Chpt. 1 Sect. 2 Flashcards
(30 cards)
Who is Max Weber (1864-1920)?
A founder of sociology
What did Weber say?
That a major goal of sociology was to reveal and explain “inconvenient facts”
(Getty & Mills, 1946, p.147)
What do the “inconvenient facts” that Weber wrote about include?
The profound influence of society on the individual and the existence and extent of social inequality
Who noted this quote in their book?
“The first wisdom of sociology is this—things are not what they seem.”
“People who like to avoid shocking discoveries…should stay away from sociology.”
Peter L. Berger (1963, pp. 23-24)
What was Berger’s view on social reality?
It has “many layers of meaning” and a goal of sociology is to help us discover these multiple meanings.
What is Berger’s “debunking motif”?
Sociology helps us see through conventional understandings of how society works.
What are examples of sociology challenging conventional understandings about social reality and social institutions?
- an interaction between two people meeting at a college dance
- knowing the power structure in a city or state
What is social structure?
Patterned social interaction and social institutions through which a society is organized
What is social inequality?
Society or a group ranks people in a hierarchy, with some more “equal” than others
What are personal troubles?
A problem affecting individuals that the affected individual, as well as other members of society, typically blame on the individual’s own failings.
What are examples of personal troubles?
- Eating disorders
- Divorce
- Unemployment
What are public issues?
Social problems affecting many individuals
What is the source of public issues?
The social structure and culture of a society
Recognizing that sociology stresses that individual problems are often rooted in problems stemming from many facets of society inspired what?
C. Wright Mills’ (1959) distinction between personal troubles and public issues
Whose opinion is this?
Many problems ordinarily considered private troubles are best understood as public issues
C. Wright Mills
What is sociological imagination?
The ability to see societal patterns that influence individual and group life
Who coined the term sociological imagination?
C. Wright Mills
Who pointed out that Americans typically think that social problems (poverty, unemployment,etc) stem from personal failings of the people experiencing these problems, not from structural problems in the larger society.
William Ryan (1976)
Who said this?
“Blaming the victim rather than blaming the system.”
William Ryan
What is a “blame the victim” example?
Blaming the parents of impoverished children living in urban areas being illiterate and trying to improve THEM instead of the school system and the school itself
What is “blaming the system”?
Focusing our attention on various social conditions (beauty standards, deteriorating schools, etc) that account for difficulties (poverty, illiteracy, eating disorders,etc)
What was a key theme of sociology as it developed in the United States after emerging at the University of Chicago in the 1980s?
The use of sociological knowledge to achieve social reform
Who is Jane Adams?
A renowned social worker who founded “Hull House” (a home for the poor in Chicago) in 1899 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931
Who is W. E. B. Du Bois?
A sociologist and the first black man to obtain a PhD from Harvard University, wrote groundbreaking books/articles on race in American society and more specifically on the problems facing Black Americans.
