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103 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
What is sociology?
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Sociology is the empirical study of why people are the way they are. The study of patterns of human behavior within a construction called society.
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Dialectic of humans and society
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Humans create that which create them.
- Interconnectedness - Interactions - Co-dependency - Caged bird theory - The Iron cage (max weber) |
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Purpose of sociology
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To understand society realistically.
Understand why people are the way they are. Understand patterns of behavior. |
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Bracketing
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Allowing new and different ideas to enter through inquiry.
Releasing "brackets" allows synthesis to happen. |
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Obvious
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A common sense definition: something that needs no explanation.
Usually that which hides/distorts something else. A surface reality that needs to be looked beyond. The first wisdom of sociology is that things are not what they seem. |
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Debunking
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Looking at the obvious / surface level and contrasting with the deeper, less obvious to uncover social behaviour.
Challenge conventional truths. |
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Social Marginality
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Marginalized individuals, bring marginalized, naturally have a debunking mindset, always asking "why?" things are the way they are.
Marginalized individuals question the 'taking for granted' a state of being excluded from the social fabric and being treated as an outsider. |
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Ignorance
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Equated with stupidity and dumbness.
Root of word Ignore: not pay attention to not aware of not knowing not being made aware by others refusal to know We are all relatively ignorant Need the humility (low self view) to know more and better. |
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Critique
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Attempt at objective understanding so as to determine both merits and faults.
Careful analysis Studying the nature of something Root: to separate and decide. |
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Sociological Imagination
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a capacity, ability quality of mind that allows and individual to understand and connect her or his life with the forces and dynamics that impact it.
Central Premise: The individual is embedded in society, interdependent with other people. Contrasts with a view of the individual as with a view of the individual as autonomous, largely independent of other people. |
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Global sociological imagination.
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Growing global context of social life.
We are a global village. Helps us to grasp history an biography, to connect personal troubles + public issues. Personal + political. |
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Theory of duality of structure and agency
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Agency refers to the power an individual has within a social system.
Structure is a more macro approach, in which, what we define as our reality is a result of the social structure we are within. The duality is that these forces are in opposition, macro structure forming our behaviour and micro agency apparently suggesting that the individual is capable of changing social structures. New approaches are trying to synthesis a balance between structure and agency: structures influence human behaviour, yet humans are capable of changing the structures they reside in. |
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Ethnocentrism versus cultural relativism
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Ethnocentrism: The interpretation of the practices of another culture in terms of the meanings of one’s own culture.
Cultural relativism: We create our reality. Charles Taylor “ The sober and rational discourse which tries to understand other cultures has to become aware of itself as one among many possibilities in order properly understand these others.” |
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Western Marxism
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"humans are born and are selfish in nature, in order to survive"
Western marxism is a form of marxist theory that is more humanistic centred than political or economically centred. |
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Hegemony and counter-hegemony
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Hegemony: ideological control and manipulation.
Society's dominant ideas reflect the interests of the ruling class. Counter-hegemony: resistance of the rule by the masses. |
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Feminist theories
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Core concern is gender oppression.
Women and men should be equals. Dorothy smith: subject as active and experiencing person - each of us comes into situation(s) with our own perspectives. |
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Standpoint Theory
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the presence of the subject as an active and experiencing person
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Positionality
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people try to understand themselves/reality based upon their gender/race/ethnicity/religion etc
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Intersectionality / Interlocking system.
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Same set of social relations that produces men’s privilege also produces women’s oppression.
This is also called the interlocking system: if one benefits, someone else suffers because of it. |
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Post-Structuralism
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Concerned with how knowledge is socially produced.
Discipline is how we come to be motivated to produce particular realities. Foucault: Power operates by producing some behaviours while discouraging others. Knowledge can never be separated from relations of power. |
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Queer Theory
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Problematizes the standard of equality based on sameness.
Three main areas of queer theory: desire, language and identity... Desire to interrupt normal sexuality Language, unable to capture whole truth of reality Identity, a social production, constructed through social relations and discourse. |
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Post-Colonial Theory
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Focus on the political and cultural effects of colonialism
Imperialism: “what happens at home” Colonialism: “what happens away from home” Post suggests a focus on events that happened after formal colonialism ended in the early 1960’s. |
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Anti-racist theories
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Theorizing whiteness
Seen as a racial identity Richard Dyer (1997) whiteness Whites are thought of as simply people while non-white are understood as distinct races Races seen as distinct entities When in reality such is not true |
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Superstructure vs. Substructure
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Super: all of the things that society values and aspires to once its material needs are met, such as relgion, politics and ideology.
Sub: material and economic foundation for society. Includes the forces and relations of production. |
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Macro vs Microsociology
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Macrosociological theories ask “large” questions.
Microsociological theories ask questions about experiences and meanings. |
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Multiperspectival approach
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Multi-perspectival approach to the analysis of issues. Allows an individual to see an "issue" through the many alternate perspectives.
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Structural-functional Paradigm
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Assumption that society is a complex system made of interrelated parts.
Human society is similar to an organism, when it fails to work together the “system” will fail. Society must meet the needs of the majority. |
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Anomie
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lack of normality
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Conflict Theory
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Society is grounded upon inequality and competition.
Assumes that without conflict, change is impossible. |
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Bourgeois
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in a feudal system, the rich owners of resources.
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The Proletariat
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in a feudal system, the workers.
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Symbolic interaction paradigm.
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• People act toward things based on the meaning those things have for them; and these meanings are derived from social interaction and modified through interpretation (Blumer)
• Ritzer’s principles of symbolic interactionism Humans have the capacity for thought Human thinking is shaped by social interaction People learn meanings and symbols in social settings Meanings and symbols enable people to carry on uniquely human actions Meaning and symbols change depended upon interpretation Unique ability to interact with self Culmination of interaction and patterns of action make up society * significant symbol: a symbol that has a shared meaning, all understand the same meaning * non-significant symbol: a symbol in which not all agree upon its meaning. * reflexivity: the ability of individuals to think about themselves, self thinks about itself. |
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Significant / Non-significant symbols
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significant symbol: a symbol that has a shared meaning, all understand the same meaning
non-significant symbol: a symbol in which not all agree upon its meaning. |
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Polysemic
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multiple meanings
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The Enlightenment
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Premise: rationality, reason is the basis of knowledge
Positivism: the use of the methods employed by natural scientists to study human society. Natural world is governed by natural laws, thus human society is governed by societal laws. Only sense experiences can be considered knowledge. |
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Auguste Comte
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Coined the term 'Sociology'
Also started positivism. |
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Herbert Spencer
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Social Darwinism: Societies are equipped with survival mechanisms, some better than others. Those societies that are more fit, became the dominant societies and thus dominate the less fortunate societies.
Societies evolve in order to survive. Societies evolve from the simple to the complex. Laissez-faire approach (opposes regulation of or interference with natural processes) |
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Karl Marx on class struggle
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Constant struggle between the haves and have-nots.
Power is the core of all social relationships; scarce and divided unequally among all. Social values and the dominant ideology are the vehicles by which the powerful promote their own interests at the expense of the weak Dialectics: a way of seeing history and society as the result of oppositions, contradictions and tensions from which social change can emerge (Hegel) |
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Durkheim's suicide study
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Result: Not only psychological problems, individual, but also social integration and social solidarity.
Suicide rates increased or decreased proportionately with how well or poorly a person is integrated into their community. |
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Max Weber on Vertehen; value free social science.
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verstehen=empathy
It is impossible to have value free sociology because society in itself is guided by values. The study of sociology is guided by values, whether the values are at the ethical or rational level. |
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Racism and Sexism and the development of Sociology
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Earlier accounts only mention Euro-American men as founders of social thought. What about non-European thinkers?
Harriet Martineau: first methodological systematic treatise in sociology, extended comparative study of s/ institutions. Jane Addams: founded Hull House W.E.B. Dubois: established African-American sociological studies. |
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Talcott Parson's abstract theoretical models
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Social action theory: a framework which attempts to separate behaviors from actions to explain why people do what they do.
Grand theorizing Four Functional Imperatives (AGIL) Adaptation Goal attainment Integration Latency |
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Robert Merton's middle range theories
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•Middle range theorizing: disagreed with grand theorizing
•Social structures have many functions Manifest functions: the intended consequences of an action or social pattern Latent functions: the unintended consequences of an action or social pattern |
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Charles Wright Mills' Counterpoint / Praxis
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• Urged sociologists to return to social reform
• Advocated praxis • Coined terms: sociological imagination. ideas without practice are blind and practice without ideas are empty. The two should inform each other. |
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Science and common sense
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• Common sense: minimum body of knowledge that one is expected to know in order to deal with everyday situations.
• 1) Common sense and truth. o Common sense useful guide to familiar situations o Past experience safe guide to present o But common sense is NOT truth o Knowledge that relies on “common sense” is not always reliable. o Scientific method: the systematic and controlled extension of commonsense. o 2) common sense & science • men and dogs? • Sociologists must test and analyze each piece of information they use • The importance of empirical information |
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Qualitative vs Quantitative methods
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• Quantitative approaches (numerical data)
o Determining significant relationships between variables o Generalizable o Comparative • Qualitative approaches (non numerical) o Smaller sample sizes o Interviewing and observation o Researchers are research “instruments” |
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Inductive vs Deductive logic
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Inductive: Move from data to theory
Dedudctive: Move from theory to data |
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Variables
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Used to measure relationships
Independent variable: can be varied or manipulated Dependent variable: is the reaction (or lack thereof) of the manipulation |
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Correlation vs Causation
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Correlation: Measures how strongly two variables are related
Causality: one variable causes a change in another variable. |
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The control group versus experimental group
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Control and manipulations = operations designed to eliminate extraneous influences and to include necessary ones in a hypothesis test.
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Hawthorne effect
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the tendency of subjects acting to meet the expectation of researchers if they are informed beforehand that they are being studied.
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Participatory action research
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Action research: designed to promote unconcealed change and participatory research combined together.
PAR projects have both an action component and collaborative component. |
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Participant vs. Non-participant observation
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Participant: Involves active participation in the daily life activities of those he or she is observing.
Non: the opposite, idiot. |
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Reciprocal Socialization
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Bi-directional socialization. Simply meaning that as a child becomes socialized, they can socialize their mother.
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Mead's stages of the self
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Preparation stage: children merely imitate the actions and symbols of those around them
Play stage: Children assume the character of other individuals Game stage: children are aware of social context and is aware of task and relationship situations. |
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Significant other
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the person that guides and takes care of a child during primary socialization.
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Generalized Other
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general notion that a person has of the common expectations that others have about actions and thoughts within a particular society.
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Types of Socialization
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Primary: ccurs when a child learns the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture.
Secondary: refers to the process of learning what is appropriate behavior as a member of a smaller group within the larger society. Developmental: process of learning behavior in a social institution or developing your social skills. Anticipatory Socialization: refers to the processes of socialization in which a person "rehearses" for future positions, occupations, and social relationships. Resocialization: process of discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one's life. |
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Define Socialization
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to refer to the process of inheriting norms, customs and ideologies.
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Looking Glass Self
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How we see ourselves is a product of the viewpoints of how others see ourselves.
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The Thomas Theorum
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"If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences."
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Gender versus sex
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Gender is a social term
Sex is biological. Men and Women really aren't much different, besides small biological reproductive purposes. |
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Glass Ceiling
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Invisible roof women hit in society.. ruled be a class of men.
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Glass escalator
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Promoting men over women in the business world for no real reason but societal norms.
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Double Jeopardy
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Having more than one societal "disadvantage" such as being a women of colour.
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Intersectionality
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holds that the classical models of oppression within society, such as those based on race/ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, class, or disability do not act independently of one another; instead, these forms of oppression interrelate creating a system of oppression that reflects the "intersection" of multiple forms of discrimination.
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The double shift.
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A women's work at home is her second job that usually goes largely unsung compared to her "dayjob"
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Talcott Parsons and Robert Bales on division of labor and gender roles.
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Gender roles: expectations that are placed on an individual.
Masculinity: dominance Femininity: submissiveness, emotionality, weakness. |
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Intersex.
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refers to intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male
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Gender asymmetries
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Despite the "enlightenment" there remains gender inequality.
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Social construction of gender
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Gender is a socially constructed phenominon. Based on the men who are in power, fortifying the power to others in their "group".. Thus women who lack power, resort to emotion and compassion and submissiveness as alternatives to those men clutching power.
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The mommy track
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a career path determined by work arrangements offering mothers certain benefits, such as flexible hours, but usually providing them with fewer opportunities for advancement.
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Sexism
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is the belief or attitude that one gender or sex is inferior to, less competent, or less valuable than the other.
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Racial groups
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refers to the categorization of humans into populations or ancestral groups on the basis of various sets of heritable characteristics.
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Genetic interchangeability
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Humans belong to the same gene pool, we operate in a genetically open system.
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Prejudice
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preconceived belief, opinion, or judgment made without ascertaining the facts of a case.
We all have prejudice. Racism is acting upon prejudice. |
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Stereotypes
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commonly held public belief about specific social groups, or types of individuals and radios.
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Mental Templates
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Tied to stereotypes
Mental templates are shortcuts used to arrive at faster, quicker decisions, aka heuristics: broad generalizations used to speed a process. |
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Discrimination
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treatment taken toward or against a person of a certain group in consideration based solely on class or category.
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Racism as power
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Exactly as it sounds.
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Cultural racism
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The newer, more discreet form of racism that replaced classical colonial or institutionalized racism.
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Systemic racism
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any form of racism occurring specifically within institutions such as public government bodies, private business corporations, and universities
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institutional racism
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See Systemic racism
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Everyday racism
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the lived experience of racial oppression.
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Old racism vs new racism
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Old: more obvious and institutionalized
New: more discrete, under the surface, more lethal and crippling. Harder to erradicate |
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One Drop rule
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One drop of "minority" blood, however small makes you that minority.
Obama is black... not white. |
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Hypo-Descent
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Classifying mixed race groups into the lower of the two races... opposite of
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miscegenation
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mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation.
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Passing
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Passing is the ability of a person to be regarded as a member of social groups other than his or her own
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Terrorism, types of.
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State: Nazi Germani / Former Soviet Union. Holocaust.
State-sponsored: One country trains and arms a rebel group to terrorize a target. Individual: Mandela, Bin Laden, Al Kaida. |
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Paths of least resistance
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the social "norms" and modes of behaviour that society encourages. Most people following paths of least resistance have done so unknowlingly. Forms of inequality need paths of least resistance to endure for their survival. These paths of least resistance are the choices that people make every day and the actions and INACTIONS that they take that support inequality.
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Conferred dominance
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giving a group of people power to be superior even though they did not earn it
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Milgram on Obedience
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people will willing confer to those in power, relinquishing their "responsibility" of the task at hand to the responsibility of the person in power.
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Oligarchy
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Ruling by a select few... Not democracy
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Plutocracy
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Rule by the wealthy
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Elite theorists on democracy
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Democracy is a fraud?
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Rule by interlock
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politicians and power people don't retire.. they move on to other power positions... fucking cavefags.
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Glocalization
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“think globally and act locally.”
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Power of the situation
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Our behaviour is always facilitated by the presence of another.
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self-serving bias
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when people attribute their successes to internal or personal factors but attribute their failures to situational factors beyond their control.
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attribution
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concept in social psychology referring to how individuals explain causes of events, other's behaviour, and their own behaviour.
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Dispositional attribution
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assigning attribution to whole groups. attribution (internal) is the way a character is shaped by the effect that a witnessed event has on said character... applying these attributions to whole groups is dangerous.
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Situational attribution
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cause of the given behaviour is assigned to the situation in which the behaviour was seen (that the individual producing the behaviour did so because of the surrounding environment or the social situation).
Also called external attribution. |