theroy and history

Focus: Morality in a secular age.
View: Society must operate on laws, paralleling physics.
Positivism: A philosophical school of thought emphasizing an objective, scientific method-based approach to social science.
Stages of Morality:
- Theological: Early stage focusing on religious explanations.
- Metaphysical: Transition stage with abstract concepts.
- Scientific: Final stage characterized by empirical evidence and testing.

Works:
- Society in America (1837)
- How to Observe Morals and Manners (1838)
Contributions: Explored physical and social dimensions of American life, including education and state/federal relationships.
Views: Critiqued slavery and advocated for women’s education.
Quote: "The intellect of women is confined by an unjustifiable restriction of… education… The choice is to either be 'ill-educated, passive, and subservient, or well-educated, vigorous, and free only upon sufferance." - Society in America

Interests: Cohesion of society and the impacts of industrialization and modern capitalism on individual interactions.
Ideas:
- Division of Labor: Influences on morality and societal structure.
- Suicide (1897): Work analyzing the social reasons behind suicide rates.
- Anomie: A cultural state of aimlessness and despair from the breakdown of societal norms and values.

Focus: Religion, ontology, and philosophy.
Influence: Significant impact on later sociologists, including Marx and Weber.
Dialectics: Concept involving the resolution of conflicting ideas,
- Formula: Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis.

Focus: Historical progression through economic systems and social forces.
Key Works:
- The German Ideology (1845/6)
- Capital (1867)
Theories:
- Dialectical Materialism: Historical events driven by conflicts among social forces.
- Use Value: The utility of a commodity to a person.
- Exchange Value: The market equivalent of a commodity compared to others.

Concepts:
- Economic Base: Foundation of society influencing the political and cultural superstructure.
- Division of Labor: Apportionment of tasks among individuals.
- Alienation of Labor: Condition where workers feel disconnected from the products they create.
- Exploitation: Situation in which workers do not receive full value for their labor.
- Labor Theory of Value: Economic principle linking the value of goods/services to required labor:
- $Value = ext{Socially Necessary Labor}$ .

Focus: Intersection of culture, economics, religion, and politics.
Concept:
- Verstehen: Understanding social behavior through subjective meanings.
Works:
- Economy and Society (1922)
- The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905)
Protestant Reformation: Created foundations for modern capitalism, shifting values from virtuous poverty to hard work and wealth accumulation as signs of piety.

Group Description: Collection of sociologists at the University of Chicago.
Concept:
- Social Ecology: The impact of social and physical environments on behavior and personality.
Research Themes: Urbanism, immigration, family life, race, ethnicity, poverty, and politics.
Findings: Exploration of community breakdown and the resultant creativity and freedom.
Key Researchers: George Herbert Mead, Jane Addams, Robert E. Park, Louis Wirth.

Cooley's Interest: Development of self-concept.
Concept:
- Looking Glass Self: Formation of self-image based on perceived views of others.
Mead's Contribution: Advances in American sociology regarding social behavior.
- Generalized Other: Collection of societal roles and attitudes serving as behavioral reference points.

Role: Influential figure in the Chicago School, known for Hull House.
Hull House: Center addressing community needs by applying academic lessons.
Label: Regarded as a social worker and activist influenced many Chicago School theorists.

Structural Functionalism: Theory that social institutions serve essential roles in society.
Examples of Functions: Crime, education, healthcare, arts, etc.
- Function Types:
- Manifest: Explicitly stated functions.
- Latent: Hidden, often unintended consequences.
Notable Structural Functionalists: Auguste Comte, Émile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, Robert Merton.

Focus: Racial consciousness and the African American experience.
Key Contributions:
- Co-founder of NAACP
- The Souls of Black Folk (1903)
Concepts:
- Double Consciousness: Awareness of self as an individual contrasted with societal prejudices.
- The Veil: A metaphor illustrating the separation faced by blacks in understanding their identity amidst white societal standards.

Definition: A theory suggesting social change occurs through conflict and competition among different classes.
Main Proponents: Karl Marx, C. Wright Mills, Max Weber.

Symbolic Interactionism: Focus on shared meanings influencing motivations behind actions.
Concept:
- Dramaturgical Theory: Analysis of social interaction as performance.
- Front Stage vs. Back Stage: Behavior differentiation based on social context.
Key Work: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959).

Origin: Emerged from rejecting modernism.
Characteristics: Questioning the objectivity of knowledge and history.
Definitions:
- Postmodernism: Condition rejecting the idea of linear progress in history.
- Social Construction: Ideas that gain acceptance through behavior and reinforcement by social institutions.

Key Figures:
- Michel Foucault (1926-1984)
- Focused on knowledge, power, and the social treatment of mental illness.
- Works: Madness and Civilization (1961), Discipline and Punishment (1975) introducing the Panopticon concept.
- Jacques Derrida (1930-2004)
- Known for the concept of Deconstruction.
- Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007)
- Contributions through Simulacra and Simulation (1981).

Emergence: Developed from the women's liberation movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
Definition: Encompasses a range of theories focused on women's experiences and societal subordination.
Themes: Analysis of power relations and gender roles.
Feminist Theorists: Notable figures include Laurie Penny, Cinnzia Aruza, Gloria Steinem, Shulamith Firestone, Tithi Bhattacharya, Nancy Fraser, Judith Butler, Audre Lorde, Bell Hooks, Patricia Hill Collins, Lise Vogel.

Microsociology: Examines local interactions, employing methods like ethnographies and in-depth interviews.
Macrosociology: Explores broader societal dynamics through qualitative approaches, such as historical comparisons and broader surveys.