Review Guide Societies Midterm Spring 2013 Lectures and Global Sociology Lectures and Global Sociology Two ways of categorizing sociology o Methodology Quantitative statistics Qualitative statistics and interviews o Level of Analysis Micro Level studies the interactions between people and groups Macro Level social structures societies Sociological Imagination 24 the missing dimension in sociology is the self or the subjective o To address this issue Weber coined the term Verstehen meaning insight understanding empathy Aktuelles Verstehen superficial immediate understanding Erklarendes Verstehen analyzing the motivation intentions and context to give a deeper meaning or possible interpretations o The most powerful form of subjective sociology is called symbolic interactionism the idea that people actively create shape and select their response to what is around them Empirical arguments theory o Arguments o Theory Xenophobia Fear of overpopulation fear of foreigners from a strange country fear of the unknown Caused by a rapid growth in population Wallerstein 39 pioneered the World System s Theory o Stances Empires and states were not important Instead he emphasized trade networks that crossed state boundaries o Perspectives criticized for overemphasizing the role of economic trade in social change Third World 38 used during the Cold War to distinguish the non aligned poor countries from the First rich democracies of the West and Second World Countries communist led countries Modernization Theory all societies pass through stages of development Movement is based on population growth and technology Based on analysis of European societies Problem non western countries weren t modernizing as predicted In fact some were unmodernizing World System Theory tried to explain why some countries weren t developing o Structure all societies are locked into one world system and there can be movement within the system The 3 components are interrelated interacting and interdependent Review Guide Societies Midterm Spring 2013 o Parts of WST societies Core rich developed countries that draw profit from peripheral Semi Periphery semi industrialized countries hope to make their way up to the core Periphery poor dependent countries that are locked in a subordinate relationship to the core o Criticisms of the theory Culture Social State Structures neglects local class struggles Economic Determinism some states are not at the mercy of the economy Hard to disprove some use the theory to fit any evidence by using some facts and ignoring others Causality could be backward maybe some countries are not dependent because they re poor they re poor because they re dependent Missed prior non European countries Cannot explain the collapse of state communism Does not allow a sufficient place for political and cultural analysis o Evolution over time Globalization all processes by which the peoples of the world are incorporated into a single society a global society 44 o Main processes that characterize globalization Changing Concepts of Time and Space 45 time and space compression facilitated by technology has put many of the world s inhabitants on the same stage Increasing Cultural Interactions and Flows 47 has transformed our experience of cultural meanings and knowledge We are now able to lift cultural meanings out of its context and transplant them into our own We have rapid access to greater quantities of sources now more than ever Provides a multitude of different possibilities in regards to cuisine religion etc Most of these consequences are only made possible through the electronic mass media of communication The Commonality of Problems 49 facing all the world s inhabitants self explanatory Growing Interconnections and Interdependencies 52 binds participants into a dense network of transnational exchanges and affiliations The once clear cut separation between the sphere of national life and the international sphere was broken down A network of increasingly powerful transnational actors and organizations 53 The synchronization of all the dimensions economic technological political social and cultural involved in globalization 57 Review Guide Societies Midterm Spring 2013 o What is the role of technology in Globalization Mapping the globe power Major arguments of Mujica speech Sustainability is not an ecological issue but a political one Because of our demands for material goods we are being ruled by the market Mujica calls for change we must rule the market Cultural issue we must re examine our way of life Culture depicts all the modes of thought behavior and artifacts that are transmitted from one generation to the next ex education Rich in imagery metaphors signs and symbols Becoming commercialized only available by paying money The cultural interactions arising from increased contact between peoples have transformed our experience of cultural meanings and knowledge 47 Transnational Corporations TNC o 3 Most Important Features 1 Vast global power and reach 2 Create an interdependent world economy 3 Connections to the world financial system 53 o operate throughout the world with disregard to borders of nations International Corporations INC groupings of different corporations even relationship allies International Governmental Organizations IGO supra state actors that shape world affairs ex the League of Nations UN 53 International Non Governmental Organizations INGO autonomous organizations that are not accountable to governments though they may work with them at times o Ex peace anti slavery labor organizations Greenpeace Red Cross Oxfam and Amnesty International 54 Global Social Movements GSM informal organizations working for change but galvanized around a single unifying issue Ex human rights peace environmental and women s movements Mobilize world opinions on political and moral issues ex Earth Summit unofficial green festival 54 Diasporas formed by the forcible or voluntary dispersion of peoples to a number of countries They constitute a diaspora if they continue to evince a common concern for their homeland and come to share a common fate with their own people 54 Diasporas arise because of religious ethnic or political disputes with governments over the demand for full citizen rights the recognition of semi autonomy or the granting of independent national status Ex Greek Jewish Parsi 54 Topics in Ch 2 21 o Identity processes 62 Selection AKA Glocalization describes how global pressures and demands