Chapter 1 Flashcards
(18 cards)
Sociological imagination
The ability to connect the most basic, intimate aspects of an individual’s life to seemingly impersonal and remote historical forces
Social institutions
A complex group of interdependent positions that, together, perform a social role and reproduce themselves over time.
Positivism
Term coined by Auguste Comte;
Approach to sociology that emphasizes the scientific method as an approach to studying objectively observable behaviour of individuals irrespective of the meanings those actions have for the subjects themselves
Verstehen
German for “understanding”. Concept coined by Max Weber, is the basis for interpretive sociology
Interpretive sociology
The study of social meaning, where researchers imagine themselves experiencing the life positions of the social actors they want to understand rather than treating those people as objects to be examined.
Anomie
Term coined by Emile Durkheim;
A sense of aimlessness or despair, arising when we can no longer reasonably expect life to be predictable;
Too little social regulation or normlessness
Double consciousness
Term coined by W E B Du Bois;
Describes the behavioural scripts a person uses;
One for moving through the world;
The other incorporates external opinions of prejudiced onlookers, maintained constantly by African Americans
Functionalism
The theory that various social institutions and processes in society exist to serve some important (or necessary) function to keep society running
Conflict theory
AKA Marxist theory;
The idea that conflict between competing interests is the basic animating force of social change and society in general
Symbolic interactionism
Microsociology theory that focuses on shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions, which form the basic motivation behind people’s actions
Midrange theory
Neither macro nor microsociology;
Attempts to predict how certain social institutions tend to function;
Generates falsifiable hypotheses – predictions that can be tested by analyzing the real world
Microsociology
Branch of sociology that seeks to understand local interactional contexts
Methods of choice are ethnographic, generally include participant observation and in depth interviews
Macrosociology
Branch of sociology that is concerned with social dynamics at a higher level of analysis, across the breadth of a society.
Statistical analysis is the most common manifestation of macro sociological research, also can include historical comparison and in depth interviews
Auguste Comte
Coined the term of positivism
Claimed that positivism arose out of a need to make moral sense of social order in time of declining religious authority
Claimed that a secular (non religious) basis for morality did exist
Argued that human society has gone through 3 stages with respect to understanding of morality
Theological stage: society understand the result of divine will
Metaphysical stage: behaviour is governed by natural, biological instincts
Scientific stage: social physics could be developed to identify the scientific laws that govern human behaviour (represented by positivism)
Karl Marx
Father of Marxist, or conflict theory
His work provided theoretical basis for Communism
Believed that conflicts between classes drove social change throughout history.
With the industrial revolution and emergence of modern capitalism, people have become slaves to industrial technology to make a living
Political struggle between Bourgeoisie and Proletariat will ultimately escalate and produce social change through a Communist revolution, abolishing private property, and the resulting economy would be “from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs”
Max Weber
Cointed the term Verstehen and formed the basis of interpretive sociology
Weber criticized Marx on his exclusive focus on economy and social class
Incorporated culture, economics and politics into sociological analysis
Emphasized that sociologists must understand the meaning people attach to their actions
Emile Durkheim
Coined the term Anomie
Wished to understand how society holds together; how modern capitalism and industrialization have transformed the way people relate to another
Division of labor – the degree in which jobs are specialized – doesn’t affect work and productivity but has social and moral consequences as well
Helps to determine its form of social solidarity
An individuals behabviour is conditioned by social forces, and the degree in which we are integrated into group life
Also considered a founding practitioner of positivist sociology
W E B Du Bois
Most important black sociologist of his time
Coined the term double consciousness
Those operating with a double consciousness risk conforming so closely to others’ perceptions that they are fully constrained to behaviours predicted of them.
Was also interested in criminology, using anomie to explain crime rate among African Americans (theorized newfound freedom of slaves cause anomie, leading to increased crime rate)
