Introduction Flashcards
What is sociology?
sociology is the study of society and people and their behaviour.
sociologists create theories to explain human behaviour and the workings of society
what is functionalism?
functionalism is the ‘structural’ theory (how society is made up) of society
it is the way that society shapes our behaviour through socialisation e.g. religion, family, education, and the media.
what is a consenus theory?
Functionalists - successful society is based on ‘value consenus’ - everyone having the same norms and values.
means that everyone can work together and achieve shared goals.
what are norms and values?
norms - refers to behaviour and attitudes which are considered ‘normal’
values - things that people consider important to them
what do functionalists believe about society?
functionalists believe that people in society are socialised into norms and values through the family (primary socialisation) and then through institutions such as education (secondary socialisation).
Key functionalists: Durkheim
Durkheim: believed that it was society that shared the individual and all factors such as family control our thoughts, actions and behaviour.
too much freedom is bad for our society needs to create social solidarity (unity) in effectively socialising
Key functionalist: Parsons
the institutions in society are just like organs in the human body - each has its own important function and they all depend on eachother ‘organic analogy’
what are structural and social action theories
Structural: analysing the impact that social factors have on individuals
Social action: individuals have free will and are able to make choices
what are conflict and consensus theories
Conflict: society is divided by two or more groups and that they compete for power and resources e.g marxism and feminism
Consensus: society is balanced and people have a common identty/ purpose e.g functionalism
what is Marxism
society is in state of conflict between the rich and poor - Karl Marx came up with this theory
society uses capitalism to keep the rich rich and the poor poor
the bourgeoisie employ the proletariat to do the work for them
Marx called it the ‘relations of production and argue that it exploited the W/C
what is feminism
where a feminist wants equal rights ad opportunities for women and men
what is the patriarchy
when men dominate in society e.g politics
Rise of feminism: First wave
Mid 1800’s - 1920’s
focused on women’s fight for the vote by both peaceful suffragists and suffragettes
Rise of feminism: Second Wave
1960s-1980s
During WW1 and WW2 women proved that they had value outside of the home
Feminists wanted freedom to control their social, sexual and reproductive behaviour
ideas of beauty objected women. this means that women were viewed as being objects for male pleasure
Rise of feminism: the Third Wave
1990s
Encouraged and celebrated women empowerment, independence and confidence and strength
said that women could be feminine as well as strong
