SOC 103 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Cultural Appropriation, High Culture, Manifest And Latent Functions And Dysfunctions
9 May 2018
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CLASS 1
Sociology sees humans as social beings
• Most of our lives we interact with others, and live in groups of performing social roles:
production, exchange, education
• Social groups can be small (like our class) or large (Canadians), small groups engage in
direct, face to face interactions
• Institutions mediate between the members of larger groups
Sociologists notice social patterns
• We recognize that our personal experiences are affected by our class, ethnicity, gender, age,
and sexual orientation
• Sociological research enables us to discuss social issues in an informed and article manner
Sociology as a social science
• It shares common interests with other social sciences such as psychology, anthropology, and
political science
• Sociology- is the study of the social world and the role of the personal citizen
• Sociology includes looking for and looking at social patterns in social variables, social
institutions, and social interactions
C.Wright Mills
• Mills coined the term sociological imagination: defined as making connections between
how society works and our personal lives
• Examples: seeing our lives in the lives of others, the personal is political, the past and the
present
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
• Influenced by biologist Charles Darwin and his theory of education
• Most people believe that Darwin coined the term :survival of the fittest but Spencer actually
used the term to justify social inequalities
• Essentially it was his belief that those with wealth and power deserved it, because they were
the fittest members of society
Having a Sociological Perspective
1.Seeing the strange in the familiar
• Giving up ideas that human behavior is simply a matter of what people decide to do
• Understanding that society shapes our decisions
2.Seeing individuality in social context
• We understand we all have different experience while experiencing the same thing
Benefits of the Sociological Perspective
.helps us assess the truth of common sense
2.helps us assess both opportunities and constraints in our lives
3.empowers us to be active participants in our society
4.helps us live in a diverse world
Key Sociological Theories
1.structural functionalism 2.social conflict 3.symbolic interactionism 4.critical theories
Foundation of Sociological Theory
• Theory: a statement of how and why facts are related (idea)
• Theoretical approach: a basic image of society that guides thinking and research (idea in
action)
• Structural- functional, social conflict, symbolic-interaction
Structural Functionalism uses an organic or biological analogy
• It identifies the various structures of society (eg the family) and describes the functions the
structure performs to maintain the entire social system
• Human behavior is governed by relatively stable social relations or structure which rest
upon shared values or preferences (morals bind people together)
Social Structure-refers to any relatively stable patterns o social behavior founded in social
institutions
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Social Function- refers to the consequences for the operation of society as a whole
Durkheim (1858-1917)
• coined the term social fact
• social facts are patterned ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside of anyone
individual but exert social control over people (like holding the door open for someone)
• there are three characteristics of every social:
• it was developed prior to and separate from you as an individual
• it can be seen as a characteristic of a particular group (in dorms they party/parents drink
wine)
Robert K. Merton
• enhanced the structural functionalist approach by noting that there are 3 different types of
functions that any structure can produce:
• manifest functions- intended and easily recognized
• latent functions- unintended
• latent dysfunctions= unintended and produce socially negative consequences
3 Functions of Post Secondary
• manifest function- provides necessary skills and knowledge
• latent function- provides social network that will make search for employment or marriage
partner easier
• latent dysfunction- reinforces class distinctions (left wing view) exposes students to socialist
ideas (rightwing view)
• example: 3 functions of a coffee shop: provide coffee quickly, provide a meeting, socializing
place, late night drug dealing
The Social Conflict Theory- views society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and
change
• society is structure in ways to benefit a few at the expense of the majority
• factors such as ethnicity, race, sex, class, and age are linked to society inequality
• dominant group verses minority group relations
The 4 Cs of Social Conflict Theory
1.conflict- exists in all large societies
2.class-has existed in every society
3/contestations- society either will or should change
Symbolic Interactionism- examines the meaning (the symbolic part) of the daily social interactions of
individuals
• argues social relations and structures cannot be explained without understanding
participants motives and viewpoints
• we do not merely react to social structures, but maintain and remote them in daily
interactions
• Example: actions can be explained by social circumstances surrounding them and actors
perception of them
Symbolic )nteraction in action
• We live in a world of symbols, attaching meaning to virtually everything, from the
appearance of the police to the wink of an eye
• reality,, therefore is simply how we define and construct our surroundings, our obligations
toward others, and even our own identities
Critical Sociology
• two key thinkers of critical sociology:
• Michel Foucalt and Dorothy Smith studied the production of knowledge
• Faucults challenge to students, question, how do we know what we know?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Sociology sees humans as social beings: most of our lives we interact with others, and live in groups of performing social roles: production, exchange, education. Social groups can be small (like our class) or large (canadians), small groups engage in direct, face to face interactions. Institutions mediate between the members of larger groups. Sociologists notice social patterns: we recognize that our personal experiences are affected by our class, ethnicity, gender, age, and sexual orientation. Sociological research enables us to discuss social issues in an informed and article manner. It shares common interests with other social sciences such as psychology, anthropology, and political science. Sociology- is the study of the social world and the role of the personal citizen. Influenced by biologist charles darwin and his theory of education used the term to justify social inequalities. Herbert spencer (1820-1903) the fittest members of society.
