Sociology class (lecture) outlines

It’s all about understanding the patterns of group behavior and thinking, recognizing the unique social structures and organization of American society,  appreciating the social interaction and influences around you, and playing out our expected roles to some extent.

Introductory Terms / Chapter 1

-- Sociological Perspective

          -- social marginality
          -- the value of such a perspective
          -- Sociology’s conclusions vs. societal stereotypes

-- the Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills)
          -- Holistic Perspective (holism)

-- the Global Perspective (cross-cultural perspectives)

-- Societal Change / History

Sociology  - Schools of Theory

– Structural-Functionalism (or just Functionalism) (E. Durkheim)
        –  understanding the interdependence, function, order & stability and
            the complementary relationships and institutions of society

– Conflict Theory (K. Marx, Max Weber, W.E.B.Dubois)
         – understanding the change, dysfunction, conflict, the inequality

– Symbolic-Interaction (Weber, E. Goffman, G.H. Mead)
         – understanding the viewpoints, personal meaning, value, and
            interpretations of things and actions

Culture & Cultural Diversity

– What is “Culture”?
    – Cultural Diversity around the world
– more Culture description  (cultural evolution, necessity & constraint & freedom)
    – Cultural Universals & Hunter/Gatherers
-- the Power of Culture around the world (Identity)

 – Ethnocentrism & Cultural Relativism
            – Xenophobia
--Culture Shock!

 -- World View
 – Core Values
        – American & Korean Values

 – Norms

 – Cultural Humor

– loosely defining:  Society;  Ethnic Group;  Subculture

Learning to be “An American” Human

*Socialization*

– Defined

– Quick history on our views of Human behavior

– Nature vs.(and) Nurture debate

– Summation

– Who socializes us? Primary Group; Role Models & Significant Others

– Secondary Groups: Peer groups; Cohorts; Mass Media

– Socialization’s assets: Language (oral & written); Rites of Passage;

and Collective Memory

– Variation in Culture = Variation in Socialization (Global Perspective)

– Dependence vs. Independence Training

Elderly Issues

- Changing Age demographics

– Health Care & Social Security

– Feeling left out, outdated, outcast, seen as senile, lack of old age respect,

seen as a drain on the system; what’s there to look forward to (depression).

– media discrimination; job discrimination; Nursing Homes

Language & Culture

– The importance of Language to humans

– Key role in Cultural & Biological Evolution

– hence, we build memory and collect information via language

– Transmits cultural information & retains culture

– Source of Solidarity

– importance of Literacy, yesterday & today

– Displacement

– Sophistication of our human communication - 1) combining sounds

2) general creativity & rules 3) syntax 4) paralanguage

5) nonverbal communication 6) connotations

– Language changes and develops with culture

– subcultures/regions and Dialects

– Code Switching

– Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis = each language uniquely shapes perception, and

to some extent reality, for its speakers. Unique vocabularies and their

unique definitions, along with unique grammar, reflect unique mental

perspectives.

– hence, Ethnolinguistics = culture revealing itself through language

Terms relating to Language & Culture

Displacement – the ability to communicate outside of immediate time and place (outside of the “here and now”).

Syntax – the rules and order in arranging words into more meaningful communication.

Paralanguage – sounds that are not considered “words”, along with background sounds or changing tones, that do convey or alter meaning for the listener.

Dialect – a regional or subcultural variation of a language distinguished by its unique vocabulary, pronunciation, rhythm, speed and/or syntax.

Code Switching – altering your speech to accommodate the social milieu, or individual you are speaking to.

High & Low Context – when the social/cultural context is “high” (understood by all), the cultural environment speaks for itself, and therefore requires little oral communication; the opposite would be true for “low” context, requiring more oral communication.

Social Interaction & Personal Identity

* * working in groups - the influence and rules of engagement (networking);
      group identity; personal identity * *

– Role & Role Set;  Status & Status Set
     – Generalized Other (G.H. Mead)
 – Role Strain / Conflict
      – Cognitive Dissonance (social-psyche)

– Looking-Glass Self (C.Cooley)

– Dramaturgical Analysis (Drama!) - life is a stage & we are the actors
     – Impression Management

– Groupthink
– Ingroup / Outgroup Phenomenon

– Durkheim’s Mechanical & Organic Solidarities
        – His warnings of organic solidarity (Anomie; transient relations)

Individualism, Rationalization & Bureaucracy

· The basis to its philosophy; why it became popular in America; its positive aspects

n Individualism vs. Conformity (Ideal-Constructs) > our ideological struggle between

the two

n the value of conformity; does individualism blind us to our connections to each other

· Social & Economic Networking (R. Putnam’s work in Italy)

· “Bowling Alone in America”

· Politics & Individualism

· Economics & Individualism (competition+ capitalism+ individualism+ meritocracy) >

a focus on profits and privatization over leveling mechanisms and community

· Conclusion – balancing the scales of individualism & conformity/community

Attribution Theory (simple answers to complex issues/problems)

– Thomas’ Theorem

– Scapegoats

– Selective Perception

forms of Rationalization (how we answer questions, solve problems,

and accomplish goals)

– Traditional-Affectional

– Instrumental

– Value-Rational (outgrowth of Instrumental)

– Affects of Modern Rationale (Weber)

– Disenchantment

– Alienation (Marx) - alienated from complexities

of economy, our business/industry, our

domestic life . . . . an even nature/resources

Bureaucracy - (uug! ooh! sounds boring! but necessary!)

– Its origins and its definition

– Rational-Legal Authority

– Weaknesses or Shortcomings of Bureaucracy

– Symbolic Interactionist perspective on Bureaucracies

Disenchantment (Weber) - is a crisis of meaning, a spiritual void, lacking a deep feeling of commitment; approaches to life that are less meaningful.

Alienation - (Weber) You play such a small role, or small part, in the big machine of economics, politics and bureaucracy, that one can feel “alienated” – separated from having any real impact. (Marx) 2) alienated from any real control in your business; from owning of tools/machinery that make products, or from important decisions; alienated from full process of making and selling a product, or shaping the service business (new service industries, new management offset some of this). 3) alienated from domestic life (work and home 2 different lives) 4) alienated from nature (industrial/post-industrial) and from social interaction (automation in business).

Family, Marriage, & Kinship

– another organizing institution for culture

– Functions of  Family & formal Kinship

– an all inclusive definition of “family”
     – financial & emotional benefits
          – Nuclear & Extended families
      – why switch to Nuclear families?
– Why have formal Marriage contracts and ceremonies?
     – Neolocal Residence pattern (why?);  and why small families?
– Monogamy & Polygamy
– Patriarchy & Patrilineal Kinship

Romantic  Love   vs.  Arranged marriages
 – Exogamy & Endogamy
     – endogamy, a function of kinship?
      – reasons for Arranged marriage other than exogamy/endogamy

– Divorce in America
     – Serial Monogamy
 – Ideal vs. Real Marriage
     – Homogamy

Functions of Family & Formal Kinship :

1) Providing material security by way of networking money & passing
    down wealth and assets.   2) Socialization & emotional security
3) Keeping relationships and biology in order (includes sex & incest
    taboos).   4) Delegation of rights, responsibilities, and obligations.
5) For the benefits of  Exogamy

Attributing factors to High Divorce Rate in U.S.

1) Idealistic notions of romantic marriage
2) Women’s rights & opportunities
3) Social stigmas, political laws, & religious pressure have all lessened
4) More Individualistic w/ less family and community ties
5) 2 professions w/ 2 competing incomes
6) government support of single parents
7) Less chance at Homogamy

Homosexuals as a new, albeit unique, minority group

– a unique minority

– Homophobia, and the basis of it: a conservative’s perspective

– rapidly increasing recognition and acceptance

– Nature vs. Nurture in a new light, as it relates to homosexuals

– Is it a CHOICE?

– Global perspective

- questionnaire: if the roles were reversed?

– Getting inside the psychological/social challenges of the Gay/Lesbian experience

– Coming “Out” or staying “In” the closet?

- Marriage for same-sex spouses? Civil Unions?

Stratification in the U.S.

– What's out Categories of Stratification?
     – our status symbols and status jobs?  

– the Subcultures of Socio-Economic Classes within society (upper, middle, lower)

– Income & Wealth Inequality in the U.S. 
     – Where is the Wealthy and the Poor?  
     – Who are our Poor? 
 – Is the American Dream still alive?

– Comparing us to other post-industrial modern countries
    – Relative & Absolute poverty

– the “Culture of Poverty” (Lewis, Banfield, Ryan) (cyclical attitudes and
    perspectives + environmental factors affecting societal achievement + self-fulfilling prophecy +
    “blaming the victim vs. “victimization”)

Global Stratification

– Charts, Stats, and Maps on Disparities in Global Inequality

– Why the Imbalance?   (agriculture/ranching vs. post-industrial;
    population vs. share of world income; environmental factors; greater
    roadblocks to success; corruption & mismanagement;  cultural lag;
    different cultural values and priorities, i.e.. haven't made the right
    moves [modernization theory]; and Colonialism [dependency
    theory])
      – relative poverty again

– Modernization vs. Dependency Theory
The African- American “Black” Experience

– What does the classification of race have in the biological sciences
    and the Social Sciences?
 – All about environmental adaptation
  – skin color
  – mixing & mingling
   – stereotyping and scapegoating
    – 200 years of segregation

– Issues of Identity & Revitalization

– Impatience on both sides

– struggles within some African-American communities
     – hurting ourselves (themselves)
     – reflecting on the meaning and source of Racial Kinship, Pride,
        Solidarity in the context of “Blackness” of Subculture?

– Positive Change

     – Affirmative Action

Ethnicity in the U.S. and in General

– Recalling the definition
– different type of prejudice (ethnocentrism/xenophobia)

– Ethnicity in the Global Perspective

-- Pluralism (multiculturalism) vs. Assimilation (melting-pot)

– Stats on U.S. Ethnic groups

– Native American situation  - trouble with historical assimilation

 Theories of Prejudice

     1)   Individuals express a general tolerance or intolerance toward
           outside groups, defying cultural traits outside of their own.
     2)   They need a scapegoat (some group to blame) for their, or their
           community's, problems.
     3)   Tendency toward the ranking and ingroup/outgroup phenomenon
           that develops over time into formal stratification categories
     4)   Power-elite disseminates the prejudice and divisiveness; throwing
           out facades of legitimacy of “knowing your place”; works as a
           divide & conquer strategy for them.

A closer look at our Capitalism & Democracy

– The workings and characteristics of Capitalism - in a nutshell
    (Structural-Functionalist)
– The Realities & Shortcomings of our Capitalism   (Conflict Theorists)
 – flawed Meritocracy; tendency toward Monopoly; the struggles of
    the Entrepreneur;  Revolving Door among Ruling Elite; Does
    Labor and Information move with fluidity?; Does Capitalism
    naturally provide for the public good?

– Post-Industrial Economy
     – Where's our jobs and economy going in the 21st Century?

– Socialism & the thrust behind it
   -- Communism
    – Democratic Socialism
– State Capitalism
– summation: equality & civil liberties vs. heavy handed government

Post-Industrial Economy:  electronic/information based economy with a large service sector; very internationally influenced
Economy moving towards:  more white collar professions and other services; more specialized education/training; gender and cross-cultural sensitivity training;  contract work / temping (less personal stability and benefits);  increasingly powerful corporations or more socialistic programs??
Socialism:  a political and economic theory whereby key natural resources and economic sectors are controlled by government.
Communism:  ideal state of equality and collectivism (regulating or controlling all sectors of society)
Social Democracies:  significant government control over certain key economic sectors while holding free elections and referendums.
State Capitalism:  close legal agreements and cooperation between big business and government.

American Political Culture

Pluralist Model:  political (& economic) power dispersed by competing interest groups.

Power-Elite Model:  political (& economic) power concentrated among the rich.

Sociology & Religion

Sociology’s spin on Religion in society

Religion and its role in humanity
          -- The Functions of Religion (functionalists)
-- Integral in our lives (ceremonies; rites of passage; sacred days)
          -- Powerful human motivator of behavior  (“leap of faith”)
                   -- Its importance to Americans
                   -- Stats on Religiosity & maps on U.S. religious diversity

           --Secularism  &  Civil Religion

Possible Dysfunctions of Religion for humans/human groups (Conflict T.)

Powerful force of culture change – or – conservatism
                              (liberalism)            (fundamentalism)

Variety of Religions Globally
          -- Monotheism & Polytheism
  --Polytheism (multiple gods/goddesses, spirits, forces, ancestors
                                            - multifaceted, integrated spiritual worldview – interplay of these forces/spirits/gods)
                             -- East vs. West  (spiritual philosophies)

                            -- Animism

                            -- New religious Cults/Sects in America

Global Population, Environment & Modernity

– 6.5 Billion Folks - Should that sound alarm bells?  Is that sustainable?

– Factors or side-effects associated with overpopulation

– plus, the “Blasé Urbanite”

– Population Growth and where is population a serious problem

– Demographic Transition Theory (explains pop. explosion in recent centuries)

            – Age/Sex population structure graphs  for America (what does it reveal?)

- “Ups and Downs” of Population Growth globally

– general population (NeoMalthusians) concerns

– specific concerns for the U.S. (baby boomers; migration; our

    connections to the developing world; urban & suburban issues)

-- Social losses of Urban life (gemeinschaft; gesellschaft; revisiting

    terms: anomie, organic solidarity); Suburbs not much better

-- Major Environmental Problems, and the culture & history behind them

                   -- moving toward Sustainable Development

–       “Who shrunk the World?” Globalization & the New World Order
        -- Pro-Globalization  vs.  Cons (those struggling with globalization)

  --  20^th/21^st Century bringing in more: communication & transportation

technology; population growth; more trade = more Diffusion &
  Assimilation (forced and passive > the Melting-Pot)

– watering down of cultural diversity (culture groups > ethnicity +

Cultural Lag/Cultural Loss) > Revitalization & Fundamentalist movements

– Pluralism (multiculturalism/accommodation)

– Pros & Cons of Modernization and Change in America today (Modernity)

Terms & Information relating to Culture Change/Modernity/Globalization:

Diffusion – the sharing of material and nonmaterial culture from one group to another.  (ideas; religion; new technologies; popular materials)
Assimilation – process of bringing minority culture groups into a common cultural fold, or alikeness.
Pluralism – accommodating the widest possible diversity in society through political policies and societal ethics of tolerance.
Cultural Lag – the struggle and frustration of adapting to the changes happening around a person or group.  (individuals/groups adapting to modern technology; science; new religious ideas) (typically traditional cultures and older generations)
Cultural Loss - As new activities, strategies, or institutions come into a society passively or forcibly, then some other activity, strategy, or institutions has to be discarded, and over time possibly lost.  (There’s only so much time and energy in a day/week/year)
Cultural Revitalization -  when culture groups attempt to revitalize or reinvigorate old or dying cultural traditions or institutions (ex. religion, language, ceremonies).

Aspects of Modernity:
Pros:  more information-education and all its positive affects; improved technology & health care; more choices and freedoms in general; possible lowering inequality
Challenges:  still big problems persist: poverty, inequality & environment; too many choices?;  too much individualism?  frequent cultural lag & increasing cultural loss;  more personal stress; less common threads/connections between people/families;  moral uncertainty;  more impersonal relations;  competition over cooperation

Pro-Globalization  vs.  Separatism (those struggling with globalization)

Pros - 1. positive aspects of sharing technology, ideas/information, services 
 (voice of World Trade Organ.), and some underdeveloped countries benefit from
 global capitalism/markets.  2. stronger economic connections = less warfare
 3) more global openness and less isolationism = less stereotyping, fears, paranoia, and
 ethnocentrism.  4. everybody becomes watchdogs for human rights violations
 and demanding “moral” justice and equality.  5. Global/Regional organizations
 reduce conflicts and off forum for multi-national conflicts and problems
 (i.e.. migrations, environment)
 Cons - 1. Modernity has many environmental and social side-effects we see in
 today's modern countries > (backlash by liberals, fundamentalists, separatists)
 2. it is too focused on economics and competition and not on inequality, working
 conditions, and the environment.  3. dominant political & economic countries lack
 respect for different cultural/traditional societies = (Cultural Loss/ Cultural Lag).
 4. “We're starting off this New World Order at a deficit (econ., politically, infra-
 structure, in debt, colonialism/neocolonialism) and may need a period of revitalization
 and new/old identity.