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sociology > Theory (from theory and methods topic) > Flashcards

Theory (from theory and methods topic) Flashcards

1
Q

Define organic analogy

A

The theory that society runs like a body, is a part of the body breaks down the body does not function properly

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2
Q

Define value consensus

A

The needs for society to have common agreed upon set of beliefs and values

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3
Q

Define Socialisation

A

The process of learning norms and values - primary and secondary

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4
Q

Define social control

A

Conformity and complacency- mechanisms in society that regulate our behaviour I.e. the judicial system, police

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5
Q

Define social order

A

Society running smoothly , enforces normal way of behaving

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6
Q

What are the 3 similarities parsons found between social and biological organisms?

A

Both have self regulating systems of inter-related , independent parts that fit together in fixed ways
Both organisms will die if system needs are not met
Both have functions to support / maintain their system e.g economy helps meet needs for food and shelter

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7
Q

How is social order achieved according to parsons?

A

Through a shared culture or central value system. It is possible if people agree in the norms and values in society ( value consensus)
Would integrate individuals into social system and direct them to to meet systems needs through socialisation and social control

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8
Q

What are the systems needs according to parsons?

A

Goal= attainment = society needs goals and allocated resources to achieve them, completed through government
Instrumental needs = adaptation and integration
Expressive role = latency

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9
Q

Define parsons instrumental societal need

A

Adaptation = the system meets its members material needs through the economy, sub-system
Integration= different parts of the system must be connected to pursue shared goals - this is the role of religion , media and education

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10
Q

Define Parsons expressive societal role

A

Latency= pattern maintenance which prepares people for their roles in the future society (meritocracy)
- tension management

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11
Q

What are the differences between parsons traditional and modern societies?

A

1) Ascription = Achievement
2) Diffuseness= specificity
3) particularism = universalism
4) Affectivity = Affective neutrality
5) collective orientation = individual orientation

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12
Q

Define parsons diffuseness vs specificity

A

Diffuseness = relationships are broad with a range of purposes
Specificity= relationships are narrow and limited to specific purposes

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13
Q

Define parsons particularism vs universalism

A

Particularism = norms emphasis treating different people differently
Universalism = norms emphasise treating different people the same

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14
Q

Define parsons Affectivity vs affective neutrality

A

Affectivity= immediate gratification of desires
Affective neutrality= self discipline and the deferment of gratification

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15
Q

What are Merton’s 3 critiques of Parsons?

A

1) indispensability- parsons assumes everything in society is indispensable= Merton suggests functional alternatives
2) functional unity- all parts of society are tightly integrated as a whole- M = some parts of society have functional autonomy = organic analogy is wrong
3) Universal functionalism=, not everything functions positively for all groups = M argues dysfunctional is neglected by functionalists

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16
Q

External Criticisms of Functionalism

A

Positivists= functionalism is unscientific as it cannot be tested e.g. crime is functional and dysfunctional
Marxism= society isn’t harmonious- divided into classes with unequal power
Action perspective- deterministic- socialized into meeting systems need - ignores free will or choice
post-modernist= functionalism is a meta-narrative - not possible in a modern fragmented society

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17
Q

what is alienation?

A

the proletariat lose control of the products + feel left out in society + like you don’t control the products produced

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18
Q

what is the social relationship of production?

A

how the relationships are organised when making goods (related to the division of labour) e.g. boss and worker relationships

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19
Q

what is the mode of production?

A

a combination of both the means of production and the social relations of production

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20
Q

what is the superstructure?

A

anything that isn’t part of the economic base e.g. culture, ideology, institution

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21
Q

what is an ancient society?

A

everything is shared, hunter-gatherers in society

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22
Q

what is a feudal society?

A

royalty control society by virtue of their heritage and religion. society and production is based on the exploitation of the peasants

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23
Q

what is a capitalist society?

A

capital (money) determines society. Society and production are based on the exploitation of one class, the working class

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24
Q

what is a communist society?

A

the future, the w/c will develop a class consciousness and class will not exist

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25
Q

what is Historical materialism?

A

human beings have needs so they use the means of production
past humans did this through labour but now we have machines + co-operate with one another and enter social relations of production
lead to developing a ruling class
materialism= we need material needs that cost money

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26
Q

what are the economic base and the ideological superstructure?

A

the foundation of a society is the economic base= the means of production which the m/c own
on the top is the ideological superstructure= set of ideologies, or distorted beliefs, which the ruling class construct to legitimise their power and allow them to exploit the w/c

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27
Q

Who is Mary Wollstonecraft?

A

wrote during the time of the French revolution= if we are fighting for mens rights then we must also fight for womens rights
founding mother of feminism
tried to establish a school but friend died in childbirth

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28
Q

what is the difference between sex and gender?

A

sex= biological characteristic assigned at birth of a person
gender = what you identify as later on
socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society consider appropriate for men and women

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29
Q

what is liberal feminism?

A

patriarchy harms men and women
society is improving
e.g. maternity/ paternity leave
sex discrimination act
Somerville

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30
Q

how do liberal feminists critique functionalism?

A

critiques functionalist view of gender roles (Parsons instrumental and expressive roles) by arguing both are equally capable of performing roles in both spheres
e.g. the new man, gender equality policy
LF aim to break down barrier between spheres

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31
Q

Evaluate liberal feminists

A

radical feminists= society is still patriarchal
lib fem exaggerate progress

32
Q

what is radical feminism?

A

society is still patriarchal
e.g. glass ceiling + glass cliff
gender pay gap for people in the same position
Oakley= division of labour
Dobash + Dobash = triple shift
Millet

33
Q

what is the glass cliff?

A

companies put women in positions of power when companies are failing so it looks bad on women

34
Q

evaluate radical feminists

A

Somerville = women are breaking through glass ceiling , discrimination laws help women

35
Q

what is Marxist feminism?

A

women are oppressed due to capitalism and patriarchy functions
women reproduce the labour force, socialise children into capitalist ideologies Ansley= women absorb anger that should be targeted at capitalism
“women are the takers of shit”

36
Q

evaluate Marxist feminism

A

intersectional feminists (difference feminists)
gender + class is not enough to explain how inequalities impact
e.g. ignore ethnicity as a factor

37
Q

what is intersectional feminism

A

takes into account the many ways in which women experience discrimination e.g. Kimberiu Crenshaw
the discrimination white straight women face us different from those faced by women of colour, LGBTQ women and women of other minorities

38
Q

what is the first wave of feminism?

A

liberal feminists
concerned with human + civil rights and freedom of the individual
social change should be gradual and careful not dramatic / revolutionary
equality legislation can secure equal opportunities for women

39
Q

how did the first wave of feminism seek to improve society?

A

gendered socialisation+ education= more domestic labour from men / more male school role models
this will encourage cultural change+ gender equality will be norm
optimistic theory

40
Q

what was the second wave of feminism (radical POV)?

A

Firestone= women’s oppression is due to them being able to have kids- dependent on men
all men benefit= unpaid domestic labour + sexual services
relationships involve power= political when one person uses power to dominate

41
Q

how did the second wave of feminism seek to improve society? (rad POV)

A

sexual politics must be transformed
separatism + political lesbianism (Greer)
consciousness raising= women share experiences + see they r connected through collective action e.g. marches

42
Q

what is the second wave of feminism (Marx. POV)

A

women not oppressed by stereotyping + patriarchal oppression of men but by capitalism
primary role as unpaid home maker = dependent economic position of women= important functions in capitalism:
women source of cheap exploitative labour
reserve army of labour
reproduce workforce
absorb anger= Ansley

43
Q

what is the third wave of feminism?

A

intersectionality
different women have different experiences
Crenshaw
very white westernised view of feminism disagree with essentialism

44
Q

evaluation of second wave of feminism

A

they show greater understanding of importance of structural factors than lib. fem
fail to explain female subordination in non capitalist societies e.g. cuba
does not explain why women not men perform unpaid domestic labour

45
Q

what did Mead say about symbolic interactionism?

A

taking the role of the other
develops through social interaction
need this ability to function in society

46
Q

What did Blumer say about symbolic interactionism?

A

1) actions based on we give to situations , events, people etc
2) meanings arise from interaction process
3) meanings we give to a situation results from interpretive procedures like taking the role of the other

47
Q

what did Goffman say?

A

dramaturgical approach
we manipulate others impression of us
aim is to carry convincing performance of the role we have adopted
backstage is who we really are

48
Q

what did Weber say?

A

social action= personal form that a person can adopt in their way of thinking and behaviour.
verstehen is essential to understand human activity and social transformation

49
Q

What were Weber’s 4 classifications of action?

A

instrumental rational action= most effective way of achieving a goal
value rational action= so goal oriented, doesn’t need to find the most effective way
traditional action= predetermined by norms and traditions even if deemed as ineffective
affectual action = behaviour that conveys feelings + emotions

50
Q

What were Weber’s structure + action methods?

A

structural cause = new belief systems developed can alternate peoples viewpoints which can in turn affect their action
subjective meaning= the meaning that a genuine “real” individual operates under

51
Q

evaluate weber

A

Alfred Schutz = overly distinctive and fails to account for the shared character and concepts
one cannot intentionally try to influence someone else’s already completed action.

52
Q

what are the key features of a modern society?

A

political
industrialisation
science+ technology used to explain the world = enlightenment period

53
Q

Globalisation effecting peoples lives

A

technological changes = online cultures more interconnected
economic changes= global market- stock trading
political changes= creation of a global civil society
changes in culture and identity= can communicate with others on a global scale

54
Q

what is Glocalization ?

A

a product or service that is developed and distributed globally but is also adjusted to accommodate the users or consumers in a local market e.g. global fast food chains offering geographical specific menus

55
Q

what does Foucault say?

A

meta-narrative + enlightenment = no sure thing as objective knowledge e.g. func. cannot fully explain the world

56
Q

what does Lyotard say?

A

Myth of truth= all big theories claim to be able to explain the world and how it runs
Loss faith in science
Loss of meta-narrative

57
Q

What does Baurdillard say?

A

hyper reality
simulacra = over media saturation has led to difficulty distinguishing between reality and fiction

58
Q

What does Bauman say?

A

pick + mix identities
identity is based on choice = influenced by globalisation

59
Q

What is late modernity?

A

rapid changes = continuation of modernity
features of modernity intensified

60
Q

What does Beck say about late modernity?

A

risk society= past dangers where mainly natural in origin but now dangers are manufactured
late modernity= period of individualism= traditions no longer governs how we act = consider actions based on level of risk= calls this risk consciousness

61
Q

What is hegemony

A

Ideological and moral leadership

62
Q

What are Gramsci’s 2 ways of maintaining power

A

Coersion= uses army,police, courts and prison to force other classes to accept this rule
Consent (hegemony)= uses ideas and values to persuade the subordinate classes that its rule is legitimate

63
Q

Where does Gramsci differ from Marx?

A

The hegemony of the ruling class is never complete
The ruling class are a minority= have to compromise with m/c in order to maintain power
The proletariat have dual consciousness = ideology also influenced by material conditions of their life- aware of exploitation and capable of seeing through dominant ideology

64
Q

What is Gramsci’s solution to capitalism

A

Counter-hegemony bloc = w/c able to offer moral and ideological leadership in society
Produce their own “organic intellectuals”= class conscious and can offer a credible alternative to what society will look like under communism

65
Q

Evaluations of Gramsci

A

Under estimates the role of coercive, political and economic forces

66
Q

Althussers super structure

A

The economic level- all activities which involve producing something or meeting a need
The political level- all forms of organisation
The ideological level- all ways people see themselves in their world

67
Q

Pros of Althussers super structure

A

Political and ideological levels allow reletive autonomy from the economic level- two way casualty

68
Q

Define rsa and Isa

A

Rsa= armed bodies of men e.g. police which can physically quash dissent or rebellion
Isa= hard to maintain order this way over long period of time - most effective way manipulate the way people think and instill a false consciousness avoiding necessity of physical oppression

69
Q

Althussers criticisms of humanism

A

Gramscis theory is a myth because all our ideas are determined by capitalist structures - wont allow ideas to emerge that will threaten its existence

70
Q

Althusser say socialism will come about

A

Crisis of capitalism -systemic collapse needs to happen first before a new one can be built

71
Q

Evaluations of Althusser

A

Humanistic Marxists = discourages political activism as it suggests there is little one can do to change society
Ignores active struggles of w/c have changed society in better ways in many countries

72
Q

Positivism

A

sociology is patterned and can be observed
patterns can be used to create social facts
social facts can be verified using inductive logic
collects data and then forms conclusions
e.g. Durkheim’s study of suicide

73
Q

what are social facts

A

manners of acting thinking and feeling external to the individual which are invested with a coercive power by virtue of which they exercise control over him Durkheim thought that these could be used to improve society- links to the organic analogy

74
Q

Interpretivism

A

people are conscious beings= ethics
sociology is about meanings which are unobservable= qualitative methods
causality is impossible to determine= too many factors
e.g. weber= vestehen

75
Q

Falsifiability
sociology should be a science

A

sociology should be a science
Karl Popper
science involves the hypothetico - deductive method
drawing questions based on research
falsify = try to prove themselves wrong

76
Q

Paradigms
sociology could be considered a science

A

science must have a single paradigm
scientific revolution
anomalies occur which force the paradigm to be questioned

77
Q

Kuhn and paradigms

A

paradigms are created which forms the framework in which all future scientific research is conducted
sociology is pre-scientific as there are many paradigms which shape the interest of the research e.g. Marxism
should not be a science= the conflict between perspectives is the foundation of sociology itself

sociology (11 decks)

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