sociology

What is race

Race is a social construct and is also based on biology. It's the physical differences that groups and cultures consider socially important.

What is ethnicity

a shared cultural heritage with a group of people

Minority

a group within a larger society that experiences social disadvantages and discrimination based on physical or cultural characteristics of its number size

Minority majority

A demographic situation where a population group that is considered a minority make up more then 50% of the total population in a specific geographic area

The 5 racial categories

1. American Indian or Alaska native

2. Asian

3. Black or African American

4. Pacific Islanders

5. White

What is gender?

The social characteristics of masculinity and femininity

What is sex?

The biological grouping of males and females based on their chromosomes, hormones and genitalia

Social construction

A societally created phenomenon independent of inherited factors like biology and genetics

Biological determinism

The belief norms and vaules that are directly caused by genetics and biology rather than social factors

Socialisation

The process where people gain the knowledge, language, social skills, and values of the norms of a given culture/society

Gender socialisation

This is the process where an individual learns social skills, values and norms about their gender

Symbolic interactions

Understanding the process of gender and socialisation. This is studying and theorising about the face-to-face interactions

It focuses on how people create and interpret symbols

What is culture?

The way non-material objects like thoughts, actions, language values come together with material objects to form a way of life

Symbols

are anything that carries a particular meaning recognised by people who share a culture

Language

is a system of symbols that allows people to communicate

Values

are the cultural standards that people use to decide what is good or bad

Beliefs

are specific ideas that people hold to be true

Norms

are the rules and expectations that guide behaviour within a society

3 main types of norms

Folkways

Mores

Taboox

Folkways

are the informal everyday rules of behaviour

Mores

are more official and tend to be codified

Taboo

is crucial to a society's moral centre. Not all norms have clearly defined morals

2 main parts of culture

The culture of things

The culture of Ideas

Theoretical frameworks

have been developed to try and understand the inner workings of cultures

Non-material objects

are the ideas of what human society has ideas of .eg the colour of the lights and

the culture of things

around you, the colour of the car, the width of the road, books, transport, these are material things. We are doing what is to be told, don't question it

What is socialisation?

The social process through which we develop our personalities and human potential, and learn about our society and culture. Surrounded by people, and the people become part of how we act and what we value.   We gain socialism by interacting with other people which starts before the baby is born.

Who do we learn about the social world from?

It's a lifelong process where it starts with families, from your mum, dad, aunties, and grandparents, they are your entire social world when you are young

Main sources of solicitation

family (primary socialisation)

School (secondary socialisation)

Peers (secondary socialisation)

Media

Primary socialisation? (Family)

Your first experiences with language shape your beliefs, behaviours, and norms of your society. Y\

Secondary socialisation ( school peers, media)

This is the process by which an individual learns the basic values, norms and behaviours that are expected of people outside of the main agency of the family.

Gender socialisation (anticipation socialisation)

Learning the psychological and social traits associated with a person's sex.

Race socialisation (anticipation socialisation)

The process through which children learn the behaviours, values and attitudes associated with racial groups.

Class socialisation

Teachers, the norms and values, traits and behaviours you develop are based on the social class you are in.

What is Class?

To the groups of people with similar societal status (determined by socio-economic factors like income and family

What is Stratification?

The categorisation of classes based on power, prestige and wealth

different social class- Underclass

a group of people with a lower social and economic position than the other class of society

different social class- Working poor

people who work but earn very little money, so they are unable to save or pay for more expensive things

different social class Working class-

people who earn little money are often being paid only for the hours or days that they work

different social class- lower middle class

consists of well-educated people who have good jobs, but they are not poor but not rich.

different social class- upper middle class

consists of people who have the highest social rank and are rich.

Class socialisation (anticipatory)

This is where your parents convey to their children the values that go along with being upper-class class middle or lower.

1990s Leroys research found by observation

A parent's approach is very different depending and how they educate and disciplined there kids. She found that upper middle class parents tend tp be more invalided in there children social and educational life

Political views

These tend to vary across class groups. The upper class is more likely to be more financially smart and socially progressive rather the lower class, which is the opposite

Religion

The upper class are more heavily represented in groups such as Judaism, Episcopalians Hinduism and atheism. Where lower class are more likely to identify s catholics or evangelical protestants

educational attainment

The more people who have access to good education the more equal a society gets or how they think.

income segregation

The same level of income lives in the same neighbourhoods. Living in a good neighbourhood with low crime, good schools, better quality and better job access, but to have all these things, you have to have a higher income than if you look and a lot

Agency

is our capacity to freely choose and shape our own lives, as well as influence the world around us.

Structure

is how social structure deep social forces and large-scale insinuations, such as the economic system and gender inequalities

define Seeing the general in the particular-

looking at the broad social patterns and structures by looking at individuals' experiences.

define Seeing the strange in the familiar

viewing everyday situation or common practices with a fresh perspective, as if experiencing them for the first time. To uncover hidden aspect and underlying social forces.

Sociology imagination

This is the quality of mind that shows us the connections between personal troubles and social structures.  The way of thinking that enables us to see personal problems as public issues

what Evan wills says 1993

He says to deeply analyse and better understand a social issue, we employ 4 sensibilities or ways of thinking

what is Historical sensibility

how how past creates the present

Cultural sensibility

role of shared values, beliefs, practices

Structural sensibility

patterns of social organisations

Critical sensibility

who benefits from it

Applying sociological imaginations

Take a social issue commonly attributed to, or understood in terms of, individual choice or responsibility