Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
- Investigated the behavior needed to improve society
- Coined term "sociology
Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)
- Studied social behavior in Britain and U.S.
- Emphasized impact of economy, law, trade, health, and population on social problems
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
- Studied "evolutionary" change in society
�mile Durkheim (1858-1917)
- Behavior must be understood within larger social context
Max Weber (1864-1920)
- Stated that to comprehend behavior, one must learn subjective meaning people attach to actions
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
- Society divided between two classes that clash in pursuit of interests
- Worked with Engels
- Emphasized group identification and associations that influence one's place in society
W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963)
- Black sociologists assisted struggle for racially egalitarian society
- Knowledge essential in combating prejudice
- In-depth studies of urban life
Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)
- Used sociological perspective to examine face-to-face groups
Jane Addams (1860-1935)
- Combined intellectual inquiry, social service work, and political activism
- Co-founded Hull House
Robert Merton (1910-2003)
- Combined theory and research
- Developed explanation of deviant behavior
Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002)
- Capital sustains individuals and families from one generation to the next
Talcott Parsons (1902-1972)
- Viewed society as vast network of connected parts
- Each helps maintain the system as a whole
George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)
- Regarded as founder of interactionist perspective
Erving Goffman (1922-1982)
- Dramaturgical approach: People seen as theatrical performers
Functionalist Perspective
- Emphasizes the way parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability
- View of Society: Stable, well integrated
Manifest functions FP
- Institutions are open, stated, conscious functions that involve intended and recognized consequences of an aspect of society
Latent functions FP
- Unconscious or unintended functions that may reflect hidden purposes of an institution
Dysfunctions FP
- Elements or processes of society that may disrupt a social system or reduce its stability
Conflict Perspective
- Assumes social behavior best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups
- View of Society: Characterized by tension and struggle between groups
Marxist View CP
- Conflict is part of everyday life in all societies
- Conflict theorists interested in how institutions may help maintain privileges of some groups and keep others subservient
The Feminist view CP
- Sees inequality in gender as central to all behavior and organization
- Often allied with conflict theory
- Proponents tend to focus on macro level
- Broadened social behavior by extending analysis beyond male point of view
Interactionist Perspective
- Generalizes about everyday forms of social interaction to explain society as a whole
- View of Society: Active in influencing and affecting everyday social interaction
Racial group
- Group set apart from others because of obvious physical differences
Ethnic group
- Group set apart from others primarily because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns
Minority group
- Subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives
Properties of minority groups include
- Unequal treatment
- Distinguishing cultural characteristics
- Involuntary membership
- Solidarity
- In-group marriage
Social construction of race
- Society socially constructs which differences are important
Ethnicity
- Ethnic group set apart from others because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns
- Distinction between racial and ethnic groups not always clear
- Distinction between racial and ethnic groups socially significant
Prejudice
- Negative attitude toward an entire category of people
Ethnocentrism
- Tendency to assume one's culture and way of life are superior to others
Racism
- Belief that one race is supreme and others are innately inferior
Stereotypes
- Unreliable generalizations about all members of a group that do not recognize individual differences with the group
Color-blind racism
- Use of principle of race neutrality to define racially unequal status quo
- Idea that society should be color- blind perpetuates racial inequality
- Color line still in place, even if more people refuse to acknowledge its existence
Discrimination
- Denial of opportunities and equal rights to people on an arbitrary bias
- Prejudiced attitudes are not the same as discriminatory behavior
- Discrimination persists even for the most educated and qualified minority group members
Glass ceiling
- invisible barrier blocking promotion of qualified individuals in work environment because of gender, race, or ethnicity
White privilege
- rights or immunities granted to people as a benefit or favor simply because they are white
Institutional discrimination
- Denial of opportunities and equal rights that results from operations of a society
Affirmative action
- Positive efforts to recruit minority members or women for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities
Functionalist Perspective (Racism)
- Moral justification for maintaining unequal society
- Discourage subordinate groups from questioning their status
- Suggest that any major social change would bring greater poverty to the minority
Dysfunctions FP (Racism)
- Society that practices discrimination fails to use resources of all individuals
- Discrimination aggravates social problems
- Society must invest time and money to defend barriers to full participation
- Racial prejudice undercuts goodwill and diploma
Exploitation Theory CP
- Racism keeps minorities in low-paying jobs and supplies dominant group with cheap labor
- Too limited to explain all prejudice
Labeling Perspective - Racial Profiling
- Arbitrary action initiated by an authority based on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on person's behavior
Contact Hypothesis IP
- Interracial contact between people of equal status in cooperative circumstances will cause them to become less prejudiced and to abandon old stereotypes
Genocide
- Deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation
Secession
- failure to resolve ethnic or racial conflict results in drawing formal boundaries between the groups
Segregation
- Physical separation of two groups of people in terms of residence
Pluralism
- Based on mutual respect among various groups in a society for one another's cultures
- In U.S., pluralism more of an ideal than a reality
African Americans
- One out of every four blacks is poor
- Contemporary institutional discrimination and individual prejudice against African Americans rooted in history of slavery
Black Power
- Rejected assimilation into White middle-class society
Native Americans
- About 2.5 million Native Americans represent array of cultures
- Life remains difficult for 554 tribal groups
- By 1990s, increasing number claim identity as Native American
- 2009: federal government settled 13-year-old lawsuit for the recovery of
Latinos
- Largest minority in the U.S. with more than 50 million
- Census Bureau data: Latino population now outnumbers the African - American population in 6 of the 10 largest U.S. metropolitan areas
- Groups share heritage of Spanish language and culture, whi
Global Immigration
- Worldwide, immigration at all-time high
- Each year, about 191 million people move from one country to another
Transnationals
- Immigrants who sustain multiple social relationships that link their societies of origin with their society of settlement
-Since 1960s, U.S. encouraged immigration of residents' relatives and people with specific skills
Initiating Policy
- Long border with Mexico provides opportunity for illegal immigration into U.S.
- 1986 act outlawed hiring illegal aliens
- Intense debate over immigration reflects deep value conflicts in cultures of many nations
Gender roles
- Expectations regarding proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females
Homophobia
- Fear of, and prejudice against, homosexuality
- Adults, older siblings, mass media, religious institutions, and educational institutions exert important influence
Women's Gender Roles
- Girls develop feminine self-image by identifying with females and males in their families and neighborhoods and in the media
Men's Gender Roles
- Attitudes toward parenting changing, but little change in traditional male gender role
- Males who do not conform to the socially constructed gender role face constant criticism
Multiple masculinities
- Men play variety of gender roles
Cross-Cultural Perspective
- Anthropologists documented highly diverse constructions of gender
- Gender stratification requires:
- Individual socialization into traditional gender roles within family
- Promotion and support of traditional roles by other social institutions
- Can
The Functionalist Perspective - Gender
- Contributes to overall social stability
- Expressiveness: Maintenance of harmony and internal emotional affairs of family
- Instrumentality: Emphasis on tasks, focus on more distant goals, and concern for external relationship between one's family a
Conflict Perspective - Gender
- Functionalist approach masks underlying power relations between men and women
- Relationship between females and males is traditionally one of unequal power
- View gender differences as reflection of subjugation of one by another group
Feminist perspective
- Engels: women's subjugation coincided with rise of private property
- Many contemporary theorists view subordination as part of overall exploitation and injustice inherent in capitalist societies
Matrix of domination
- Convergence of social forces that contribute to subordinate status of poor, non-white women
The Interactionist Perspective
- Study gender stratification on microlevel
- We "do gender" by reinforcing traditionally masculine and feminine actions
- Continuing investigation of role of gender in cross-sex conversations (crosstalk)
Sexism
- ideology that one sex is superior to the other
Institutional Discrimination Women
- denial of opportunities and equal rights as a result of normal operations of society
Status of Women Worldwide
- In many parts of the world, women still lag far behind men in their earnings and in their ability to speak out politically
- Women everywhere suffer from second-class status
Feminism
- Belief in social, economic, and political equality for women
- Feminist movement in U.S. born in 1848
- Second wave of feminism emerged in the 1960s and came to full force in the 1970s
- While women generally endorse feminist positions, they do not n
Family
- Set of people related by blood, marriage, or agreed-upon relationship, or adoption, who share primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society
Nuclear family
- Nucleus or core upon which larger family groups are built
Extended family
- Family in which relatives live in same home as parents and children
Monogamy
- Form of marriage in which one woman and one man are married only to each other
Serial monogamy
- When a person has several spouses in his or her lifetime, but only one spouse at a time
Polygamy
- When an individual has several husbands or wives simultaneously
Polygyny
- Marriage of a man to more than one woman at a time
Polyandry
- Marriage of a woman to more than one husband at the same time
Patriarchy
- Males are expected to dominate in all family decision making
Matriarchy
- Women have greater authority than men
Egalitarian family
- Family in which spouses are regarded as equals
Family serves six functions for society FP
- Reproduction
- Protection
- Socialization
- Regulation of sexual behavior
- Affection and companionship
- Provision of social status
Conflict Perspective Family
- Family reflects inequality in wealth and power found within society
- In wide range of societies, husbands exercised power and authority within the family
Interactionist Perspective Family
- Focuses on micro level of family and other intimate relationships
- Interested in how individuals interact with each other, whether they are cohabiting partners or longtime married couples
Feminist Perspective Family
- Interest in family as social institution
- Looked particularly closely at how women's work outside the home impacts their child care and housework-duties
- Urge social scientists and agencies to rethink notion that families in which no adult male is p
Marriage
- Over 95% of all men and women in U.S. marry at least once during their lifetimes
- Indications of a miniboom in marriages of late
- Internet is second to friends as a source of romantic partners
- Process of mate selection is taking longer today than
Endogamy
- Specifies groups within which spouse must be found; prohibits marriage with members of other groups
Exogamy
- Requires mate selection outside certain groups, usually family or certain kin
Incest taboo
- Social norm common to all societies prohibiting sexual relationships between certain culturally specified relationships
Homogamy
- Conscious or unconscious tendency to select mate with personal characteristics similar to one's own
Machismo
- Sense of virility, personal worth, and pride in one's maleness
Familism
- Pride in extended family
Adoption
- "Transfer of the legal rights, responsibilities, and privileges of parenthood" to a new legal parent or parents
- Functionalist: government has a strong interest in encouraging adoption
Dual-Income Families
- Among married people between 25 and 94, 95% of men and 68% of women in labor force
Single-parent families
- Only one parent is present to care for children
Divorce
- Divorce rates increased in late 1960s, then leveled off
- Since late 1980s, declined by 30%
- Partly due to aging baby-boomer population and decline in proportion of people of marriageable age
- About 63% of all divorcees have remarried
Factors Associated with Divorce
- Greater social acceptance of divorce
- More liberal divorce laws
- Fewer children
- Greater family income
- More opportunities for women
Impact of Divorce on Children
- National study that tracked 6,332 children before and after divorce found their behavior did not suffer
- Other studies have shown greater unhappiness among children who live amidst parental conflict
Change in Marriage rates
- Marriage has lost much of its social significance as a rite of passage
- U.S. marriage rate declined since 1960
- Postponing marriage until later in life
- Forming partnerships without marriage
Cohabitation
- Male-female couples who choose to live together without marrying
- About half of currently married couples in U.S. say they lived together before marriage