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| Sociological paradigm that views society as organized by conflict rather than consensus and sees that norms and values are not equally distributed or accepted among members of a society. This therory tends to focus on inequality. |
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| Associated with the conflict theory because his work was based on class inequality and the eventual uprising of the lower classes to debunk current society. Class conflict was the driving force behind history and society. Society progresses through stages in an evolutionary manner. His works are still widely regarded around the world, but not exactly followed because there was no account for a middle class. |
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| First professor of sociology; he felt that social integration was the key to how society and its individuals functioned. Traditional societies had a uniform class with everyone working toward a common goal, in modern societies everything is interdependent and disconneted, the common values of people are not as evident. His suicide theory was groundbreaking in the fact that most people view suicide as a private act and he said it was the most social thing an individual could do, changing his role and place. |
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| His work focused on how an individual expresses themself within a social group. His main study was on social actions- not just the content. He studied expressions such as secrecy and domination and how these correlated to society as a whole. |
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| Sociological perspective that examines how individuals and groups interact, focusing on the creation of personal identity through interaction with others. Of particular interest is the relationship between individual action and group pressures. |
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| A sociological paradigm that contends that all social life consists of several distinct, integrated levels that enable the world- and individuals who are within it- to find stablility, order, and meaning. |
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| Manifest vs Latent Functions |
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Example: Education system
1. Manifest- teach children how/what to learn
2. Latent- teach children how to be good citizens. |
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| Stress of maintaining a position within society. Those at the top can create the norms and laws, creating what is deviant. Ones place in society dictates what stereotypes will be held against them and the amount of power and control they will have. |
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Things people make and the things they use to make them.
Often reflect the nonmaterial culture. |
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| Anything that carries additional meaning beyond itself to others in the culture. Constantly being created. Internal culture conflict is created when the meanings of the symbols are not internally shared. Contentious symbol : Swiss minaret ban |
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| Shared ideas about what is desirable and valuable in life. The "why" behind our norms. Basis for our preferences and opinions. They can be contradictory and tend to cluster. Seperated into "ideal" and "real" culture. |
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| A routine behavior members of a culture engage in to express a sense of cultural belonging. Symbolize and create cultural coherence. Often surround events and locations, they are very powerful. |
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| An organized set of symbols through which we are able to communicate with others. Language shapes our perception and reality, allowing humans to have a shared past. |
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| Norms are cultural rules of behavior which develop from a group's values. They change across time, location, and types of people. |
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| weakest norm; based on patterns of behavior. Ex: standing in line = no cuts |
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| Informally enforced; Ex: PDA |
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| Formally organized and written down; Ex: at some point mores of urinating in public was defined as a problem, led to a law. Can also be laws of a particular institution, such as academic probation at VT. |
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| So strongly held that even discussing is distasteful. Ex: Sexual predators. |
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