sociology
9/10 family & culture
shifts in family life in the US today
decline in married adults
marriage at a later age
a rise in divorce
growth in cohabitation
growth in marriage among same-gender couples
increases in non-marital childbearing
marriage
aspirations for marriage remain high - 74% of high school seniors in 1976 expected to marry at some point, compared with 79% in 2014
decline in married adults
70% of adults lived with a spouse in 19
divorce
divorce rates have been high since the late 1970s
46% of women's marriages ended in divorce in 2010
divorce rate among younger adults has declined since 1990 but not declined for older americans
cohabitation
the proportion of adults lving together ahs increased sicne the 1960s
more children are born to unmarried cohabititing partners
fertility
declined precipitously after the baby boom through the early 70s
increased from the mid-1990s to 2007
declined since 2007
key component is that hispanic immigration decreased leading to decreased fertility rate
same gender unions
in 1970 12% of children lived in single parent families compared to 27% of children in 2018
families v households
biological kin have become less likely to reside in the same household
family as a social institution
Chodorow (1989): the family as a place where reciprocal typification between parents and children takes place
Stacey (2011): What is considered the family is a historically and culturally situated
in every society family is a way of navigating a tension between eros (romantic/sexual/intimate life) and domesticity
what is the family
people who consider themselves family - emohasizing emotional bonds and chosen and lived relationships
A group created through kinship - socially recognized relationships that connect people to one another—creates expectations of identity, obligation, and behavior
stacey’s research on the mosuo people
tisese/ walking marriage:
9/15 education as a social institution
education & life chances
College is a pathway for economic opportunity. But students enter with different experiences, resources, and preparation
Occupations requiring a bachelor's degree have a higher median annual wage
Educational attainment is strongly linked to occupation
less than half of us adults have a bachelors degree
94% of students who had parents w/ bachelors degree or higher attended college, 60% of students with parents who didnt have a degree attended college
the american dream
society is fundamentally open
children have equal life chances
individuals carve out their life paths thru hard work effort and talent
Differences in outcomes are because of individual effort and initiative
individuals are responsible for the outcomes they achieve.
wealth
richest 10% of families own
nearly 80% of real estate outside family homes
90% of stocks and bonds
60% of money in bank accounts
child poverty
1 in 5 live below the poverty line
the rate for black children is twice as high
poverty rates r higher in the us when compared western european countries
unequal labor market
decline in good jobs with high wages, benefits, retirement, advancement opprotuinities
growth in bad jobs with low wages, no benefits
education as a social institution
Schools do more than teach academic knowledge
They organize students' daily lives and shape interactions between children, teachers, and institutions
concerted cultivation: intentional effort to grow certain attributes and knowledge and give their children opportunities
accomplishment of natural growth: working class parents focus on meeting their children's basic needs
habitus
concerted cultivation > entitlement
accomplishment of natural growth> a sense of constraint
HABITUS: the ways we think feel and act are developed through everyday social expierences
dispositions develop thru repeated experiences in the family, schools, and other social institutions
how we interpret situations and respond to them often without consciously thinking about it
Bourdieu on inequality
the power of individuals to define what constitutes a highly valued activity
reasons why particular social practices are valued more highly than others
strategies individuals use to maintain or improve their social position
9/17 education, family + class
class
material access: access to economic resources (jobs, income, housing, education, wealth/capital)
structural position: economic resources are unevenly distributed within society and people have different levels of access
social identity: how people understand themselves and others
social relationship: class differences are produced through interactions and institutions
unequal material position is reproduced over generations in part because of systemic forces and
capital= the resources someone possesses and can draw on to confront institutional arrangements in the social world
economic capital: what u have
cultural capital: knowledge and skills
symbolic capital: who you know
field: institutional arrangement in which people act and interact each with its own rules and valued form of capital
habitus: a sense of what is comfortable to us shaped by our different social locations and the socialiaziation that happens there
internalized dispositions
perceptions
ways of acting/thinking
the resources parents possess which allow them to provide particular opportunities and expierences for their children - ex of economic capital
parents have different knowledges and practices which are valued differently by institutions (knowledge of how schools work, parents ability to interven/negotiate/advocate, ways of speaking and interacting). middle class parenting is more likely to be rewarded as legitimate by schools.
bourdieu
this is all related to power and how those in power shape what is valued
legitimation: the privileges are not seen for as they are but rather percieved as being earned by individual ntelligence, talent, status, knowledge
bettie (2000)
class performance: class as something that is performed and accomplished and isnt just material location
class isnt a biological fact its a socially created structure
cultural capital
ways of speaking
clothing/appearance
cultural preferences and styles
ways of interacting with authority
educational expierences
schools assign different values to these resources and their expression
the performance of class is shaped and shapes racial/ethnic and gender emaning
9/22 work, gender & race
drviing question: what explains differences in men and women’s expierence in the work place?
why
for money to pay for life
gender disparities
women in the us make .85 cents for every dollar earned by men
racial and ethnic disparites in the gender wage gap:
black women earn 64 cents for every dollar a white man makes
hispanic women earn 60 cents per dollar a white man makes
ocuppational segregation by sex
the participation of men and women in different fields is uneven
“sex typed” jobs = jobs typically held by men or by women
the jobs typed for women tend to pay less
natural difference schemas
attributes gender workplace differences and inequality to “innate differences in cognitive and physical abilities, reproductive roles, and emotional landscapes”
basically argues its bc of biology
cultural schema: cognitive map used to make sense of the world that can be applied to a variety of contexts and social interactions
social constructionist theories
symbolic interactionism: expierences are shaped by everyday interactions not only with structures/institution but with individuals
structural patterns are created through how people treat each other on a day to day
human capital theory: attributes unequal workplace outcomes to differences in education and experience level
gender socialization theory: gender differences in occupations are due to childhood socialization
parts that are highlighted r what i have 2 read
9/29 sociology of the body and gender
social construction of the body
guiding question: to what extent have humans shared a common embodiment across time?
throughout history and across different cultures the body has been conceptualized, engaged, and expierenced in different ways
the body isnt presocial and uniform across all societies
examples are changes in beauty standards and grooming norms
humans rely on social norms, rituals, and training to navigate the world as we dont rely solely on instinct shaping how we use our bodies
techniques of the body
various schemes and frameworks that have been applied to the human body
-different forms of we comport our bodies while eating, standing, walking, dancing, playing sports, child rearing
sociology of the body
the qualities of our bodies arent independent from culture and society across time
the social environment shapes the body
sex differences arent necessarily fixed
the environment of people is the social world and the natural world
environment can shape the size of a difference in sex and gender
biology and the environment interact in shaping observable differences between men and women — not simply “nature vs nurture”
girls have learned to see physical space as more constraining and limiting than boys
transcendence: someone with subjectivity and agency
immanence: treating a body as object without subjectivity
subjectivity: idea, lens, expierences of being a thinking human
10/1 The body and race
race
natural difference schema of race: race is an embodied attribute that we can identify visually
social construction of race: concepts of race have shifted over time and differ in different sociohistorical conditions
race and racial meanings are not stable/consistent
the significance of racial categories has varied
examples:
the irish and jewish werent considered white in earlier us history
asian americans were regarded as threats to the nation during the “yellow peril'“ campaigns in the 19th-20th centuries. later we get the model minority
what race means in different countries can vary widely based off of different historical environments
racialization
though race is a social construct there is a corporeal dimension to the concept of race
phenotypic differences; skin color, hair texture,
phenotypic differences arent necessarily seen the same way across time and place
sociohistorical practices of conquest and domination
race and racial meanings is a way of classifying people on the basis of real or imagined attributes
racial othering is a way to justify subordinate status, unequal treatment and structure exploitation and oppression.
racial projects
efforts to shape the ways in which human identities and social structures are racially signified and the reciprocal ways that racial meaning becomes embedded in social structures
projects that take place where social structures are being organized along racial lines
building blocks in the racial formation process
examples: prisons, redlining, coalitions
racial formation
a web of peoples, actions, social structures, relationships and identities where race is important and meaningful because of all of the above
sociology of race
race is institutional and ideological - tied to political ideas
organizes our institutions
specific to tiem and place
race is a product of attitudes and prejudices vs race as a social structure rooted also in instituitons, patterns of inequality, social geography, and political power
race is enacted through the body not just labeled and attached onto bodies
bourgois and schonfeld 2007
ethnicized dimensions of habitus:
the white homeless drug users were more likely to go to small businesses to beg for work
they internalize the shame of their position in society
more likely to beg for money with a sign and looking sad
the black homeless drug users were less likely to beg for work and be treated poorly for their labor bc their parents worked in labor unions and a historical memory of labor exploitation from slavery
more likely to either steal or offer a service ie car washing or engage people when begging
10/6 sexuality, labor & family - gay
sex, gender, sexuality
sex: biological characteristics; genitalia, hormone levels, chromosomes. used to describe people as male and female
gender: social and behavioral dimension, used to describe people as feminine/masculine
sex/gender system: set of arrangements where a society turns biological sexuality into products of human activity
human reproduction is shaped by historical + social arrangements
sex; material body
gender; roles + identity
sexuality; procreation, bodily interactions, desires, pleasures
sexuality as a social construction
rules abt ways bodies meet, touch and interact
designation of forms of desire/pleasure as masculine/feminine and natural/unnatural
a social domain and not just biology
foucault
argues that sexuality as a domain is a social product.
things that are considered sexual vary and fluctuate across time and cultures
relationship between the social and sexuality isnt just regulation/limits(negative force) but also production+instigation(positive force)
sexuality as identity
way of how someone makes sense of themselves
sexuality is defined by its connection to the gender + sex of others
hetero-homosexual binarism
homosexual
heterosexual
bisexual
queer
defining ones sexuality in terms of homosexuality/heterosexuality is a fundamental way that ppl make sense of themselves in contemporary culture
this is a recent invention
medical model of sexuality
idea that homosexuality is an inherent biological quality part of their nature. doctors defined homosexuality as a condition. as a result of this it became a primary way those who expierenced homosexual desire defined themselves.v
sexuality as a discourse
19th century medical discourse
20th century pop culture representations and street level practices/dynamics
taxonomies of male sexuality
early 20th century category of queers vs men. division of queers vs normal men. seen as a gender category. sexual desire was regarded as fundamentally gendered
the 2oth cent fairy was a way of constructing normal and deviant sexuality
inverting their gender, homosexual desire was one aspect of this but it also included dress and mannerisms
in working class spaaces it was scene as agender identity rather than sexual identity
intersectionality:
gay identity and patterns of life are shaped by class, race, gender
the modern homosexual though established in the 19th cent didnt dominate western urban industrial culture until well into the 20th cent
homos v heteros late 20th century. based on choice of sexual object. sexual desire is seen as an object of desire
21st ccentury: sexual desire is regarded as the singular characteristic that distinguishes them from straight men]
10/8 compulsory heterosexuality
compulsory heterosexuality - rich 1983
heterosexuality isnt an innate/natural preference all sexualities are socially shaped
society imposes heterosexual relations onto women
Rich argues that heterosexuality isnt natural and is a socially enforced system that breaks the primary nurturing connection women naturally share with their mothers
lesbian existence
the historical presence of lesbians that have been erased
the ways women have formed independent lives and communities away from male control
sexuality and gender are both shaped by power
lesbian continuum
a wide range of relationships between women like deep friendship, political solidarity, romantic love
relationships between women with an erotic dimension
eroticism vs genital sexuality
male dominated society has reduced lesbianism and sexuality to clinical or sexual acts
exam
multiple choice
1-3 written responses
revisit at least 1 text per unit
answer these questions:
something interesting i remember without re-reading
most important takeaway
2-3 key terms
alienation and historical materialism 10/20\
social theory
concepts and explanations for understanding how society works, how social relationshops are organized, why social institutions and inequalities exist
looks beyond individual expierences to broader social patterns
asks how social structures shape ppls lives
connects everday expierences to larger historical +social processes
classical social theory
developed in response to transformations in modern society particulary 19th cent europe
industrialization: factory production, wage labor, urbanization transforming work and daily life
capitalism: markets, private property, new class relationships reshaped by economic life
political revolutions: new ideas of citizenship, democracy, rights,equality
social disruption: traditional communities and institutions changed
classical social theorists
karl marx
emile durkheim
max weber
WEB Dubois
driving questions
how does modern society shape individual life?
what produces social order and conflict?
how do we explain persistent differences and inequalities between groups?
karl marx
he examined how the organization of economic life structures human lives and social relationships
historical materialism
mode of production: production of the material necessities of life is organized in historically specific ways and generates historically specific ways and generates historically specidic social relations.
feudalism → capitalism
capitalism as a mode of production: private ownership of the means of production and use of wage labor
capitalism is a historical system rather than a natural or permanent way that people produce the material needs for life
class conflict
— the material interests of the capitalist and working classes are opposed generating class struggle
bourgeoisie: those who owns the means of production
proletariats: those who must sell their labor power for wages
exploitation: workers produce more value than they receive in wages; capitalists appropriate the surplus value
class struggle: a central change mechanism of historical change
alienation
— the struggle between capitalist and worker which determined wages also reduced the worker to the status of a commodity
workers arent just exploited they are also dehumanized and
commodity: things that are made and sold in the capitalist market
people form and develop ourselves by working on and transforming the world around us with others
the person is the initiator of this interchange between person and the world
capitalism shifts control over this process to external entities making what is human nature alien to us
when what should belong to humans becomes coerced we are alienated from ourselves
alienation from human nature
alienation from others
alienation from ourselves
species being
our avility to consciously and creatively transform the world through work is what seperates people from other animals. we can work on goals outside of instincts
humans are naturally creative and productive
alienation seperates humanity from its own potential
we are alienated from species being bc work becomes a repetitive means to survive
alienation from product
workers dont own or control the goods they produce; the products belong to the capitalist
commodity fetishism
trying to meet our needs through consumption to fulfill desires for meaning
alienation from the process of work
workers have little control over how they, often performing repetitive tasks dictated by employers
work isnt voluntary but coerced
alienation from other people
capitalism estranges people as people become disconnected from one another and their shared human nature
unalienated labor
people would freely express themselves through their work'
products would reflects ourselves
work contributes to others'
work would be done for enjoyment
10/22 connective labor
connective labor
— labor where people interact with each other making them feels seen/understood/cared for
central 2 jobs like nursing, teaching, healthcare
not exclusive to the fields above
ai and tech have furthered alienation in many jobs, especially those that involve ppl interacting with others face to face
depersonalization crisis
problem where ppl increasingly feel unseen + disconnected from others as human relationships are displaced/degraded by technology
efficiency imperative
institutions standardizing work, reduce costs and increase productivity through AI
human relationships that make work meaningful are undermined
pugh argues
we should evaluate ai by whether is harms/helps human connection
10/27 and 10/29 anomie and social facts - durkheim
anomie
social facts
elements of society which exist independently/exert influence on individuals
thus society can be studied scientifically
society imposes itself through social norms and values where conformity is expected/encouraged
thru social facts we acquire values, religious beliefs, language, technology use, etc
sociology provides means of studying philosophical questions empirically rather than metaphysically/theoretically
sociological method
aims to identify observable cause and effects relationships
uses a comparative-historical approach to eliminate extraneous causes and find commonalities between different societies and their social facts
clearly delimit and define the object of study
structures research and provides a condition of verifiability
strive to be as objective as possible and remove any subjective bias or attachment to the object of study
to treat social facts as if they were material things
social facts resist the action of individual will; as products of collectivity social facts are difficult to change
suicide
a sociological phenomenon that should be studied and understood sociologically
rates of suicide are mostly stable over time but vary
suicide rates vary by social group
societal patterns can be used to understand and approach research in sociology
egoic suicide
results from low social integration and weak social ties
when society is no longer present to individuals as an important source of meaning and direction, suicide rates increase as the bonds integrating individuals into their societies weaken and break
anomic suicide
suicide results from social dislocation in societies where traditional norms have lost authority and no longer provide clear expectations or limits on individuals
collective life and shared moral norms
consciousness is rooted in the group, imposed externally and produced symbolically
in contrast to marx where production organizes social relations and shapes consciusness
collective consciousness
society is the synthesis of individual consciences greater than the sum of its parts
society = an ensemble of ideas/groups/sentimentss realized thru individuals and interactiosn
the problem of modernity
modernity disrupts social integration and moral regulation.
traditional communties are weakened, labor is divided and becomes mroe complex, shared social norms and social attachments that provide direction weaken
11/3 spirit of capitalism and the iron cage
discussion
ppl feel like they are wasting their time if they arent making money
ppl treat time like money bc u need money for material needs vs making money solely for the sake of having money
taking on debt to make more money traps ppl in the capitalist economy
we have to use money to make more money or else it is wasteful
psychological pressure
moral attribution to someone who accrues wealth
to not make money is a moral failing
avoidance of enjoying life thru spending money instead focus on only accruing more wealth
weber argues that bc life’s calling is to make money any other activity is a waste
Positivism
school of thought that stresses objectivity and statistics. application of scientific method to sociology
think of durkheim
Verstehen
highlights the importance of subjective expierences and lived expierences
empathy, understanding
seeing the world through the lense of ppls perspectives
interpreting human behavior from the actor’s own point of view
protestant work ethic and the spirit of capitalism
webers framework
like marx weber sees history as determined by social struggle between historical actors who seek to change society thru their interests
unlike marx the interests of groups are not solely material
people act on the interests as they percieve and interpret them in light of identity
interests are subjective and specific historic circumstances matter
protestant work ethic
the cultural/religious ideas of ascetic protestantism acted like a historical switch in the development of capitalism
protestant reformation rejected the idea that people shld withdraw in monasticism
everyday labor in a secular profession or trade was a divine calling meant to glorify god
pre-determination of who is damned
spirit of capitalism
the worldy ascetism of protestantism acted as ideological change tracking economic development toward rational capitalism
protestant ideas become more widespread
ppl dont act on objective interests but on their interests as they percieve them - how they see where they sit
example: americans tend to overestimate their position in income and wealth distribution. ppl may identify as middle class even though they arent objectively and act on that belief
capitalism is more than an economic system its a way of organizing life
social change
domination: history isnt only a struggle for the means of production but also a struggle over the means of domination
11/5 rationalization
rationalization
the historical process where socal life became organized around:
calculation and efficiency
predictabilty
rules
administrative expertise
shift from traditional society to modern society
traditional: customs, religious authority, personal relationships, meaning and purpose based in community
to modern society: rules, control, bureaucracy, impersonal
weber argues that modern society traps people in a cage of rule based control
BUREAUCRACY
hierarchies of authority
speicalized roles and divisions of labor
written rules and procedures
impersonal decision making
records, documentation, and accountability
iron cage
individuals bcome more subject to rules, procedures, institutional demands they have little power to change
modern bureacracy make it so people spend more time serving systems , these systems were created to serve human purposes
rationalization and economy
production applies scientific & bureaucratic approach to maximize profit and strive toward total efficiency
disenchantment
the world increasingly understood thru scientific explanation, technical knowledge and calculation
events once attributed to the supernatural become subject to scientific explanation
authroity of religious and magical explanations declines in certain areas of social life
religion no longer provides a universal framework for understanding the world
testimonial politics
thru religious testimonies problems are framed as individual rather than social, political and structural problems
11/10 racial capitalism and the racial wage
Du Bois: racism and the unequal organization of economic life and modern society
race is a way the social world is structured
racial capitalism
capitalism isnt just an organization of economic relationships but also produces relations of race
racism isnt a matter of prejudice/attitudes but embedded in capitalist economic relations
race structures labor and class relations
racial wage
white workers receive social and psychological benefits from whiteness, even when they are economically exploited themselves
the compensation of whiteness is why workers dont unite
even when white workers were exploited they recieved social and political advantages unavailable to black workers
ex: acces to public institutions
class divide
capitalists used the racial hierarchy as a wedge to separate workers who shared economic interests turning white and black laborers against each other
by perceiving their racial status and superiority over material gains, poor white workers historically voted/acted against their own economic well-being
gilmore 2007
she analyzes prisons as institutions where racial capitalism manages surplus land, labor, and populations in the context of deindustrialization
deindustrialization — restructuring of capitalism — prison expansion as a way of managing the social and economic consequences of these transformations
surplus capital: money seeking profitable investment opprotunities
surplus land: rural agricultural land that has become less valuable/economically productive
surplus labor: deindustrialization produces unemployment, economic abandonment, workers and populations are displaced by economic restructuring
surplus of state capacity: gov resources are put to build and expand prisons
the reason prisons are expanded not bc of rising crime but as a solution to the economic problems of capitalism, rather than investing in social services.
gilmore def of racism: the state sactioned/extralegal production and exploitation of group differentiated vulnerability to premature death
racism is the tool that decides who gets designated as surplus and disposable
thru patterns of incarceration of racial minorities and ideological justification is created thru racism to justify imprisonment