Chapter 1 Flashcards
sociology
The study of human groups and societies, giving particular emphasis to analysis of the industrialized world. Sociology is one of a group of social sciences, which include anthropology, economics, political science, and human geography. The divisions between the various social sciences are not clear-cut, and share a certain range of common interests, concepts, and methods.
personal troubles
difficulties that are located in individual biographies and their immediate milieu, a seeming private experience
public issues
difficulties or problems that are linked to the institutional and historical possibilities of social structure.
sociological imagination
the application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions. Someone using the sociological imagination “thinks himself away” from the familiar routines of daily life.
structuration
the two-way process by which we shape our social world through our individual actions and by which we are reshaped by society.
social facts
according to Emile Durkheim, the aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals. Durkheim believed that social facts could be studied scientifically.
organic solidarity
According to Durkheim, the social cohesion that results from the various parts of a society function as an integrated whole.
social constraint
The conditioning influence on our behavior by the groups and societies of which we are members. Social constraint was regarded by Durkheim as one of the distinctive properties of social facts.
anomie
a concept first brought into wide usage in sociology by Durkheim, referring to a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior.
materialist conception of history
the view developed by Marx, according to which material, or economic factors have a prime role in determining historical change.
capitalism
an economic system based on the private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested in order to produce profit.
symbolic interactionism
A theoretical approach in sociology developed by George Herbert Mead, which emphasizes teh role of sybols and language as core elements of all human interaction.
symbol
one item used to stand for or represnt another–as in the case of a flag, which symbolizes a nation
functionalism
a theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform–that is, he contributions they make to the continuity of society.
manifest functions
the functions of a particular social activity that are known to and intended by the individuals involved in they activity.
latent functions
functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the members of a social system in which they occur.
Marxism
a body of thought deriving its main elements from Karl Marx’s ideas.
power
The ability of individuals or the members of a group to achieve aims or further the interests they hold. Power is a pervasive element in all human relationships. Many conflicts in society are struggles over power, because how much power an individual or group is able to obtain governs how far they are able to put their wishes into practice.
ideology
Shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups ideologies are found in all societies in which there are systematic and ingrained inequalities between groups. The concepts of ideology connect closely with that of power, since ideological systems serve to legitimize the power that groups hold.
feminist theory
A sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the experiences of women. There are many strands of feminist theory, but they all share the intention to explain gender inequalities in society and to work to overcome them.
feminism
Advocacy of the rights of women to be equal with men in all spheres of life. Feminism dates from the late eighteenth century in Europe, and feminist movements exist in most countries today.
