Sociology 105 Introduction to Contemporary Social Problems WEEK 1 Intro Sociology in society Scientific study of societies and of human behavior originally aim was to fix problems Social problem an influential group defines a social condition as threatening its values AND the condition affects a large number of people AND the condition can be remedied by collective action Individual problems with solutions tailored for an individual are not social problems The mere existence of a condition does not mean that there is a social problem no matter how harmful Ideas of what is good vs bad They are preferences Values Norms Rules of conduct Social context Social causes and social solutions Conditions that can cause social problems deviation from group values or norms decline in the effectiveness of social institutions extensive social and cultural diversity exercise of power People live in a socially created reality in which their behavior is shaped by social objects such as values and norms Attributes behaviors characteristics that violate group norms and are reacted to with so Deviance cial disapproval Social Institutions Relatively stable clusters of social relationships within which people work together to meet certain basic needs of society Examples family religion politics education A group that shares most of the beliefs of the larger culture but has some that are distinc Subculture tively its own Ethnocentrism Power Authority Main theories The tendency to view one s own culture or subculture as the best and to judge other cul tures or subcultures in comparison to it Ability to realize one s will even in the face of resistance Power that is obeyed and considered legitimate Social institutions subcultures power authority can all be causes of social problems and or can play an important role in providing solutions to these problems Views society as an organism or a system made up of Functionalist perspective interrelated elements each performing a function that contributes to the operation of the whole Functions have intended and unintended consequences From this perspective social problems arise from social disorganization Conflict perspective Society is made up by different groups who struggle with one another for scarce resources such as money power prestige authority Conflicts between groups can lead to changes in social values and in social practices The players are the interest groups The vested interest group is the one that benefits from exist ing practices and therefore resists social change Interactionist perspective This approach focuses not on groups of people or social structures but on everyday social inter actions among individuals In their view social life relies on the development of consensus about expected behavior For interactionists social change involves developing new consensus with different meanings interpretations and expectations A social problem exists when a social con dition is defined by an influential group as stigmatizing or threatening to their values and disrup tive of normal social expectations Given that a social problem by definition needs to be considered a problem by a group mass me dia plays an important role in shaping social problems About the methods used in sociology Sociology is a science because it uses methods of obtaining objective and systematic knowledge through observation Functionalism Conflict Theory Interactionism View of society Is a system of interre lated parts Groups struggle over scarce resources Individuals in face to face interaction create social consensus View of the indi vidual People are shaped by society to perform important functions People are shaped by their position in soci ety People create a social world through social interaction View of social change Changes disrupt the social system Change is inevitable and continuous View of social problems Problems are caused by dysfunctional ac tivities or disorgani zation Groups work to over come what they see as a disadvantage Key concepts Integration interde pendence stability equilibrium Interest power dom inance conflict coer cion Breakdown in con sensus about expected behavior creates new consensus Problems arise when a condition is defined as disruptive of nor mal social expecta tions Interpretation con sensus shared expec tation socially cre ated reality WEEK 2 Growth of corporate and government power US values sanctity of individual democratic decision making Within the court system anybody regardless of wealth can take on even the government and large corporations However there is an extreme concentration of power in the political and economic realms that is not always used to for the benefit of all citizens Politics establishes laws regulates social life Economics produces goods services for profit The bigger and the more complex are businesses and governments and the more the power is concentrated in the hands of a few people the more it is possible for power to be abused i e to be used to the detriment of many citizens In addition these political and economic institutions are often closely linked Capitalism Means of production and distribution are privately held main motive is profit making and there is free competition Provides consumer control encourages innovation and creativity supply fol lows demand The government is not supposed to intervene Pure capitalism is expected to lead to greater economic growth and thus to affluence Socialism The means of production and distribution are collectively held and goods are distributed in a just and right way Production is based on human need as profit seeking leads to exploitation and competition creates winners and losers The economy is highly centralized serves the collective interest Aim is equitable distribution less inequality Mixed economies Most industry is privately owned and for profit However banks railroads communication in dustry media hospitals etc might be state owned There is strong regulation of the private sec tor by the state High taxes and an elaborate welfare system to make distribution more equitable Concentration of economic and political power Corporate economy The US economy today is highly centralized and international in scope Dominant ownership is corporation so most of them are owned by stakeholders and many are so big that they restrict competition Example conglomerates and multinational corporations Unions Emerged in late 19th century working people organized to protect their own