Mathematical sociology

Our text, You May Ask Yourself by Dalton Conley, defines functionalism as “the theory that various social institutions and process in society exist to serve some important (or necessary) function to keep society running,” (Conley 29). When applied to the concept of general inequality, this theory suggests that inequality is an unavoidable, necessary facet of human interaction. Functionalism results in a sort of evolution, where society slowly advances the longer each component works properly.…

Ju Lin Philosophy 10200 Final 5/18/16 A fair society can be developed by effective contract and agreement. Sometimes, a citizen needs to sacrifice a part of his or her interest to protect the social benefit. Only when all citizens are able to accept and follow the social ethics and contract, can they understand the social constraints and keep their personal willpowers. Therefore, the unity between social discipline and freedom can be realized, as well as the solidarity between personal…

In contemporary society, social inequalities are produced and perpetuated by social structures. One prime example is social class, which is created and sustained through the use of power by different people and groups. This will be explored through two artworks by the British street artist known as Banksy, who is known to comment heaviliy on social class, to show social inequalities within contemporary society. Social class is defined in classical Marxist theory as a three level structure where…

The union between an American Revolutionary War Colonel of German decent and the last surviving member of the Ossippee Indian Tribe from Orange County North Carolina gave way to a family line that was ultimately able to choose their paths in life. Interestingly enough, the children of this unlawful blending, had options. Some chose to live as members of the white race while others decided to become a part of the black race (Faucette, 2005). While I will always be curious to how one decided…

The affordances of new information and communicative technologies have allowed the organisation of uprisings, protests and global activists to break geographical boundaries, increase the speed of information delivery, assist in the growth and flexibility of the people involved and challenges the power that tradition media and hierarchies hold. Jeffery S. Juris concurs. He states that “Facilitated by the greater speed, adaptability, and flexibility afforded by new information technologies,…

Society is gradually moving from a pen and paper to a hand holding a cell phone. Today 's generation connects with their family members and peers through text messaging and social media. Social media includes platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr and other websites used for blogging and posting pictures. We live in a tech-savvy world filled with cell phones, televisions, laptops, tablets and many other technological inventions. Due to the abundance of social media use among…

S ocial behavior ubiquitous in nature. An evolutionary product of sociality in animal populations is group liv- ing. Group living societies benefit from improved success in inter-group competition, protection from predations, enhanced mating opportunity, foraging success and group defence [1]. On the other hand, group living is also associated with the costs of elevated disease burden due to higher frequency of contact between hosts [2]. Recently, it has been suggested that the formation of…

Though women are universally exploited by the media, North American advertisements depict women differently based on race. Women of colour are more sexualized in the society based on their bodies; they have historically been stereotyped as having bigger butts, hips, breast, and lips. They are often captured in graphic positions such as with their legs open, posing on all fours or in an aggressive manner that conversely extends a deviant solicitation of their body, and, therefore, are…

Unique societal structures contribute to establishing the values and norms of the people during the Victorian era. In Wuthering Heights, society is divided distinctly between the wealthy nobles and the lower classes that are considered outcasts because they possess neither status nor recognition; therefore they are viewed down upon by the upper classes. This structure influences the way most characters are perceived throughout the story such as Heathcliff who is the only character to have a…

From the things as personal as our religious practices, to our public workplaces, our lives revolve around the beliefs and norms that are imposed on us without our knowledge. French Sociologist, Émile Durkheim (1964), explains that the vast majority of our thoughts and behaviors are not actually our own. In reality, the ways in which we “choose” to live our lives are actually dependent on societal conventions. Thus, conformity to and deviance from social expectations are the result of one’s…