Sociology Study of groups More than the sum of their parts The group is more powerful than a single person The Wave Social inequality is a big topic in sociology o Race o Ethnicity o Class o Gender o Sexuality o Age Involves politics the world could be a better place broad sense of knowing the world has problems and we can understand them and hopefully solve them Involves science evidence and research can prove disprove things Statistics math models data sets Studying people Friendship is magic What a social network Created by friends family It s a group of people that may overlap History of social network analysis Really blown up in the last several years o Bourdieu social capital influential for the development of source network analysis Writing sociological research when people were saying social inequality was due to race Income equality social class is important as it relates to money Social capital not how much money you have but who you know quality of friend networks Who knows you helps you People are valuable o Granovetter weak ties influential for the development social network analysis It was during a time when people said social networks worked for helping people get jobs He said weak ties are actually very important Social contacts outside your immediate core discussion network are more important than you think Get jobs from weak ties Distance between core discussion network and weak ties is important Network effects Dyadic effects a dyad is 2 people If the other part of the dyad is suffering from depression they are more likely to suffer from depression too Occurs from osmosis on an unconscious level One to one contact o Widow effect o Dyadic spread tendency of effects to spread from one person to their direct social ties Hyperdyadic effects occur when it s more than one person From a friend of a friend Trying to lose weight Team up with a friend of a friend o Hyperdyadic spread tendency of effects to spread from person to person to person outside a person s direct social ties 3 degrees of influence 6 degrees of separation Social networks and social capital What s a friend worth Beneficial to find out information We don t think we have social capital we can t see our capital Friends are resources Happiness and social networks Happy and unhappy people cluster among themselves o 1 degree 15 o 2 degrees 10 o 3 degrees 6 o Each unhappy person decreases likelihood of happiness by 7 Magical moments aren t as random as we think Real effects on livelihood People we don t know have effects on us Choices subtly influenced by others 3 degrees of influence Emile Durkheim social solidarity Crime is healthy because we are reminded about our collective conscience Societies and groups have social solidarity due to shared experience and or being interdependent Consensus Perspective Functionalism what holds societies together Social solidarity We all believe the definitions of right and wrong Unified set of beliefs that hold us together and it s a good thing to have Glue that holds us together Collective conscience Totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average member of society Widespread moral compulsion to live in accordance with established rules and norms Becomes visible when we voice common sense Laws are similar to the written form of collective conscience Deviance and crime reaffirms the collective conscience Thoughts and sentiments common to a group of people Acts as an internal source of direction guidance Collective effervescence Perceived social energy that emerges from crowd solidarity Produced by group rituals and actions Binds us to the group Whole is greater than the sum of its parts Mechanical solidarity Found in simple societies Solidarity that derives from shared experiences particularly work experiences People bound together because they are doing the same stuff The collective conscience is stronger Organic solidarity Found in complex societies Derives from interdependence Relies on others for daily tasks Everyone has their own specialty Highly individualized Collective conscience is less strong Heterogeneity of skills Tasks create solidarity Anomie Alienation Karl Marx Disconnect from the group Individual or group wide feelings of aimlessness or purposelessness Provoked by certain social conditions Periphery of social network may experience anomie Functionalism Human super organism with anatomy and physiology structure and function Sociological perspective that emphasizes society as an interconnected functioning whole that s similar to organs in a human body Durkheim Today most sociologists don t identify as functionalists Durkheim s study of suicide rates Jews Catholics Protestants Married Unmarried Rural Urban Wartime Peace Durkheim s typology of suicide Egoistic Too little integration Altruisti c Too much integration Anomic Too little Too selfish Can t find a place in a group focus inward on their personal problems Isolation and loneliness Too selfless Committing suicide for the cause So committed to the group put groups needs above yourself Times of rapid poverty wealth regulation Fatalistic Too much regulation Jonestown massacre Suicide in a prison concentration camp fatalistic and altruistic suicides representations of cults often over emphasize the power of the leader Class stratification here you fall in terms of your income and assets Classes are fluid Social class is achieved rather than ascribed The social class we are born into influences our social outcomes more than we think Karl Marx social conflict class conflict Location of power wealth and property Our economic system drives and reflects our cultural life Economy is everything Class hierarchy o Owner of a large company bourgeoisie small business owners petite bourgeoisie workers proletariats Theory of history o Primitive accumulation master slave feudalism lord serfs capitalism bourgeoisie proletariat socialism o History moves through inevitable stages In the final stage the poor unable to buy the things they make under capitalism will rise up against the rich to usher in socialism Theory of capital labor value Theory of culture base and superstructure life is not determined by consciousness but consciousness by life the ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling class Labor theory of value economic theory of capitalism s inherent exploitive nature Exploitation is part of capitalism Part of your paycheck goes to the elite Exploitation leads to alienation because the