Tuesday January 31 y Exam I Study Guide Sociology I Social status the connection between you and society A Who you are is a function of what you are and what you are comes from an external source society B Patterns in race reveal an ascribed social status or one that is given to us rather than taken on voluntarily which is called an achieved so cial status Though race is not always ascribed it most often is Gender cannot be assigned the way race can II Anthony Giddens conduct III Emile Durkheim A British one of the most prominent modern sociologists B What is society a cluster or system of institutionalized modes of C Social statuses allow us to see these institutionalized modes of con duct by organizing people into statuses and social roles A Father of sociology a sociologist who encouraged us to look for the external social forces that guide our lives antithesis to phrenology B When I fulfill my obligations as brother husband or citizen I perform duties which are defined externally to myself and my acts in law and custom C It is through examining social statuses that we can reveal patterns in social behaviors and circumstances and subsequently what society is something larger than any one individual These patterns are called social factors or su generis 1 Tuesday January 31 y A social fact is a way of acting fixed or not capable of exercising on the individual an external constraint The Rules of Sociological Method D Matt Wray and The Suicide Belt Mid western states IV Social institutions When we can observe society through the lens of patterns we reveal social institutions which are the foundations of any society Complex social forms that reproduce themselves such as govern ments the family human languages universities hospitals business corporations and legal systems A Childbirth and marriage Childbirth is significantly lower in the U S Marriage has become an outdated norm V Peter Berger A Austrian born American sociologist asks us to look for general pat terns in particular categories of people We can do this by examining patterns of behavior in different social statuses Suicide data white males highest suicide rate African american females lowest Mid west above average Cali and mid east below average VI C Wright Mills A American sociologist radical B The Promise Our individual biographies are not separate from the society we are a part of C Critical on American Social Institutions of Power 2 D Public issues and private troubles Tuesday January 31 y Student loan debt is a contemporary example of a public issue For profit schools make up 1 3 of student loan debt traditional uni versities 2 3 Student loan debt is nearly 1 trillion Only other debt greater than student loans is mortgages Average student loan debt in a household 32 364 mortgage 155 192 Student loan debt by race average white student in 2012 19 613 average african american student 27 808 The sociological imagination Allows us to grasp history and biogra phy and the relations between the two in society By its use men whose mentalities They acquire a new way of think ing That aha moment where perspective changes George Ritzer VII A Public issues and private troubles Credit cards as a contemporary example 882 6 billion in debt total Average credit card debt per household 15 611 Who is to blame The individual the government business and banks and other financial institutions Major blame financial sys tem Macro theories such as structural functionalism and conflict the ory analyzing credit card industry itself Micro theories such as symbolic interactionism and phenomenological sociology that would be most helpful in analyzing individuals within our consumer society 3 Tuesday January 31 y The credit card industry is an element of social structure and the way it generates BOTH personal troubles and public issues VIII Earl Babbie A Wisdoms conundrums of sociology The key contradiction sui generis vs autopoiesis reciprocity Sui generis Society is not just the sum of its parts It is a thing in it of itself Examples of war infant mortality black American ba bies have twice the amount rate is between 12 14 and gun control Look at systems structures and norms Reciprocity Individual and society are inseparable Individual so ciety is sociogenetic meaning the salient parts of who we are are based on social statuses and roles Levin s excerpt on the Stand ford Experiment shows how important roles are and in this prison study emotional damage forced it to be stopped half way through Autopoiesis Society creates itself The norms that govern the operation of society are generated in the operation of society We create and reinforce norms by the act of performing within them Examples Democracy monogamy social media IX Jack Levin and the sociological perspective A Roles The Standford Prison Experiment B Educational late bloomers College students are usually expected to bloom on time C Heartburn Highest rates in the far West anomie social position that occurs when newcomers to an area are unsure of how to live due to immi gration the Gold Rush i g Lowest rates in the Mid west 4
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