expectations and perspectives

Question 1

agents of socialisation

Answer 1

primary:family
secondary:school
secondary:religion
secondary:work/employment
secondary:friends/peers
secondary:the media

Question 2

structuralist theories

Answer 2

-external social forces shape the behaviour,values,and identity of the individual
-typically uses quantitative methods
-the ideas behind and meanings of individual thought and action are merely a reflection of wider social forces

Question 3

Value Consensual and Anomie

Answer 3

Durkheim-a stable society is created through the socialisation of the individual into norms and values which maintains a peaceful way of life as people do not want to risk damaging the system.
They are passed through socialisation or through social control
Anomie- sense of moral confusion-occurs when there is no clear guidance about what is right and wrong so people feel uncertainty about their place in the world–>causes issues in society

Question 4

The Organic Analogy

Answer 4

Parsons-society is like a human body-made up of interconnected parts which help the system run in harmony. Social ills have a disabling effect and it can “infect” the other parts of the body
if one organ changes the others will evolve

Question 5

Functional Prerequisites (GAIL)

Answer 5

Parsons-allow society to survive in a healthy state
goal attainment
adaption
integration
latency

Question 6

strengths of functionalism

Answer 6

-recognises the importance of social structures in constraining individual behaviour &how major social institutions work together
-provides an explanation for social order and stability and why most people conform to the rules of social life

Question 7

weaknesses of functionalism

Answer 7

-very deterministic-sees humans as passive
-meta narrative that tries to explain everything from a single perspective
-ignores the conflict and inequalities in society
-suggests that value consensus always means social stability but it depends on the values
-Marxists would argue that “value consensus” is really just the values of the ruling class
-very conservative-supporting the dominant status quo

Question 8

structures in society were designed to reproduce conflict particularly between the different social classes

Answer 8

Marx-social classes are divided into bourgeoisie and proletariat

Question 9

other key ideas in marxism

Answer 9

-alienation-the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat the workers are alienated from their work so don’t receive the full value of their efforts
-ideology-bourgeoisie values are the ruling class dominant ideology which are spread in the subcultures and allow the bourgeoisie to maintain control
-false class consciousness-the proletariat suffer from the belief that their position is normal and cannot change
-revolution and communism-if the proletariat could be released from their chains of oppression they could overthrow the ruling class and form a communist society

Question 10

strengths of Marxism

Answer 10

-recognises the importance of the economy and how economic change can influence a wide range of other institutions
-recognises the importance of the social structures in society and their links to ideas,consciousnesses and the values of different groups
-provides a convincing argument for the extreme and increasing social inequalities in wealth income and power that persist in contemporary societies
-still evidence of capitalist exploitation on a global scale
-evidence that the ruling class occupy the top positions in society and that the media often reproduce their values

Question 11

weaknesses of Marxism

Answer 11

-communism is not a solution and globalisation has meant that capitalism is stronger than before
-over emphasises the conflict in society and assumes everyone is passively unaware of inequalities
-two class system does not leave room for the complexity of modern society
-puts too much importance on the economy as the economy can be shaped by ideology

Question 12

Hegemony is what allows the ruling class to maintain power and the working class rarely rebel because they don’t have an image of what society could be

Answer 12

Gramsci(Neo marxist)

Question 13

Ideological State Apparatus

Answer 13

Althusser(Neo Marixist)-three parts of society which maintain the dominant ideology:
-economic
-repressive state apparatus-a political level which enforces the dominant ideology through the police,army and law
-ideological state apparatus-an ideological level which enforces the dominant ideology through the socialisation of ideas in education,religion and the media

Question 14

strengths of Neo-Marxism

Answer 14

-it retains many of the strengths of classical Marxism
-it overcomes the economic determinism of classical Marxism
-the concept of hegemony recognises the importance of peoples ideas and actions
-allows for the influence of the economy and the ideological side of society being mutually influential

Question 15

weaknesses of Neo-Marxism

Answer 15

-it still has many of the weaknesses of classical Marxism
-Neo-Marxism may be seen to overemphasise the importance of ideology still assuming that the population will follow the dominant ideology passively

Question 16

Standpoint Theory-traditional sociology has failed to acknowledge its own gendered history

Answer 16

Dorothy Smith

Question 17

Patriarchy is the main cause of gender inequality by 6 structures: household, employment, state, sexuality, male violence, cultural institutions

Answer 17

Walby- household, employment, state, sexuality, male violence, cultural institutions

Question 18

The Feminine Mystique-women felt trapped at home after being so free during WW2

Answer 18

Betty Friedan

Question 19

Sexual Politics-patriarchy is the most fundamental form of inequality and every woman regardless of their background has a shared interest in challenging male dominance

Answer 19

Kate Millett-radical

Question 20

radical feminism-society and its institutions are patriarchal so a revolution is needed

Answer 20

Firestone-radical

Question 21

women have been oppressed and marginalised largely due to violence against women.Mens physical strength and dominance has been used as a tool for oppression so women need to be completely separated

Answer 21

Andre Dworkin-radical

Question 22

weaknesses of radical feminism

Answer 22

-assumes all women share common experience, ignoring other inequalities due to class/ethnicity
-doesn’t recognise that there has already been significant improvements
-living separately and challenging all men may be considered escaping the patriarchy rather than challenging it and the lifestyle is unlikely to appeal to all women

Question 23

agents of socialisation causing gender roles

Answer 23

Oakley

Question 24

Feminisation of the workforce

Answer 24

Francis or Webb Et Al

Question 25

weaknesses of liberal feminism

Answer 25

-focuses on reducing the effects of patriarchy rather than addressing and challenging the fundamental causes -radical feminists would argue that its too little too late and that revolution rather than reform is needed -policy only addresses the public sphere and the frameworks of society and does not address the private sphere of marriage and family life

Question 26

womens oppression within the nuclear family supports capatalism,women reproduce the labour force

Answer 26

Rowbotham-marxist feminism

Question 27

womens unpaid labour is unrecognised

Answer 27

Deem-marxist feminism

Question 28

weaknesses of Marxist feminism

Answer 28

-the patriarchy has existed has existed in many societies not just capitalist societies -it is men not just capitalism which benefits from women's subordination -it explains the exploited position of women but doesn't offer solutions

Question 29

intersectional feminism

Answer 29

Bell Hooks

Question 30

weaknesses of intersectional feminism

Answer 30

-liberal and radical feminists criticise because by emphasising the differences between women it deflects attention away from the problems which are shared by all women(eg male violence)

Question 31

social action theory/ interactionism /interpretivism

Answer 31

-a micro level approach-the individual action influences the larger society. Society is constructed by individuals meanings, interpretations and behaviours -more concerned with how individuals react to/ interpret social structures -social order is seen as a social construct-people want to believe there is an order to society so they behave in a manner that reinforces this -leads to concerns with finding an objective truth in society as humans react in different ways with different meanings

Question 32

human interaction is symbolic and social life can only work if there is a shared understanding of those symbols and meanings

Answer 32

Mead and Blumer

Question 33

ethnomethodology

Answer 33

Garfinkel-studied how people make sense of the world around them. Conducted a lab study where people had "counselling" and asked a series of random questions to a "counseller" who gave random answers but people still made sense of the answers and found meaning in them because of conext(indexicality)

Question 34

observation alone is not enough to understand human action we need empathetic understanding or Verstehen

Answer 34

Max Weber-social action theory -level of cause-objective structural factors which shape behaviour -level of meaning-subjective meanings that individuals attach to their actions

Question 35

structuration theory

Answer 35

Giddens-the culture and structure of society of can predict some predictability in social life as it provides some predictability in social life. -provides an understanding of basic norms & values and a common language-foundation for people to form their identity -people can make choices about their identity but only within the cultural framework of their society -suggests the concept of the "reflexive self"- the identity of individuals develop as they continually reflect and work on their identities as they interact with other individuals and agents of socialisation -individuals are not passive receivers of ideology but are not completely free to choose their identity

Question 36

strengths of social action theories

Answer 36

-shows that people are active & creative and make sense of the world through interaction with others and common sense understanding -allows for autonomy recognising that people actively create meanings and interpretations which influence the way they act -the micro approach and use of qualitative methods means research findings often have high levels of validity

Question 37

weaknesses of social action theories

Answer 37

-it underestimates the extent to which social structures can constrain behaviour -only describes motivations not where they may come from -underestimates the distribution of power -postmodernists suggest that it is just another meta narrative which tries to describe human life from a singular view -the use of qualitative methods mean that reliability and representativeness is an issue

Question 38

modernity (postmodernism)

Answer 38

1800s-1960s Marxism & Functionalism-reflected the society and world at the time a period of industrialisation and urbanisation that began with the industrial revolution saw the rise of mass production, urbanisation and overt social control

Question 39

post modernity

Answer 39

-argues that modernist ideas are outdated as society has moved on -Marxism, Functionalism and Feminism and their promise of a better future is not longer relevant to the more complex and unpredictable modern times -society and work has become more flexible and service industries have taken over from manufacturing -globalisation and the internet have led to a greater choice of cultures and lifestyles as they can communicated more freely -truth is relative choice is everywhere-including our identities -no universal truth or theory

Question 40

no longer any meta narratives as they are too simplistic

Answer 40

Lyotard-postmodernism actions and ideas are now judged by how useful they are rather than how true they are

Question 41

people respond to media images rather than to real persons or places

Answer 41

Baudrillard-postmodernism separating reality from representation has become impossible when all that exists is hyper reality people have become consumers whose desires are created by the media through a system of signs and images TV is a big source of hyper reality if society is unable to separate fact from fiction society may be incapable of change

Question 42

late modernity-is unstable and high risk it is a "juggernaut"

Answer 42

Giddens-late modernity changes to work,consumption and culture have become accelerated so is unstable the juggernaut could lose control causing war, economic collapse or climate disaster but society is capable of rational thought

Question 43

Risk society-we can take responsibility for our actions so we seek to minimise bad consequences(risk consciousnesses)

Answer 43

Beck-late modernity

Question 44

liquid modernity

Answer 44

Bauman- late modernity mass media, new information technologies, more fluid movement of people across the world, and the development of multicultural societies has all lead to the development of a postmodern world

Question 45

strengths of postmodernism

Answer 45

-highlights some important cultural and social changes in the media, culture, identity and consumerism -recognises that identities are more fluid, changeable, and based on consumption and choice rather than huge structural institutions -provides insight into more contemporary issues such as increasing risk and uncertainty, globalisation, and the growing power of the media -challenges the traditional sociological meta narratives

Question 46

weaknesses of postmodernism

Answer 46

-Late modernity and risk society may be more appropriate areas and terms as not everything is a free-for-all -it overemphasises the influence of the media and tends to assume people are passive and manipulated too easily -it exaggerates the scale of social change- cultural tastes are still strongly influenced by class, gender, ethnicity and nationality -it is a meta narrative itself