Sociology 001 Intro to Sociology Tuesday 6 9 Final Exam Guide Chapter 10 Social institutions systems and structures within society that shape the activities of groups and individuals What is politics Methods and tactics intended to influence government policy policy related attitudes and activities Greek work politikos meaning of or relating to citizens Relationship between citizens and their political environment o Study political systems Government The formal organized agency that exercises power and control in modern society especially through the creation and enforcement of laws Power the ability to impose one s will on others o Max Weber Authority the legitimate non coercive exercise of power Authoritarianism political system that denies ordinary citizens representation by and control over their own government o System of government by and for a small number of elites that does not include representation of ordinary citizens Dictatorship most instances dictators do not gain power by being elected or through succession but seizes power and become absolute ruler Totalitarianism most extreme and modern version of authoritarianism o Government can utilize all the contrivances of surveillance technology systems of mass communication and modern weapons to control it s citizens Monarchy government ruled by a king and queen o Sovereignty is vested in a successive line of rulers usually within the family o Absolute monarch typically have complete authority over their subjects o Constitutional monarch royal figures whose powers are defined by a political charter and limited by a parliament or other governing body Democracy citizens share in directing the activities of their government rather than being ruled by an autocratic individual or authoritarian group o Originated in ancient Greece o Represented a radical new political system o Based on Basic human rights Civil liberties Freedom Equality American Political System First modern democracy 1776 not a whole rule by the people perspective Voting Confers power to the people Election process o Each person is allowed a vote Social factors of voting o Age o Education o Religion o Ethnic background Voting age population everyone aged 18 and older residing in US This figure included people who were ineligible to vote mainly non citizens and felons excluded eligible overseas voters Disenfranchised stripped of voting rights either temporarily or permanently Who rules America There are 2 perspectives to look at when assessing this question o Pluralist model o Power elite Pluralist model a system of political power in which a wide variety of individuals and groups have equal access to resources and the mechanisms of power Power elite a relatively small group of people in the top ranks of economic political and military institutions who make many of the important decisions in American society o C Wright Mills propose theory of power elite o Members have the full power and weight of their respective institutions at o G William Domhoff studied the power elite extensively looking at how the economic political and military institutions overlap and form a network fo their disposal influence Social interests groups organized so that individuals groups and organizations can contribute to candidates campaigns o Play an important role in the political process o Formed expressly to raise and spend money in order to influence elected officials and public opinions 527 committees organizations that have no official connection to a candidate but that raise and spend funds like a campaign does named after the section of the tax code that authorizes their existence Fourth Estate the media which are considered like a fourth branch of government and thus serve as another purpose of the checks and balances on power o Media plays a key role in political press Some of the most significant changes in the political process have occurred in the realm of pampaigns and elections The public is also influences by opinion leaders high profile individuals whose interpretation of events influences the public Post moder sociologist Jean Baudrillard claimed that the image has come to replace the real o He called his new artificially constructed reality the simulacrum or a simulation that becomes as good as the original Simulacrum an image or media representation that does not reflect reality in any meaningful way but is treated as real New Media and politics Web 2 0 user generated content individuals Moved beyond simply providing information and stress interaction networking Media can be used to achieve the purposes of powerful interest groups and Micro and macrosociology linked to politics We have built these institutions on our own through our participation in the democratic process Democratic processes require a free press and an educated policy to make decisions and cast votes you must have the tools to gather information and comprehend the issues your vote will influence What is education The central means by which a society transmits its knowledge values and General goal give students the necessary understanding for effective social expectations to its members functioning Includes o Transmission of principles and values o Regulation of personal character o Discipline of the mind Education the process by which a society transmits its knowledge values and expectations to its members so they can function effectively Formal institutionalized secular education in Western civilization began in ancient Greece around the 8th century o Students studied philosophy mathematics music and gymnastics o Higher ed was carried out by philosophers Voltaire Locke Franklin Reason Logic Science All over religious tradition Education and the Reproduction of society Transmission of knowledge Learn to follow society s rules Respect authority Socialized to develop other qualities o Tracking students are identified as gifted or placed into remedial education teach us about success and achievement and our chances for both Education and inequality o Stratification within schools often mirrors stratification systems in the larger society o Education benefits everyone but not in the same way o Micro inequities are common in American classrooms o Experiences by individuals but are the result of structural forces external Micro inequities result from macro inequalities o Hidden curriculum values or behaviors that students learn indirectly over the course of their schooling because of the structure of