Thinking Sociologically

Question 1

Who is Ibn Khaldun?

Answer 1

the first person to systematically study sociological topics and he developed an evolutionary theory of history, politics and society

Question 2

when was Ibn Khaldun alive?

Answer 2

1332-1406

Question 3

what was the origins of sociology as a science associated with in Europe?

Answer 3

the rise of modernity in the 19th century

Question 4

where were the first sociology departments in Canada?

Answer 4

McGill and U of T

Question 5

who are some Canadian sociologists?

Answer 5

John Porter and Dorothy Smith

Question 6

Who is John Porter?

Answer 6

he studied social class and ethnicity

Question 7

what is John Porters pivotal book called and what year did it come out?

Answer 7

The Vertical Mosaic: An Analysis of Social Class and Power in Canada. (1965)

Question 8

what is Dorothy Smith known for?

Answer 8

feminist standpoint theory and the method of institutional ethnography

Question 9

what does thinking sociologically entail?

Answer 9

looking for patterns in how people do things in relation to others

Question 10

what do sociologists want to be able to explain?

Answer 10

events in the social world in terms of factors aside from any one individual

Question 11

what is sociology different from?

Answer 11

other social sciences and journalistic ways of documenting things that happen in the world

Question 12

what is one of the most interesting and challenging things about learning to think like a sociologist?

Answer 12

the sociological paradox

Question 13

what is the sociological paradox?

Answer 13

things that we want to observe, explain and understand can’t normally be directly observed

Question 14

what is sociological theory used for?

Answer 14

-to help identify the historical and societal forces influencing our daily lives
-to offer the kinds of questions to ask in a study of social behavior and provides specialized language

Question 14

who coined the term sociological imagination?

Answer 14

C. Wright Mills

Question 15

what is the primary focus of the sociological imagination?

Answer 15

society not the individual

Question 15

what does the sociological imagination allow us to understand?

Answer 15

individuals circumstances as shaped by social forces

Question 16

what does the sociological imagination help us understand?

Answer 16

the connection between the political and the personal

Question 17

what do sociological theories relate to?

Answer 17

the question of “why” in relation to social life

Question 18

where do research questions flow from?

Answer 18

theoretical positions

Question 19

what are some elements of sociological theory?

Answer 19

-definitions and concepts
-descriptions
-relationships

Question 20

why do we need theories?

Answer 20

-help to make sense of patterns and suggest possibilities for change/action
-shapes and directs future research

Question 21

Researchers tend to use theories associated with what?

Answer 21

particular paradigms

Question 22

what is a paradigm?

Answer 22

a foundational frame of reference

Question 23

Paradigms are often what?

Answer 23

implicit, assumed or taken for granted

Question 24

what is social scientific paradigms?

Answer 24

different ways of looking at human social life

Question 25

what does each social scientific paradigm have?

Answer 25

fundamental assumptions about the nature of social reality

Question 26

are paradigms true or false?

Answer 26

neither they are more or less useful

Question 27

what are the 4 c's? (the conflict-oriented paradigms)

Answer 27

-Contestation -Conflict -Classification -Change

Question 28

what is other foci for conflict paradigms?

Answer 28

gender, ethnicity, nations, organizations, departments

Question 29

what did Karl Marx say about social behavior?

Answer 29

it can be best understood as a process of conflict between economic classes

Question 30

what do social groups have?

Answer 30

conflict interest

Question 31

what is a multi-factor approach to social research?

Answer 31

intersectionality

Question 32

what is intersectionality?

Answer 32

the analytic position that recognizes forms of inequality operating layer upon layer to differentially distribute advantages for and discrimination against a group simplified version - ways social conflicts overlap or become exaggerated as they interact

Question 33

what is an example of intersectionality

Answer 33

gender inequalities in income in a workplace are intersected by racial classifications -women make less then men already but racialized women make even less in relation to other women

Question 34

what do interpretivist paradigms aim to incorporate?

Answer 34

both explanations and understanding of social phenomenon

Question 35

why did interpretivism arise?

Answer 35

as a critique of positivist paradigms

Question 36

what does interpretivism focus on?

Answer 36

the interpretation of human actions based on the subjective meaning that people give to their actions

Question 37

what did George Herbert Mead develop?

Answer 37

Symbolic interactionism

Question 38

what is symbolic interactionism?

Answer 38

individuals create common understanding through the use of language and other symbolic systems -we are socialized to take on the role of the "generalized other"

Question 39

what was Georg Simmel interested in?

Answer 39

the social interaction between individuals in smaller groups (interactionist paradigm)

Question 40

what did Emile Durkheim suggest?

Answer 40

that crime and punishment reaffirms societal values

Question 41

what can social organizations or institutions be understood as in structural functionalism?

Answer 41

as organisms or systems with various components serving different functions

Question 42

who are the feminist researchers that began to look at the social world from the standpoint of women?

Answer 42

Nancy Hartsock, Dorothy Smith, Patricia Hill-Collins

Question 43

what becomes important considerations in social science research when think about a critical paradigm?

Answer 43

-subjectivity -context -history

Question 44

what is postmodern?

Answer 44

focus on language and the discursive structuring of society

Question 45

what is postpositivism?

Answer 45

empirical observations are influenced by subjectivity

Question 46

modernity of a positivist paradigms

Answer 46

philosophical paradigms shifts towards paradigms based on empirical observation

Question 47

enlightenment of positivist paradigms

Answer 47

religious paradigm was shifted by philosophical paradigm (belief was replaced by metaphysics)

Question 48

what can sociology as a discipline be categorized based on?

Answer 48

the audience for whom the work is intended

Question 49

what are different audiences in sociology

Answer 49

-professional sociology -critical sociology -policy sociology -public sociology

Question 50

what is professional sociology research designed to do?

Answer 50

generate highly specific information, often with the aim of applying it to a particular problem or intellectual question

Question 51

what is professional sociology research written in

Answer 51

highly technical and specialized language

Question 52

what is the audience of professional sociology

Answer 52

-academic and professional readers -sociology departments -scholarly journals -professional association -conferences

Question 53

what does critical sociology aim to make sure?

Answer 53

that professional sociologists do not become so lost in esoteric debates that they lose sight of the goals of sociological inquiry -bring about meaningful social change

Question 54

what is the audience of critical sociology?

Answer 54

academic and professional readers

Question 55

what is critical sociology?

Answer 55

The “conscience of professional sociology”

Question 56

what does policy sociology generate?

Answer 56

sociological data to be used in the development of social polices, laws, rules or plans

Question 57

what are the 3 main areas served by policy sociology?

Answer 57

-education -health -social welfare however these are not the only ones

Question 58

what is the audience of policy sociology?

Answer 58

governments and corporations

Question 59

what is the role of public sociology?

Answer 59

to make sociology accessible to the public through the use of jargon-free language

Question 60

what is the audience for public sociology?

Answer 60

those outside of the discipline and the political establishment