Lecture Notes 1 22 14 Sociology is the study of human groups Sociology is the study of groups 1 27 14 Groups are more than the sum of their parts Social inequality is a big topic in sociology race ethnicity class gender sexuality age etc Sociology involves politics the world could be better and science evidence research can prove disprove things History of Social Network Analysis Bourdieu social capital Granovetter weak ties Network Effects Dyadic effects Hyperdyadic effects Three Degrees of Influence Six Degrees of Separation A Social Network consists of all the connections and ties within a group or collection of groups A group is a collection of individuals defined by a common attribute it need not contain information about connections The shape of a network is its structure or topology Dyadic Spread the tendency of effects to spread from one person to their direct The strength of weak ties Granovetter social ties Hyperdyadic spread the tendency of effects to spread from person to person to person outside a person s direct social ties Happiness and Social Networks Happy and unhappy people cluster among themselves Unhappy people are on periphery of the network Our friends and their friends and their friends affect our happiness A person is 15 more likely to be happy if directly connected to a happy person 1 degree At 2 degrees 10 more likely to be happy At 3 degrees 6 more likely to be happy Each unhappy friend deceases the likelihood of happiness 7 1 29 14 collective conscience collective effervescence Society as Consensus Durkheim mechanical organic solidarity anomie functionalism Emile Durkheim 1858 1917 One of the founding figures in sociology Proponent of what is now called functionalism or the consensus perspective Collective conscience the totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average member of society a widespread moral compulsion to live in accordance with established rules and norms Our collective conscience becomes visible when we voice common sense Crime reaffirms our collective conscience Deviance reaffirms our collective conscience Perceived social energy that emerges from crowd solidarity produced by Collective Effervescence group rituals and actions Mechanical and Organic Solidarity Mechanical Solidarity found in simple societies Built on shared beliefs rituals and experiences similar mindset Organic Solidarity found in complex societies Build on division of labor to benefit society Functionalism A sociological perspective that emphasizes society as an interconnected functioning whole that s similar to organs in a human body Durkheim and Connected are good examples of functionalism Today most sociologists do not identify themselves as functionalists Anomie Individual or group wide feelings of aimlessness or purposelessness provoked by certain social conditions 2 3 14 Durkheim s Typology of Suicide Type egoistic altruistic anomic fatalistic Durkheim s Study of 19th Century Suicide Rates Jews Catholics Protestants Married Unmarried Rural Urban Wartime Peace 2 10 14 Arenas of conflict Karl Marx s Theory of History stages Theory of Capital labor value Theory of Culture base superstructure Arenas of Conflict class ethnicity and race gender and sexuality region religion Marxist Theory of History Primitive accumulation master slave Feudalism lords serfs Capitalism bourgeoisie proletariat Socialism Class stratification A form of social stratification based on income and access to resources Classes are fluid Upward and downward class mobility is possible Social classes are to some extent achieved rather than ascribed at birth But the social class we are born into influences our social outcomes more than we think The Labor Theory of Value Marx s economic theory of capitalism s inherent exploitive nature Exploitation alienation The traditional Marxist model of Culture Base the economy mode of production feudalism capitalism socialism Superstructure everything else art media ideology 2 12 14 Unit 1 Topics Social Networks Structure Agency Social Solidarity Social Conflict Culture Cultural Hegemony Cultural Capital Capital Conversion Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim are founding fathers of sociology Marx emphasizes social conflict particularly class conflict Durkheim emphasizes social solidarity Emile Durkheim describes societies and groups as having social solidarity due to shared experience doing the same thing as everyone else and or being interdependent needing other people and other people needing you The collective conscience not conscious refers to the thoughts and sentiments common to a group of people The collective conscience acts as an internal source of direction and guidance Class inequality is a major topic in contemporary American sociology Most see class inequality as a core problem that generates other problems therefore that s bad because it s Marxist isn t a winning argument in sociology Marxism Leninism or USSR Marx viewed world history as moving 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 Marx s labor theory of value demonstrates the inherently exploitive nature of capitalism The growth of the rich poor gap from the mid 1950s to present accords with a Marxist account of capital accumulation Marx wrote that our economic system drives and reflects our cultural life The base determines the superstructure Culture Hegemony Culture is shared meaning embodied in form or practice Culture can be a source of social consensus or social conflict Culture seems personal and individualistic but sociologists show how culture connects to social groups and its divisions Antonio Gramsci 1891 1937 A sneaky kind of power that works by getting people to buy into the criteria of their own oppression class struggle as trench warfare In this metaphor Gramsci describes the trenches as the cultural sphere Cultural Hegemony The superstructure creates cultural products and messages that sustain the status quo These cultural products distract contradict neutralize and prevent positive social change for example the BIM Corporation in The Apple and the movie industry as represented in Idiocracy Examples The end of Bill O Reilly and Keith Olbermann s 2009 feud GE News Corp Agreement in 2009 to Silence the O Reilly Olbermann Feud Russell Brand got kicked out of the GQ Magazine Awards for criticizing Hugo Boss and the clothing designer s connection to Hitler and the