Week 2: Sociological Thinking
Who coined the term "sociological imagination"?
C. Wright Mills
Is Symbolic Interactionism a micro or macro sociology?
Micro: Meaning and interpretation of social action/behaviour. ‘Reality’ is created by people through their interactions
What are Durkheim's two types of solidarity?
Mechanical and Organic
Define Socialization.
It is a learning process that involves development or changes in the individual’s sense of self and identity
Define Reification
Referring to abstract concepts, complex processes or mutable social relationships as “things."
According to the textbook, what is the "systematic study of society and social interaction?"
Sociology!!!
Social Interaction is a _______________ and ___________________ process?
generative and active
What is Max Weber credited for coining - define it?
Rationalization: refers to the process by which modern society has increasingly become concerned with Efficiency - achieving the maximum results with a minimum amount of effort (deskilling).
Name at least 3 agents of socialization
Families, state institutions, peer groups, school/education, work, religion, media
Define Habitualization
The idea that society is constructed by us and those before us, and it is followed like a habit
Identify and define C. Wright Mill's Theory.
Sociological Imagination:
- Connections between self and society
- To formulate and address social problems/issues
- Individual problems become formulated as social issues
Who is the key theorist of Symbolic Interactionism and its 3 premises?
Herbert Blumer
1: Human beings act towards things on the basis of meanings that the things have for them.
2: These meanings are derived from (or arises out of) the social interactions between people
3: These meanings are modified through (mediated) an interpretive process used by the persons in dealing with the thing/situation encountered
Compare the differences between Capitalist Class and Working Class.
Capitalist Class - ownership of the means of production
Working class wage labourers – sell their labour as a commodity on the market
What is the difference between Primary and Secondary Socialization?
Primary socialization is the socialization that occurs during childhood
Secondary socialization is the socialization that occurs later in life
What is the iron cage?
A situation in which an individual is trapped by the rational and efficient processes of social institutions.
Name all 3 of the sociological perspectives as covered in the lecture.
Critical/Feminist, Functionalist, Symbolic Interactionist
What is the front and backstage to the Dramaturgical Approach and is it micro or macro level?
Micro: Social interaction is a kind of theatrical stage where we ‘perform’ our social statuses and roles together.
Front Stage: Where social performance (interaction) takes place
The backstage: managerial part of us that works ‘behind the scenes’
1: From the product of one’s labor – workers do not own what they produce or the profit from their work
2:From the labor process – workers do not control the conditions under which they work
3: From fellow workers as a class – competitive economy
4: From human nature or ‘species being’ –work as compulsion rather than a free activity
What are Mead's categorizations of agents of socialization?
Significant Others: individuals, primarily family and friends, whom young children imitate and model themselves after
Generalized Others: the attitudes, viewpoints, and general expectations of the society that the child is socialized into
Define and Contrast “I” and “Me”
I and me: The two components or phases of the self-reflective self
The “me” represents the part of the self in which one recognizes the “organized sets of attitudes” of others toward the self. It is who we are in other’s eyes: our roles, our “personalities,” our public personas.
The “I,” on the other hand, represents the part of the self that acts on its own initiative or responds to the organized attitudes of others.
What is the concept coined by W.I Thomas (define)?
Definition of the Situation: “If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences. ” In other words, the interpretation of a situation causes the action.
Who is responsible for "Face Work" and name 3 types of it within a scenario context?
Erving Goffman:
- Losing face
- Maintaining face
- Saving faceWho coined Androcentrism and what is it?
Charlotte Perkins Gilman: is the practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing a masculine point of view at the center of one's world view, culture, and history, thereby culturally marginalizing femininity
Define Re-Socialization and explain how Goffman's Total Institutions can be responsible for this phenomenon with an example.
Re-socialization: the process of unlearning old ways and learning new ways upon moving into a significantly different social environment (can be either voluntary or involuntary).
For example, a Total Institution (such as a prison) is used to systematically breakdown the regular self in order to be more willing to learn and fit into the new environment through admission procedures and mortification of self
What is the Looking Glass Self?
The self or self-image that arises as the reaction to the judgement of others. i.e. we base our image on what we think other people see. We imagine how we must appear to others, then react to this speculation.