Midterm 2 Material Sociology

Political Sociology

-empirical study of the way social and economic factors affect power and politics`

Theory of Divine Right of Kings

-God selected the King, who we respect because we respect God

Social Contract Theory

-We obey because we consent to a government - Thomas Hobbes, John Locke

Power (Macht)

-any ability to get your way, including violence or money even if complying parties are unwilling

Domination (Herrschaft)

-Probability that others accept commands as valid. Complying parties are consenting

Legitimate Authority

-A reason or motive for obedience: Rational (Legal), Traditional, Charismatic

Rational (Legal) Authority

-legal rational process such as voting

Traditional Authority

-Tradition makes this person the authority such as a hereditary monarch

Charismatic

-This person inspires people to obey with their vision / personality (hitler)

Political Culture

-Broad set of beliefs and values generally held by a country/political entity (America loves guns)

-Associated with Seymour Lipset

Social Exchange Theory

People make the best decisions for themselves, which has formed the authority that exists. Social order is produced by self-interested individuals.

Associated with George Homans

Discourse Ethics

Perspective on morality based on communication. The ideal society is one with free speech.

Associated with Jurgen Habermas

Types of Government (Good/Bad)

The one: (monarchy/tyranny)

The few: (Aristocracy/Oligarchy)

The many: (Constitutional Government/Democracy)

Liberalism

Government is authorized by the consent of the individuals governed

Democracy

Rule by ‘the people’. The will of the People outweighs the needs of the few

Dominant Ideology

Worldview of dominant group - status quo

Reformist Ideology

Suggests small changes

Counter/Radical Ideology

Questions the base of dominant ideology

Base/Superstructure Model

Marxist model of society claiming institutions are just a superstructure that depends on the underlying ‘base’

Modernization

Transition from traditional to industrial economies

Associated with Barrington Moore

Class of the dominant group determined how societies turned out (large peasant class in Russia lead to communism)

(Ideological) Hegemony

Gramsci’s term for intellectual and ideological control of society by the dominant class. (University encourages us to get a job and work for those in power)

Legitimate Violence

Max Weber’s term for violence by the state (police, military) The state has a monopoly on legitimate violence

Exception

Situation that cannot be covered by law, as it was not foreseen

Friend/Enemy Distinction

Schmit: groups will only survive if they can identify their enemies who could potentially destroy them

Populism

Political movements that claim to speak for the people, often against elites. Us vs them

Myth

Georges Sorel - creating an existential threat (real or not) Us vs Them

Manichaeism

Frantz Fanon - Tendency to view the world as good vs evil

Secularization

Development of non-religious states - removing religion from politics and public life

Talal Asad - modern states vs the world. Modern states are rational while other countries are frantic and religious and backwards

Nation

Idealistically unified image of society - national identity. Belonging to a unit (Canadian)

Nations can have states within them

Nation-State

Ruling institution over an ethnic/cultural group

The State

The whole set of institutions responsible for regulation social relations and steering society as a whole

Politics

The struggle for control of the State

Weber - whoever controls the state has the right of legitimate violence

Cybernetics

Study of society’s conscious mechanism of control ex (state)

Talcott Parsons - State has the function of Goal Attainment in AGIL

Niklas Luhmann - Systems theory: society as a series of interlocking systems. State is cybernetic (it monitors and steers society)

State: Government and State Institutions

State

Overall centralized political and social apparatus of decision making and administration

• Government

Branch of state tasked with making decisions and setting policy

• State Institutions

Carry out policy, maintain law & order

Forms of government: Who governs?

• One
  • Good (monarchy) single, wise ruler
  • Bad (tyranny) one person rules for their benefit
• Few
  • Good (aristocracy) rule by the “best”
  • Bad (Oligarchy) small group exploits power
• Many
  • Good (constitutional government) shared between the ‘best’ and masses
  • Bad (democracy) rule by the ‘rabble’ can be chaotic

Civil Society

The rest of society - not centrally administered like the state

Bureaucracy

Trained/talented (non elected) officials to administer organization

Max Weber - Bureaucratic dalmatian can end up trapping us in an ‘iron cage’ of rigid procedures

Public Sphere

Third space between private and political in which free debate takes place to form public voice

Jurgen Habermas - institutional form of discourse ethics

Lifeworld (Habermas)

The part of life that depends on social discussion.

System

Efficient social structures that automate society and decrease lifeworld in favor of efficiency (mass media is run by profit, not the need for truth.)

Liberal Democracy

Open public sphere; theoretically governed by citizens with protection of right of free speech etc

Authoritarianism

Strong central leader who may rely on force to ensure compliance (Putin)

Totalitarianism

State controls all aspects of social and political life. The state is above the law (Hitler)

Separation of Powers - different branches of government to avoid abuse of power

• Executive

Power to carry out the law

• Legislative

Power to make the law

• Judiciary

Power to interpret and apply the law

Direct Democracy

Referendums, the people make the decisions

Representative Democracy

• Proportional Representation
• First past the post

Pluralism

No single or unified ruling ideas - try to include many voices. The government protects this diversity (Canada)

Citizenship

Membership in a state that grants rights and liberties protected by institutions of government

Civil Liberties

Freedom of speech, assembly, movement, press - government leaves us alone

Civil Rights

Government empowers us to vote

Economic Class

Possession of material wealth

Social Status Group

Attribution of honor, prestige or privilege

Political Party

Control of legal or political power

Sources of social power:

• Ideological
• Economic
• Military
• Political

Polyarchy

Decisions emerge from multiple sources of power, not just a single state controlling group

Power Elite

Small group at top who have effective control over power (in contrast to polyarchy)

Vertical Mosaic

John Porter’s study of class in Canada

Closure

The way elites maintain position by monopolizing opportunities (men run the government)

Class Consciousness

A class’s awareness of its shared interests as a class

False Consciousness

Misguided beliefs believed by classes that actually advance interests of rulers

Class Politics

Political behavior based on class origin (choosing parties to represent my class)

Terry Clark & Seymour Lipset state that class is declining in significance in politics

14. Deviance and Crime

Social Structure

Regular, predictable, repeated forms of social relations (student and professor). Social structure makes society efficient and possible.

Deviance

Behavior that contradicts normal social structures or values. Doesn’t always mean open revolts against society, but the deviant is usually aware of being deviant

Conformity

Going along with the norms of society; fulfilling others expectations. Different from compliance as conformity entails accepting norms

Durkheim - society requires us to be similar so that society remains stable

Compliance

Obeying society, even if I don’t agree with it

Social Stigma

Personal characteristic that makes me different from societal norm

Erving Goffman - People try to hide their stigma - covering, passing, selective association. These stigmas are socially constructed

Primary Deviance

The basic act of deviating without identifying as deviant. You know it’s wrong but it's not major enough to consider myself as a deviant.

Secondary Deviance

The willing or unwilling incorporation of being a deviant as a sense of self. This can lead to more deviant behavior

in the future.

Anomie

Durkheim’s term for normlessness or lawlessness - a state in which norms have less regulating power over us. In anomie, we feel lost - we have no meaning in society.

Differential Association Theory

Through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attributed, techniques and motives for criminal behavior

Social Contract Theory

Crime occurs because of a lack of strong social bonds between individuals and society. Specifically, the parent, child discipline structure. A strong bond between individuals and society can decrease crime.

Strain Theory

Society puts pressure on us to achieve certain goals, but doesn’t provide adequate means to all people. Those who are excluded feel anomie and are forced to turn to illegal means to achieve goals.

• Conformity

Accept goals and means

• Innovation

Accept goals; reject means - crime

• Ritualism

Rejects goals, but accept means (I don't care about money, but I go through the motions of job)

• Retreatism

Reject goals and means - attempt to escape from it all

• Rebellion

New goals and means - try to overthrow existing social goals and means totally

Victimology

Study of who becomes victims, and under what circumstances. What groups are victims of crimes? Why? Victims tend to become criminals

Four theories of victimology:

• Routine Activity Theory

How people spend their time. Victims are those whose daily routines place them in dangerous situations. (Residential Schools, prison)

• Lifestyle Theory

People who engage in high risk activities are more likely to become victims (drug addicts)

• Deviant Place Theory

Victims are those who spend time in high-risk places such as poor people living in Chiraq

• Victim Precipitation Theory

Something about the victim may encite criminals - regardless of intent. (Native women)

Types of Punishment:

• Retribution

Harms criminal because they deserve it - an eye for an eye

• Deterrence

Harms criminals to frighten other potential criminals - public hanging

• Rehabilitation

Reforms the criminal into a useful member of society - court ordered rehab, education

• Restorative Justice

Remedies/undoes the harm done to the victim - make graffiti artist clean it

• Incapacitation

Prevents future harm to community by keeping criminal out of it - long prison sentence

Recidivism

Repeating criminal offenses after punishment

Prisonization

Prison changes a person, and may make them a worse person and return to crime (prison Meg)

Repressive (Criminal) Law

Restitutive (Civil) Law

• The Cannibal

Guy who killed people who consented to being killed and eaten by cannibals. He was charged with murder despite video evidence of consent.

• The Naked Rambler

Naked guy in British countryside

• The Heavy Metal Fans

Two men shot themselves after a night of drugs and music. Their families sued the band

• The vagrants

Sent the homeless people to BC on one way bus tickets

Criminalization

Things that used to be tolerated become criminal

Labeling Theory

Criminality as a product of the label that society applies to certain acts and not as the result of intrinsic character flaw. The acts aren’t harmful, but these groups are frowned upon in society

Great Confinement

Movement in 17th century to lock up ‘mad’ people. We need to cure these people and return them to reason

• Hierarchical Observation

Subject is under constant observation for achievement by an unseen power (University grades)

• Normalizing Judgment

We are expected to meet certain standards of achievement (you should be able to read by grade 3)

• Examination

Direct analysis of individuals and compares them to others (GPA)

Discipline

The ‘training’ of humans to meet standards of society. Our society is a panopticon that constantly watches and evaluates us. (we are forced to study for tests to achieve a grade that dictates our worth)

16. Social Programs: Education

Cliques

Small groups held together by self-defined set of norms or taboos; often seek to exclude others or set strict conditions of membership

Subculture

Distinct cultural group; different but not in opposition of the mainstream

Structural Functionalist account of education

Manifest, Laten function. High school helps prepare us for work , but also how to interact with people outside of family

Hidden Curriculum

Critical theory: education indoctrinates us with hidden values. Girls (home ec) Boys (football). Another latent function is keeping kids off the streets.

The hidden curriculum teaches kids to expect a certain place in society.

Identity Crisis

Erikson’s term for the challenge faced in adolescence of reconciling your own sense of self and ability, the expectations of others and your position in society to create a stable identity or ego

Total Institution

Foucalt’s term for social institutions that we spend our entire time in (morning and night).

Formal Education

Education in recognised institutions (U of A)

Informal Education

How we learn for ourselves outside of institutions

Meritocracy

Social rank should depend on ability, not on birth or wealth. If everyone has the same educational opportunities, the ones with the most talent will rise to the top

Credentialism

Qualification requirement to take a jobs (need a degree)

Trophy Child

Treating one’s child as a status symbol. Valuing a child by its educational or sporting achievements alone.

Capital: 3 Types

• Economic Capital

Means of production, money

• Cultural Capital

Knowledge of culture and more concrete signs of your education (I can act smart because I go to University (talking to mom about psychology))

• Social Capital

The people you know, your connections in society

Desegregation

Attempt to ensure mixed ethnicity by schools. Combats inequality of opportunity

Streaming

Practice of sorting children into classes by educational achievement at a young age. Higher performers are given tougher, more challenging material and expect better jobs in the future.

Liberal Arts

The education required to be a free citizen and take a full part in civic/political life. As opposed to practical arts (carpentry, farming) not free because they are necessary for humans. Liberal arts are beyond what is necessary to survive.

Critical Thinking

Ability to understand complex arguments, think independently and express yourself verbally. Contrasts with discipline-specific knowledge.

Banking Model of Education

Students are treated as empty bank accounts to be filled with knowledge by the teacher.

Critical Pedagogy

Teaching that encourages students to think and behave as problem solvers and be critically aware in learning. Opposes the banking model of education.

Research University

Universities focus on research of teachers. If Westerman was a terrible teacher but had a lot of research he would certainly keep his job.

Institutional Theory

Focus on incentivisation of behaviors and consequences. (Research theory encourages teachers to spend more time on research and disincentives teaching.)

Disciplinary Society

Foucalt’s term for a micropolitics of power, manifest in numerous small institution and everyday instances of control Educational system is part of a broad system to train you

15. The Mass Media: Politics, Economy, Psychology

Mass Communication

The transmission of message from one source to huge audience at same time

Mass Media

The technology (radio, tv, etc) that allow mass communication (medium=singular, media = plural)

Public Opinion

The consciously held and explicitly expresses values, beliefs, opinions, views of a significant part of society

Public Sphere

Set of social institutions creating a space for people to come together and discuss social problems and formulate public opinion - Habermas

Integration

From AGIL - bringing members of society together in a common set of values. The media fulfills this role

Hypodermic Needle Model

Public uncritically absorbs messages from the media. Assumes we are all sheep.

Two-step flow of communication model

Media is filtered by opinion leaders who consume, interpret and spread messages.

Gatekeeping

Process of selecting which info passes through to the public.

Agenda Setting

Media’s ability to determine what themes are important in public/political debates.

Priming

Priming happens when news media suggests to audiences ways and specific issues that should be used to evaluate the performance of leaders and governments.

Framing

How the media presents a particular news story, the spin they put on it.

Spiral of Silence Theory

The way minority opinions, beliefs, views disappear over time from public debate, as people become afraid to express them.

Alternative Media

News source that presents marginalized or countercultural perspectives. Less profitable.

Native Advertising

Advertisements disguised as news stories, often in respectable news outlets

Niche Marketing

Advertising and products targeted at very specific sections of the population

Uses & Gratifications Theory

What are the personal reasons people have for choosing the content they consume? Avoids value judgements

Political Economy Perspective

Looks at the relation between economic ownership and power over society. Recent decades have seen increasing concentration of ownership.

Conglomerate

Large business structure with interests in different fields.

Commodification

Treating an object as a commodity to be bought and sold. Media is focused on profit, not quality news.

Homogenisation

When differences disappear, we all become the same.

Colonization of the Lifeworld by System Imperatives.

Habermas sees invasion of financial motives into the media as a threat to democracy. Systems start to colonize part of the Lifeworld. It is no longer part of the public sphere, only profit matters.

The Medium is the Message

How something is said is more important than What is said.

Moral panic

Widespread irrational fear of threats to social values, stability, and well being.

Moral Entrepreneurs

An individual who tries to gain status by presenting themselves as the defender of certain moral norms.

Cultivation Theory

Constant images of threats, violence and conflict on TV lead the public to be constantly terrified, and more supportive of hardline solutions for nonexistent problems.

Sociology of Religion

Theology

Philosophical, systematic study of gods, including whether or not they exist. Metaphysical/moral arguments

Sociology of Religion

Doesn’t make theological points. Examines social impact of religion.

Rites & Rituals

Collective practises in religion

Doctrines & Beliefs

Ideas, values and metaphysical claims that religion makes about its Gods

Institutions

Religious insitutions with authority over those claiming the religion

Organized religion

Set of social institutions and shared worship towards a god

Folk religion

Religious/mystical beliefs and practices as they are understood among the people without formal institutions.

Spirituality

Informal, personal beliefs about a transcendent realm. Perhaps involving spiritual experiences.

Ecclesia

Official state religion - includes everyone in a society. Very structured set of beliefs. (Ancient Greece)

Denomination

Large, but not the sole religion in society. Membership by accepting doctrines. Tolerated, but not connected to the state. (Protestantism)

Sect

Smaller, often new. Somewhat outside society. Very self-conscious of what makes it different.

New Religious Movement (NRM) / Cult

Small, suspicious. May be counter-cultural. Deep emotional commitment. Charismatic Leader

Routinization of Charisma

Gradual transformation of extraordinary charismatic authority into regular, bureaucratized forms for the sake of stability. Religions normally begin as NRM’s. When the charismatic leader dies, the closest followers will take over and routinize his charisma into rules, doctrines, stories.

Sacred

Objects set apart from daily life; holy. (Jesus’ Blood)

Profane

Objects of everyday use. Cannot come into contact with sacred objects.

Totem

Sacred symbol that represents the group as a whole. Characteristics of this symbol, animal, object etc, are also characteristics of members of that society.

Negative Rites

Things the individual has to avoid or go through (hazing) to be purified

Positive Rights

Things we must do to remind ourselves of the origins of our society.

Suicide (Durkheim) -

• Egoistic

Lack of social bonds, lonely

• Altruistic

Excess of social bonds, religious martyrs

• Anomic

Lack of social rules, bankrupts

• Fatalistic

Excess of social rules, prisoners

Collective Effervescence

Overwhelming rejoicing - losing yourself in the crowd

Civil Religion

Collective festival that isn’t religious, but shares features - Buccaneers game.

Protestant Ethic

Weber - Protestants placed moral worth on hard work and prudence

Capitalism

Individuals must work hard to increase profits. Protestant Ethic was crucial in the emergence of capitalism. Previous society did not value money as much, but Protestantism encouraged people to work hard and be frugal.

Theodicy

Theological attempt to explain why there is evil in a world made by God

Theodicy of good fortune

Why do some people prosper? Do they deserve it?

Theodicy of Suffering

Why do good people suffer?

Symbolic Universe

Total, internal consistent set of values and beliefs that members of a society draw on. How individuals explain society to selves.

Materialist Conception of History

Marx - human society is based on systems of production. Capitalism -> Protestantism

Intellectuals

Gramsci - People who do mental labor

Traditional Intellectuals

People who are recognized as intellectuals (Priests, professors, lawyers, etc)

Organic Intellectuals

Intellectuals in the working class. Can be counter hegemonic

Millenarianism

Humanity is irredeemably corrupt, the apocalypse is coming, after which we all will be better.

Secularisation

Decline in Religion in society

Social Differentiation

The tendency for overarching social system to split up into smaller, more specialized sub-systems

Rationalization

Social decline of traditional motives, values, and beliefs. (capitalism wipes out religion which wiped out witchcraft)

Disenchantment of the world

De-magicalization. Increasing scientific explanations instead of supernatural forces. Leads to a decline in meaning as all values are undermined and lose their foundation. (it's not raining because God is mad)

Fundamentalism

Religious movements that believe their religion has become corrupted and drifted away from its origins.

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Max Weber - conflict theorist

We choose to obey political structures because we think it is right

Three types of domination

Legitimate Violence - violence carried out by state (police, military)

Tripartite - class, status, party explains inequality

Seymour Lipset (Lip Set)

Explained differences in political culture using english speaking countries as an example

(english speaking - saymore LipSet

George Homans (Ho mans)

Social Exchange Theory - social order is produced by self-interested individuals. (I sacrifice liberty to gain security)

Jurgen Habermas

Discourse Ethics - ideal form of communication to establish right and wrong morals.

Public Sphere - people have power that they can express through public debate and discourse

Lifeworld

Aristotle

Different types of government -the one, few and many

Antonio Gramsci

Hegemony - intellectual and ideological control of society by the dominant class through control of intellectuals

Schmitt

Friend/Enemy Distinction - groups must identify enemies that could potentially destroy them

Georges Sorel

Myth - the creation of an existential threat to create a movement

Talal Asad

Modern states are rational while others are religious; irrational; backwards

Talcott Parsons

State has the function of Goal Attainment in AGIL

Political systems help promote citizen engagement in social tasks

Niklas Luhmann

State is cybernetic

Systems Theory: society as a series of interlocking systems

Barrington Moore

The relationship between industrialization and the future government of a nation

Class of dominant group affected how societies turned out

(Russia had a large peasant class leading to communism; Germany had a strong military class during industrialization)

Georg Lukacs

Russian workers suffered from false consciousness - they stuck with the ideology of their oppressors

John Locke and baron de Montesquieu

Separation of powers to avoid exploitation

Robert Dahl

How decisions were made in New Haven - many different groups influenced any one decision. There were many ways to make opinions known

C Wright Mills

Pyramid shaped power structure: small group with most power, medium group with some influence, and the masses are disorganized

G William Domhoff

Three overlapping groups at the center of the location of power: Social upper class (Logan Paul), corporate community (executives), and the policy planning network (hired experts)

John Porter

Vertical Mosaic - hierarchy of groups in Canada

Frank Parkin

Closure - elite groups limit access to opportunities for other people in other groups

Durkheim

society requires us to be similar so that society remains stable

Anomie can lead to suicide. Without society’s limit on us, we feel sad as our limitless desires go unfulfilled. We feel lost and adrift when not guided by society.

Erving Goffman

People try to hide their stigma - covering, passing, selective association. These stigmas are socially constructed

Dramaturgical Method; staging (preparing)

Edwin Lemert

All of us engage in acts of minor deviance without being labeled as deviant

Travis Hirschi

Crime rises because delinquents don’t feel a bond with society

Robert Merton

Those who feel anomie due to not having means to achieve goals are forced to turn to crime. (Strain Theory)

School: Manifest: prepare us for jobs Latent: teach us social values

CT Fisher

Victimology; Victims tend to become criminals

Donald Clemmer

The humiliating nature of prison is at fault for personalization (prison Meg)

Edwin Schur

There are many victimless crimes that are criminal

Stanley Cohen

Criminalization comes from moral panic - the belief that a particular group is a threat to social order. (young people on tiktok - ban tiktok)

Howard Becker

Labeling theory - people who are labeled as deviant tend to do more deviant activity. Things can be labeled as deviant not because the act is wrong, but the group is frowned upon.

Michel Foucalt

Great confinement - movement to confine or lock up ‘mad’ people. We need to cure these people and return them to reason

Compares modern education to prison systems - panopticon (proctored exams that track eye movement)

James Coleman

Rules governing relations between teenagers. Students were expected to play roles (nerds, jocks). There was a clear status rank (jock>nerd) High schools are bad at preparing students for life - it teaches the value of immediate signs of success and look down upon the hard work to succeed

Inequality in opportunities for different races (black) and poor areas

Erik Erikson

2 of 8 stages in school: Competence (5-12) learn to complete tasks; shame and inferiority. Fidelity (12-19) Who am I and what can I be (Identity Crisis)

Frank Parkin

Credentials are not necessary for most jobs. Credentials exist because groups want to limit the number of people who can enter so they can protect their position

John R Seely

Examined the expectations inculcated in children of wealthier families. Families wanted children to be perfect and successful. This can put a lot of pressure on the kids.

Bourdieau and Coleman

Capital: Economic, cultural, social

Richard Arun & Josipa Roksa

45% of students make no improvement in critical thinking over a 4 year degree. Liberal arts saw the most gains. Business students declined in critical thinking.

Paolo Friere

Criticizes the banking model of education for treating students as passive.

Christopher Jenks & David Riesman

Research Universities arose after WW2 in the academic revolution. (countries wanted to get ahead in research.)

Walter Lippmann

The masses are too uninformed/irrational to make decisions. Elites and specialists manipulate and shape public opinion

Robert Park

Newspapers helped immigrants adjust to values of new country

Lazarsfeld, Berelson & Gaudet

In the 1940 US election, people were less influenced by the media, and more influenced by face to face interactions with opinion leaders they knew (two-step flow model)

David Manning White

Exam gatekeeping decisions by a newspaper editor. Found that these decisions were highly subjective.

Bernard Cohen

The media can’t tell us what to think, but it can tell us what to think about

Max McCombs & Donald Shaw

Agenda Setting - most voters did not actively investigate news, but topics covered more in media became important

Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann

Spiral of silence theory - people become afraid to express unpopular opinions

Kent Commission

Criticized near-monopolies in Canadian media

Herbert Gans

Found prevalence of sensationalist negative news stories. If it bleeds it leads.

Marshall Mcluhan

The media is more effective if it plays on emotions and bypasses critical thought.

Franz Neumann

Nazi’s gained support by creating fear through propaganda (moral panic.)

George Gerbner & Larry Gross

People exposed to violence on tv are afraid about violence in the world. Consequently, they support hardline political solutions. Gerbner & Gross have been criticized for assuming viewers are entirely passive in watching media.

Robert Merton & Paul Lazarsfeld

Media can be dysfunctional; it narcotizes us by overstimulating us. Compassion Fatigue

Jean Baudrillard

Commodity Fetishism - We fetishise modern commodities, we treat them as if they have magical powers (old spice will make the ladies love you.)

Hyperreality - It is impossible for us to distinguish between reality and manufactured hyperreality.

Weber

Routinization of Charisma

Durkheim

Religions are defined by the fact that they categorize all objects as sacred or profane.

The purest form of sacred/profane distinction is found in totemistic religions. This totem is part of their identity.

-religion integrates us (AGIL)

-Protestants kill themselves more

Robert Beller

Civil Religion - Flames game. Celebrate group solidarity, not necessarily religious.

Peter Berger & Thomas Luckmann

Symbolic Universe

Engels

Worked with Marx. Admired Millenarian Thomas Muntzer. (apocalypse)

Talcott Parsons

Social differentiation - social systems split up into smaller, more specialized sub-systems as society gets larger and more complex.