined communities and the result of socio-political constructions

• the rise of nations after the feudal era required a sense of unity

• Nations are too large for everyone to know, or come into contact with, other members of the group (nation)

• Individuals “imagine” that there is something that binds people together, e.g. borders, ideas, cameraderie

Propinquity

James Bossard found that the nearness and repeated interaction influences mate selection

Service sector economy

Taking care (Swyers)

Expressing an interest or concern for others; e.g. The Regulars, the team, Wrigley Field

Fictive kin

Unrelated individuals that share emotion ties that are characteristic of family relationships

Semiotics

System of signs that provide meaning and are accepted by members of the group

Functionalist view of family

Family is the keystone of society

• Traditional gender roles are necessary for the proper functioning of the family unit

• The nuclear family model is the best for contemporary industrial society

• Marriage is the only state in which procreation should occur

• The weakening of the family structure is the root of many social problems like poverty, juvenile delinquency, sustance abuse, teen pregnancy, women in the workplace and adultery

• Changes in society are the result of change in the family structure

The Second Shift

Hochschild argues that the second shift is the extra, non-paid work that women perform as being a working mother including

• making breakfast for everyone

• being the go-to parent for appointments

• thinking about cooking every meal

• cleaning & laundry

No-collar workers

Workers that seek meaning and satisfaction from their job

New (gig) economy

Gesellschaft

(society)

Social relations motivated through Kurville (arbitrary will). Interactions are marked by being indirect, impersonal, and self-interested

Feminist view of family

Family structure must adapt so as to provide a safe and nurturing space for all family members

Changes in the family structure are the result of changes in other social structure; economy, education, workplace, etc

Social problems are not a direct result of changes in the family form

Performative structure

Structure created through accepting roles and establishing rules, no formal coordination

Collective effervescence

A feeling of belonging through collective ritual action

Positive rites

Actions that are expected to be performed and carried out by members of the group or society

Positive rites offer a sense of agency over actions that are beyond the control of the individual(s) and the group

“Success” reinforces the practices of the group

Cult of domesticity

The belief that true womanhood centers on child rearing and domestic duties

Underemployment

Not working the desired amount of time (hours) or work that doesn’t utilize one’s full abilities or skills

Serial monogamy

The practice of an individual marrying several times but only after each prior marriage has ended in death or divorce

Negative rites

Actions that are considered taboo by the group or society and should be avoided.

Violation of a negative rite is taboo.

A practice that goes against the beliefs and norms of the group

Emotional cultures

The rituals and practices that become sacred and special for one's self and group

• family reunions, special holiday meals, special outings

Hochschild points out that

• can change over time

• not all activities need to be sacred as they are often routine

Gemeinschaft

Community. Social groupings motivated by Wesenwille (essential will) between members, personal relationships that are founded on traditional rules, natural emotions, and sentiments

Superstition

Repeated patterns of behavior that follow no logic or reason

Marriage markets

Industrial time (Swyers)

Family as a unit of production

Pre and early industrial families worked together to provide a sustainable lifestyle

• Industrialization removes the father from the home

• Good provider (male role that emphasizes the husband as primary economic provider)

• Caregiver (female role that emphasizes the wife as responsible for wellbeing of the family

Remarriage as an incomplete institution

Cherlin

• Family relationship are framed on first, never divorces, marriages

• Remarried families face more barriers than first marriage families

• Remarried families are at a greater risk for another divorce + taboo

Charismatic authority

Based on dynamic personality and personal qualities

Boundary-less career

Job offered in the new (gig) economy that provides freedom to employees

Advantages

• Transient relationships between different employers

• portable skills and flexible opportunity

Disadvantages

• Lack of stability

• Possible lack of benefits or intermittent benefits

Max Weber; types of authority

Weber argues that power is the ability to exercise one’s will over others. This is accomplished through authority; the acceptance by people to follow specific procedure

Hierarchy

Ranking of members in social groups by power, influence, dominance and ability

The narratives in the bleachers help to establish hierarchy within the community

The most senior member sits in the death seat

Even as an informal community and group, The Regulars seem to have an organizational and hierarchical structure

Wealth work

Jobs that cater to the wealthy

Working poor

Those persons who work but still fall below the official poverty line

Boundary maintenance (Swyers)

The ways in which societies and groups maintain distinctions between themselves and others

Free trade

Policies based on open, non-discriminatory, trade i.e. little to no tariffs and taxes on imports or exports

No-fault divorce

Marriage is a legal contract recognized by the state

To break the contract one of the parties must file some grievance or harm

1969 Governor Reagan of California signs the no-fault divorce bill into law

The idea behind no fault divorce is to make the process less adversarial

Arlie Hochschild (emotional geography)

Home (Sanctuary) ←→ Work (Stressful)

Homogamy

The tendency to select mates/partners based on similarities

Likeness in education level, income level, religion, race, ethnicity, phenotype

Rituals (Swyers)

A set of actions performed for the symbolic value

Often actions prescribed by the traditions of a community

• Rituals signify membership to the group. Building a sense of belonging

• Rituals provide an identity within oneself and others as being part of the community or group

Occupational sex segregation

Concentration of men or women into fields dominated by one sex

Invisible labor

The unseen and unpaired work that is put in to maintain the family

• basic caregiving, including for aging parents/relatives

• general chores around the house

• Women conduct 66% of those activities

• Driving children to and from activities

Narrative

The creation of meaning through stories that define out lives

The regulars create their community through sharing stories from the bleachers throughout history

Off-shoring

The decision to move part, or all, of a company’s operations overseas so as to minimize costs

Division of labor

Separating the work process into different tasks that can be performed by separate persons or groups

For Adam Smith:

• Produce goods in an efficient manner

• Reduce the cost of goods

• Reduce the amount of time a person must work

• Create an enjoyable lifestyle for all

A standard currency as a medium of exchange replaces the inefficient barter system

Footing (Swyers)

The interaction, gestures AND the implicit understanding of the relationships of all people in the community, group, society

Footing is necessary for ritual and group cohesion

The framework that allows individuals to understand the situation

Taboo

A ban or prohibition of a behavior or utterance imposed by a social group

Conditions of possibility

Allows for changes over time and help to shape the bleacher community

Outsourcing

Contracting out, or doing jobs elsewhere, that were done in house

Two-tier economy

Economy divided into 2 separate groups

Generally lower earnings, few or no workplace benefits and less stable employment

Higher earnings, workplace benefits and more stable employment

Displacement effect

Automated technologies that replace individuals but generally are no more productive than the worker

Industrialization

The transition of an economy primarily based on agriculture to one based on manufacturing

The shift resulted in changes to:

• Growing rationalization; e.g. time clocks, regimented work, standardization

• Family structures, i.e. institutionalizing the good provider and care-giver roles

• Changes in consumption patterns

Bureaucracy (Weber)

The bureaucracy is the best for operating large organizations

The bureaucracy relies on:

• Strict rules and regulations

• Promotion based upon merit

• Decisions without emotion

• Power residing in the office and not the person

Fair trade

Trade agreements that seek equity in the international markets. Policies that promote decent working conditions and “fair” prices for farmers/workers

Post-industrial economy

The service economy

Economy focused on providing services rather than producing goods. The service economy is marked by

• Lower wage jobs

• Greater employment instability

• Reduction in benefits

Americans work more hours and take fewer vacation days than workers in other industrialized countries. Possible reasons

• trends towards salary work

• trends towards overtime work

• need for two jobs

Pink collar workers

Jobs that are predominantly held by women and usually compensated at lower rates than are jobs held by men

Signifying contract

The requirement, or obligation, to behave in ways that reflect the values of the group