sociology review

Opportunity and Assessment

  • Emphasis on fairness and assessing student progress.

    • Instructor encourages effort and assures students that they have every opportunity to succeed.

    • Automatic credit for assignments provided to help students succeed.

    • Completing assignments guarantees half credit, incentivizing completion for more.

First Generation College Graduates

  • Mention of a presentation about first-generation college students.

  • Instructor identifies as a first-generation college graduate and reflects on their family situation regarding education.

Sociology Definitions

  • Sociology: The study of human society.

  • Society: A group of people who reside in a defined area, share a culture, and interact with one another.

Sociological Theories

  • Discussion of "anomie":

    • Definition: A breakdown of social norms in a society.

    • Emile Durkheim: Key theorist in sociology who studied anomie.

Gilligan's Theory of Moral Development

  • Highlights on moral development with gender consideration.

  • Stages of Moral Development

    1. Preconventional: Moral reasoning based on punishment; children avoid wrong actions to avoid trouble.

    2. Conventional: Moral reasoning based on conformity; understanding of societal norms.

    3. Postconventional: Moral reasoning based on individual principles and ethics.

  • Kohlberg's stages: Preconventional, Conventional, Postconventional.

Protestant Ethic

  • Definition: Emphasizes working hard, saving money, and living simply to reach heaven.

    • Suggests a capitalist society where the upper class sees benefits from a hardworking lower class.

  • Links to modern politics: Right-wing Christianity's view on traditional family roles.

Calvinism

  • Definition: A religious doctrine stating that people are predestined for success or failure, with no ability to change their fates.

    • Good things happen to 'good' people, while 'bad' people face negative outcomes, reinforcing social classes.

Privilege in Society

  • Definition of privilege: Special rights or advantages granted by social class, wealth, or status.

  • Discussion on how privilege is experienced by individuals based on societal structure.

  • Examples of privilege in terms of socioeconomic standards and opportunities available to certain groups.

Microaggressions

  • Definition: Subtle, unintentional, often dismissive comments that reflect biases or discrimination.

    • Example: Someone congratulating another on their success without recognizing the advantages they may have had in achieving it.

Prison Industrial Complex

  • Concept of prison as an economic force, providing jobs and benefiting from the labor of incarcerated individuals.