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93 Cards in this Set
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Sociological Theory |
the How and Why particular facts about the social world are related
answers big questions such as:
What is society? What causes social change? How is the individual related to others? |
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Main Schools of Sociological Theory |
1. Conflict (Marx) 2. Functionalism (Durkheim) 3. Symbolic Interaction (Mead)
However, the schools missed views of gender and race |
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Research |
Is an attempt to develop knowledge based on "empirical" -- evidence from the real world |
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Interesting Questions on Research |
Do I see what I believe
OR
Do I believe what I see
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Babbie |
The Importance of Sociological Research
- To prove if the Dominant Discourse is true - she says that passion is okay, but once you do research you must be objective
- The Welfare Story: merely looking at the stats and data doesn't give you the whole story --> Although the #s are the same, Welfare is not given to the same people every year --> negative views that welfare traps the poor --> #s don't tell the whole story = needs explanation
"MeSearch" - how research pertain to me
She talks about benefits of statistical work: - benefits/things we take for granted to be true -sociologists get in trouble for proving what we already know to be true
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Best |
Damn Lies and Statistics
He talks about the limitations in statistics and the need to use our brains -Quantitative Research
Example: 1950 - stats say # of American children gunned down has doubled --> dumb stats because by 1955 the number would be over 35 trillion
- Bad stats live on and take on lives of their own -SOLUTION is to become better judges of the numbers and think critically about them - to do this we need to know common errors - use our brains & think what doesn't make sense
being critical: - thoughtful approach - never perfect social stats - appreciating inevitable mutations that affect all stats
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Positivism |
OBJECTIVE - uncovering natural laws
Trying to look for laws that govern society in the same way that laws govern nature
-taking a step back and observing -similar to Marx's ideology *the benefit: it doesn't get caught up in the observations of the subjects * * the limitation: tends to see everything alike *
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Vershtehen |
SUBJECTIVE - understanding the experience of the subjective
Need to focus on the people involved in the situation and what they are thinking
build theory, give a deeper understanding of the topic by getting close and talking to people
Need to dig deeper and understand how events affect the people/subject
*The Limitation: loss of objectivity * |
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Key subjects in history |
1850 - Martineau (descriptive of the principle that govern social life
1900 - Durkheim (comparative)
1930 - Chicago (participant/observer)
1950 - Statistics
1975 - Combination & Secondary analysis |
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Quantitative Research |
Joel Best - he argues against simply just having a list - he says that you need to keep your eyes open, thinking cap on, and need to be critical
Surveys/Examples - depends on the right people & right questions - can describe or explain both - what they do well - what they do poorly - steps
Experiments: Lab/Field Experiments - something where you introduce something into the environment and see how it changes things |
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Qualitative Research |
Ethnography Elaine Bell Kaplan
- I can show you that it isn't about their character but about their social constraints they are dealing with
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Qualitative Research - Participant Observer |
Roots in anthropology
Steps: - Choose topic, join group - Stage 1. Keep mouth shut" - Stage 2. Penetrate - Stage 3. Withdraw and write
Limits: - hard to repeat precisely - may not be "representative" - Researcher's focus is selective - Researcher may "go native"
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Elaine Bell Kaplan |
Qualitative Research - participant observer
Not Our Kind of Girl -underlying risk in black motherhood by interviewing teen mothers on a regular basis - able to accomplish qualitative research (rich understanding of why) - help understand Babbie's statistics by looking at the specifics of the welfare system not just the overall percentage |
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Activism |
An intentional effort to create change
*It relates to sociological theories because theories ask what causes social change
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Categories of Activism |
Conscious raising - trying to pursued someone by providing them with information (change mind by giving info) Lobbying - trying to influence elected offials Community Building - change at the local level, getting people together to discuss ways to improve community (ex: neighborhood watch programs) Propaganda - can have a negative edge and spin to it, what you want people to believe. It also has a particular ideal bias Protest - can some in a lot of forms like Strike Action, Non-Violent, Violent Confrontation Media Activism - trying to attract the media's attention to what you're doing Revolution - Top of the spectrum of aggressiveness
*All of these can be contained within a social movement*
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Social Movements |
An organized special group that acts within continuity and coordination to promote or resist change in society or other social units
*Most organized form of collective behavior and most sustained* |
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Types of Social Movements |
Alternative - change one behavior (Alcoholics Anonymous) Redemptive - personal transformative movement, altering the entire lifestyle of individuals. Ex: hippies, new age, religious Revolutionary - reactionary movements, Ex: Aryan Nation (Christian/White Supremacist)
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Resource Mobilization Theory |
Mayer Zald - University of Michigan
Explores how movements gain momentum by successfully garnering resources, competing with other movements, and mobilizing their available resources |
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Jane Addams |
1860 - 1935
Created Hull House in Chicago and Women's School of Sociology
- her writing derived from her "hands on" activism; working with the poor women and immigrants
Key Themes: -Sociology analyzes the situation-at-hand in order to create positive change -individual agent is the unit of analysis -American configures key social elements in ways that must be changed in order to attain true democracy
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Saul David Alinsky |
1909 - 1972
Considered to be the father of community building
-organized Chicago neighborhoods for political action beginning in the 1930's - precursor for 1960's Grassroots Movements (local political movement) -later organized stockholders to lend their votes to "proxies" who would vote an annual stockholder meeting to support social justice - He called mainstream "liberalism" passive and ineffective - Said hot impulsive passions turn into calculated, purposeful, effective actions -true core of the activist: people have the power to act and will ultimately make the right decisions -organized religion is materially solvent and spiritually bankrupt |
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Difference Between Alinsky and Addams |
Addams - Feminist, Individual Agent is the unit of anaylsis
Alinsky - getting everyone together to make change, doesn't believe in liberalism. All other truths are relative and changing |
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Why are we studying economics in sociology? |
Because sociology can take a more integrative approach and look at these issues with a social context |
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Simmel's Tragedy of Culture |
In the modern specialized world, individuals cannot fully understand the many components of cultural elements around them
^ This is the tragedy!
- if we went back to a simpler day people were generalists - modern day, we are so specialized that we only know a tiny piece of our tiny culture
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Macro Sociology |
Largest
Examines whole societies
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Meso Sociology |
Middle
Examines institutions |
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Micro Sociology |
Smallest
Examines individual in context to groups
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Sociology's Classic 5 Institutions |
1. Family 2. Education 3. Religion 4. Economy 5. Government
Stiglitz's book examines Economy and Government |
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Adam Smith's approach to markets |
The Invisible Hand theory - is his approach |
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The Invisible Hand Theory |
Adam Smith's approach to markets
In a free market, no regulation of any type should be needed to make sure there is a mutually beneficial exchange taking place --> Because an invisible hand will guide the market participants to trade in the most mutually beneficial way
He says: We don't need government regulations because everything eventually works out; Everyone is doing what they think if best for them.
Markets should benefit society at the same time they are benefiting private individuals |
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Market |
Any medium that allows buyers and sellers of a specific good or service to interact in order to facilitate an exchange
- doesn't need to be a physical meeting place, it can be the internet - widget market = people buying and selling widgets - markets should be efficient and stable
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Does Stiglitz agree or disagree with Smith? |
DISAGREE - He thinks we need regulation |
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Key trend in the US economy over the past 30 years |
In the 20th century, things were working successfully
Markets were working and government policies were also helpful (Like the GI Bill and progressive taxation)
But for the past 30 years, we have been growing apart to the worst level since the Great Depression And government policies have been a part of this problem too!!! |
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Trickle Down Economy |
Investing in the upper class (the job creators) causes them to increase business and create benefits (jobs, income) for those in the lower class
One argument: is it better to give money to the upper class because it will increase business
Reaganomics - President Ronal Reagan emphasized this notion
But what actually happened? They didn't spend it on their business but instead saved it for themselves. They didn't pump it back into the economy. Ex: Offshore bank accounts.
Stiglitz disagrees with this theory |
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Trickle Up Economy |
Benefits by investing in the middle and lower class by giving them tax cuts, thinking that they would consume more which would help the economy. (consumerism is 70% of our economy) Stiglitz thought this could work
However, this didn't work because studies show that people ended up saving the money by means of putting it under their beds. Instead of having the middle and lower class invest and pump money back into the government people were saving it for themselves and relied on that money and didn't work
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Education's Role in America |
In our society, the # of people that are able to move class is ver small and limited. But education seems to be the only thing that makes it possible.
-Education does help to prove opportunity. But, rich get better education -Wealthy kids with degrees still do better than poor kids with degrees -if you want to be/get higher socioeconomic level you need a good education -74% of students in highly selective colleges are from the top %15 percent of income, only 9% are from the bottom half
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Key Measures of Class Inequality |
Stiglitz
He is worried about the huge difference in percentages of income between the 1% and the 99%
Americans tend to think of ourselves as largely middle class with a small lower class and small higher class - Middle Class Jobs: going away/being reduced by jobs with fewer skills or even jobs with greater skills (No in between)
Terry sees numbers that shower the middle class jobs that went away in 2008, are slowly coming back but are not the same jobs previous middle class people had and are not the same incomes --> new jobs = new types of education and training --> CEO to average worker salary ratio (a few decades ago it was 30:1, not it is 200:1. Japan it is 16:1) --> Gini Coefficient |
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Arguments Against Stiglitz's Position |
1. Inequality diminishes overtime as people age - it diminishes over one's lifetime *He says the numbers don't agree
2. American poverty is relatively wealth elsewhere ---> poor Americans are still wealthier than poor people in other countries but that doesn't refute the inequality gap
3. His statistics can be argued - Sometimes in both directions
4. This is the way it should be! - We need a rich elite for the capitalism economy to function for everyone - the poor are poor through their own failure to seize American opportunity
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Why does Stiglitz blame economic inequality on the Gov't? |
He says we have two problems: 1. Markets themselves 2. Politics
First, some people argue that economic inequality results because people make unequal contributions and are rewarded accordingly - Unequal contribution = unequal compensation (which seems fair) - people should get different amounts because they contribute differently
Second, some people argue that economic inequality is necessary for a capitalist system to work. Capitalism relies on growth - for the economy to grow, people must work harder and smarter, but, they will only work harder and smarter if they will receive money for doing so. You need rich as the example: --> seeing richer pushed to strive for greater wealth through work, savings and investment --> let people want to be like the rich
**STIGLITZ OPINION:** - He disagrees with the first argument - He supports the second argument. However, he feels our current inequality is far greater than needed to provide incentives and that this current degree of inequality provides many harms - He says that economic inequality is due to the operation of markets and the way the government reacts to those markets
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"Rent-Seeking" |
When a company, organization of individual uses their resources to get an economic gain from others without reciprocating any benefits back to society
- making money from something/somebody else's efforts that are not your own - tipping the market in your favor - people are getting money that should actually stay in the government
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Examples of "Rent-Seeking" |
1. Sell products to the government at above fair market price
2. Monopolistic = get the government to give you monopoly
3. Exploit those less informed/educated
4. CEOs take salaries disproportionate to their contribution to the company and society |
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Examples of economic steps Stiglitz would take to "Level the playing field" |
1.Curb excess to the top (BANKS) - make banks more transparent - make banks more competitive - legislate against abusive lending - close down off-shore banking
2. Reduce "rent-seeking" and level the playing field - improve corporate governance (CEO power) - End government giveaways - Reduce ability to "buy justice" thru lawyers - strengthen anti-monopoly laws
3. Tax reform - a more "progressive" tax system with fewer loopholes, - reform estate tax
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Examples of economic steps Stiglitz would take to "Help the rest" |
1. Improve access to education 2. Provide savings incentives (ex: helping purchase homes) 3. Healthcare for all! 4. Strengthen other programs that help those out of work or in poverty (unemployment, food stamps, etc) |
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Examples of economic steps Stiglitz would take New School Compact |
1. Support Unions 2. Supports Affirmative Action |
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Political Reforms Stiglitz recommends |
1. Campaign finance reform 2. Access to less biased information 3. Make registration and voting easier (require voting) 4. Reduce gerrymandering (which is manipulating the boundaries to favor one party or class) 5. Reform filibuster (which is an obstruction in a legislature- halts the progress of legislature) |
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Stiglitz : 2 Alternative Scenarios in the future of the US |
EITHER
Reform: moving closer to "liberty and justice for all"
OR
Current Trends Worsening: dual economy, possible popular violence
it will be better or worse but it won't stay the same! |
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"Post-Racial America" |
Race is no longer the basis for discrimination (America is colorblind)
Social science research says that we are still highly racialized society even as our racial diversities increase
Some cases; "RACE" may be a substitute for "CLASS" - discrimination against poor people like black discrimination - clear correlation between race and class
Race is still basis for discrimination Racial segregation in public schools INCREASING
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1954 SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the US) Decision |
The Supreme Court ruled that it would be impossible for black and white students to be equal if they were kept separate --> Thus, declaring separate schools for separate races unconstitutional
[This Overruled the Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896 that required racial segregation --> Separate but equal: however, when you separate blacks and white it isn't equal]
It invalidated many state laws like in the south where segregation was legislated/legal Court supervised plans for racial integration Individual actions are needed in order to ensure integration
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Why does the 1954 Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision matter? |
Because research shows us that minority groups have lower life chances if they attend single-race schools
Students do better in diverse environments
Supreme court decisions have major effects on US History
Segregation linked to unequal opportunity
Cross District: integrate schools over cross-district schools Red Line: Real-estate divided up blacks and whites, segregated neighborhoods (Terry's example of people shouting out window)
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Assertion & Recommendations of Brown at 60 |
60 years since Brown v. Board of Education We've gone backwards; we've made progress but then we went backwards: 1990 - Court monitored de-segregation ended 1993 - Don't need court to monitor 1993-2011 - Re-segregation, mostly Latino/Hispanics
Recommendations: - new theoretical and social science approaches - state level initiatives - money to help schools segregate - look at what worked and what didn't work to integrate school systems
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Statistics suggesting racial inequality: criminal justice system |
African Americans are incarcerated 6x higher than whites
Whites use drugs 5x more than blacks but blacks go to prison 10x higher/more than whites do
1.4 million black makes in colleges but .8 million in the prison system |
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Director Jackson |
"It's Complicated" - Like Johnson, he says it is not about blaming but changing and getting off paths of least resistance
- Complex topics; not one size fits all - Can't generalize and say that black males are more likely to go to prison
- Social scientist Doll Experiment of giving someone a black doll and white doll and seeing which they identify which, which one they think is good and which is bad, which is better and which is worse etc.
-Life experiences shape us (Ex: Cop, taught to go up to a cop and shake his hand, or taught to run the opposite way)
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John Blake |
Racism Without Racists - CNN article
Knife Fight Experiment (showing photographs) - shows that even racial minorities are not immune to racial biases
"First thing we must stop doing is making racism a personal thing and understand that it is a system of advantage based on race" - Doureen Loury
- About the people in the suits, no the people in the hoods - don't look to outside things to form opinions but look within yourself -racism has evolved, but our language to describe it has not - racial biased is deeply engrained within us and can be more destructive than overt racism
Ex: look at housing, segregated communities, schools etc. Invisible racism...
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Changes in racial make-up of American neighborhoods |
Youtube Video with William Frey
- youthful minority population - new minorities - Asian and Hispanic, white population hasn't grown that much
Who is moving out? Who is moving in? African Americans are leaving the cities who have had the biggest amount - moving to suburbs New hispanics moving into the cities and new places
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From the Reading on Movement out of segregated neighborhoods |
- People tend to move from one segregated neighborhood to another
- Education and income help black families get into move integrated neighborhoods and help whites stay in white neighborhoods
- Other factors seem specific to particular metro areas
- trend towards diversion
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How do Americans segregate themselves? |
- Segregated economy (seg. of rich and poor)
- Move from middle class neighborhoods --> poorer parts move by themselves and the richer part of the middle class move as well |
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Immigration Reform Bill 2007 |
Never voted on, Never passed
- Give 4 year renewable Z Visa and probationary legal status - Can turn Z Visa into a Green Card but you have to pay high fines - Help temporary work flow - Workplace enforcement --> Catching illegal immigrants - Improve boarder security**
We look at this because it describes the nature of how people are moving around, who is coming in and out and how they are coming in an out of the country |
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Peggy Somers |
Award-Winning; University of Michigan
Deals with definition of citizenship, which is a hot topic of sociology
Genealogies of Citizenship: Markets, Statelessness and the Right to have Rights
Immigration from Mexico has slowed down because of border control, decrease in US employment opportunity and the financial failure
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Wucker's piece of citizenship |
- Meaning of citizenship - ways that citizenship has been used in the past and used in the present - Originally in ancient states, citizenship was used to keep people from leaving. Today, it is used to control the flow of migrants --> rewarding people who are already here --> control flow --> US is a receiving country
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"Who Are They and Why Do They Come" |
By Portes and Rumbaut
WHO are they? - we have a stereotype of them being poor but that is not the case - likelihood of college degree is similar for immigrants than non-immigrants - some are wealthy, others are professionals and entrepreneurs - wide range of readiness to assimilate
WHY do they come? - because they CAN, legal system permits it - because they WANT to --> Neoclassical economics: move out of poverty --> New Economic migration: relative advantage to migrate: improve investment/make a major purchase
Authors' View: - demand in labor exist - opportunity for relative advantage - US pull immigrants to come, more pull by nation and push my immigrant
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"Intransigent Nativism" |
Idea that we don't want immigrants in our country. But, if they do come, they should assimilate themselves seamlessly into our society so we don't even realize that they are here (Melting pot) |
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Acculturation |
Alternative to Nativism/ Intransigent Assimilation
Acquire language and cultural fluency but retain key elements of the immigrants' culture - you don't need to give up everything |
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Immigration Reform Bill of 2013 |
Didn't make it through house of reps, never passed
- Created Registered Provisional Immigrant states (RPI) - Wouldn't receive most federal benefit programs - Nothing about temporary work flow - Same workplace enforcement as 2007 - Improve border security** |
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Obama's Executive Order 2014 |
"Not going to bust you" but not really path to citizenship ---> Not substitute for legislation that didn't get passed but he was simply trying to say if illegal immigrants fit certain categories they can register and be protected from the possibility of being deported
- Temporary legal status - No access to ObamaCare - Facilitate visas for highly skilled and those investing in the US
4 Million people can be protected but not "busted" 6.2 Million undocumented immigrants gain nothing from this executive order
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Marx's View on Topics |
CONFLICT: power differences such as class conflict
(High, middle, lower class) Economic conflicts Black v. White
Marx on markets: would believe that the government doesn't need to restrain the market, but that the government should facilitate the success of the bourgeois in the market. |
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Durkheim View on Topics |
FUNCTIONALISM: patterns and institutions of society and their interaction in maintaining cultural and social unity
(markets, economy)
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Mead's View on Topics |
SYMBOLIC INTERACTION: people act towards things based on the meaning those things have, these meanings are based from social interactions and interpretations
Black v. White Segregation 99% v. 1% Racism - Ferguson: these things have connotations to them now that derived from society giving them its meaning |
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Dominant Discourse |
Behaviors of patterns created by those in power, and it becomes the accepted way of looking at (or speaking about) the subject. - ideologies of those who have the most power - or prevalent within a given society
Ex: discrimination against a particular group --> people in power used propaganda to maintain dominance and alter perception and made discrimination of a particular group a part of society
Babbie proves that Dominant Discourse is true |
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Epistemology |
The science of knowledge
Thinking about WHAT we know and HOW we know it
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LOW epistemology |
No matter how much research, we will never know that much. Very little we know very positively
-Terry has a low epistemology -We always have to think about if we have discovered the truth |
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HIGH epistemology |
Knowledge is possible, we can do it, we can know a lot of things with a lot of certainty
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Ethnography |
scientific description of individual peoples and cultures
LIFE STORY/ORAL HISTORY
Elaine Bell Kaplan - gets involved with a group of people, let her interview them and question them. - wouldn't have gotten the same info with just a survey - helpful in digging into the truth
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Difference between Activism and Social Movements |
Activism is intentional to create social change Social Movements: is a specified form of Activism and is more organized and usually more sustained |
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4 Elements of Social Movements |
1. Emergence (coming out)
2. Coalescence (Coming together)
3. Bureaucrazation
4. Decline |
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4 Elements FOR Social Movements |
1. Pre-existing communization network
2. Pre-existing grievance
3. Precipitating incident
4. Ability to mobilize |
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Political Process Theory |
Internal and External Factors
Social Movements achieve success by exploited a combination of internal factors (ability to mobilize resources) and external factors (changes occurring in society) - stressed the vulnerability of the political system to protest
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New Social Movement Theories |
By William Gamson
Stressed cultural factors rather than structural factors
How new identities are formed within social movements |
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Democracy and Social Ethics |
Jane Adams
American must raise our moral concern from the personal level to the social (ETHICS) --> This, requires better understand of other's experiences -Economic deprivation in childhood skews the individuals perspective -Current mode of gov't is intended to force 18th c. ideas of individual compliance. Instead, we need to examine social factors that produce deviance
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Who was the father of community building? |
Saul David Alinsky
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Plessy v. Ferguson |
Overruled
-Separate but equal -when you separate blacks and whites it is not equal -just because supreme court hands down a ruling doesn't mean the next day things will be hunky-doory |
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Micro-aggressions |
Term that originated in the discussion of race
Notion that on a daily basis, African Americans may experience thousands of insults that end up having a cumulative negative affect
A thousand pokes that add up |
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Plutonomy |
economy based on the spending of the rich
Notion that the economy could have shifted toward the very rich
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Meaning of citizenship |
Who is allowed and how Birth v. Naturalization - different rights for both |
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Migrant-sending Nations |
-Export workers hoping they will send money back -dual citizenship is one way to retain their loyalty
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Migrant-receiving Nations |
United States is a receiving nation
-Fill their workforce and tax base -Voting rights one way to reward their participation -Some are liberalizing laws to attract more, other are creating restraints to maintain flow of immigrants |
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Inequality of Citizenship |
- 1 Million people are stateless - Hard to create an international approach to immigration because of the varies feelings each place has ----> Although, it seems logical considering the vast globalization there is. There is then more pressure to have consistent practices between countries |
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Xenophobia |
Fear of Strangers |
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Eugenics Movement |
Madison Grant 1865-1937
-Purify America with selective breeding -Lobbied for strong immigration restriction (Later used by Nazis for justification)
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Forces Assimilation |
Attempt to Americanize as quickly as possible
Melting Pot VERSUS Salad Bowl
Melting Pot: -become like us as much and as quickly as possible -Some things are practical like learning English Robert Park advocated for this
Salad Bowl: -lots of people from lots of different places --> parts that are similar but you are able to retain parts of your original identity
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Nativism versus Acculturation |
Nativism: ignores realities of increasing globalization
Acculturation: acquire a language and cultural fluency but retain key elements of the immigrants' culture - don't give up everything |
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Types of Human Capital among Immigrants |
-Unskilled/Semi-skilled -Skilled/Professional -Entrepreneurs
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Legal Statuses of Immigrants |
-Unauthorized -Legal/Temporary -Legal/Permanent -Refugee/Asylees (we overlook these)
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Results of Our Actions |
Self-defeating Policies: because border crossing is so hard, season employees stay here because they are afraid they will not be let back in
Self-fulfilling Prophesies: continuation of ethnic inequality --> those people aren't as good as us: policies keep them to not be able to be as good as us |
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Underlying Missions of the Immigration Reform Bills (2007, 2013 and 2014) |
Each one of these wants to: tighten borders, employees for hiring, regularize and create pathways to avoid deportation |
