...Introduction To Sociology II notes by Mutangi G T Sociology is the study of human social life. Because human social life is so expansive, sociology has many sub-sections of study, ranging from the analysis of conversations to the development of theories to try to understand how the entire world works. This chapter will introduce you to sociology and explain why it is important, how it can change your perspective of the world around you, and give a brief history of the discipline. History Sociology is a relatively new academic discipline. It emerged in the early 19th century in response to the challenges of modernity. Increasing mobility and technological advances resulted in the increasing exposure of people to cultures and societies different from their own. The impact of this exposure was varied, but for some people included the breakdown of traditional norms and customs and warranted a revised understanding of how the world works. Sociologists responded to these changes by trying to understand what holds social groups together and also explore possible solutions to the breakdown of social solidarity. Early Sociological Studies Early sociological studies considered the field to be similar to the natural sciences like physics or biology. As a result, many researchers argued that the methodology used in the natural sciences were perfectly suited for use in the social sciences, including Sociology. The effect of employing the scientific method and stressing empiricism was the...
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...Learning Approach Deviance and Social Control Unit M4: Functionalism Introduction In these Teachers’ Notes we’re going to review a number of theories of crime and deviance from a Structural Functionalist perspective. In case this sociological perspective is not clear to you, the first part of these Notes is given over to a brief overview of this perspective. If you are familiar with this perspective, then this overview will serve as revision material... The second part of these Notes will provide an overview of some of the basic themes and theories put forward by writers working within this general perspective to explain crime. Functionalism: An Overview The Functionalist perspective is a form of Structuralist sociology and, as such, we can initially characterise it as a form of macro sociological theorising. In this respect, the main theoretical question addressed by sociologists working within the Functionalist perspective is that of: * How do social systems ("societies") hold together? In their attempts to provide an answer to this question, Functionalists have initially concentrated upon two ideas that are closely related to the above: 1. How is order maintained in any society? 2. What are the main sources of stability in any society? As you might imagine - given that the theoretical emphasis seems to be placed on rather grand questions about the nature of social systems - Functionalist...
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...Outline and assess Marxist perspectives on crime and deviance [50 marks] The term defiance covers a wide range of behaviour which deviates from the normal expectations of society and is viewed as ‘wrong’ and ‘bad’ but does not necessarily break the law however, some deviant acts may also be criminal. Crime is any activity that breaks the law of the land and is consequently subject to official punishment. Marx himself wrote very little about crime, but a Marxist theory of crime was first developed by Bonger as early as 1916 and then developed by writers such as Chambliss (1975). The overall background to the Marxist approach to crime was based on the Marxist analysis of society, which argues that society is best understood by examining the process by which the majority of the population are exploited by the owners and controllers of commerce and industry. The traditional Marxist approach to crime and deviance argues that the fundamental fact of exploitation provides the key to unlock the explanations for the workings of society. The beginning of the Marxist analysis is that all laws are essentially for the benefit of the bourgeoisie, and that criminal law reflects their interests. For example, property ownership laws largely concern those with significant amounts of property i.e. the ruling class. For those who are poor, there is little to steal. Personal violence is a dangerous act and the ruling class wants to control the right to use violence within society through their...
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...Deviant Behavior Social disorganization BIBLIOGRAPHY Both “deviant behavior” and “social disorganization” have been variously defined, but there have been few efforts to distinguish between the two concepts. In fact, it has been suggested that they are not different, that along with “social problems*’ and the somewhat outmoded “social pathology,” they signify only a potpourri of conditions that are considered undesirable from the standpoint of the observer’s values, conditions that vary at different times and with different observers. According to this view, these terms have no scientific value and no legitimate status as sociological concepts. Such nihilism and counsel of despair are not justified. True, there is no consensus on the meaning of these terms, and they are, indeed, burdened with value connotations. However, they point to a number of distinctions that sociology must take into account. Concept of deviance. Turning first to the concept of deviant behavior, we must distinguish among the several definitions of the term, which are discussed below. Behavior that violates norms. Deviant behavior is behavior that violates the normative rules, understandings, or expectations of social systems. This is the most common usage of the term and the sense in which it will be used here. Crime is the prototype of deviance in this sense, and theory and research in deviant behavior have been concerned overwhelmingly with crime. However, normative rules are inherent in...
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...Deviance is Socially Defined Social deviance is a term that refers to forms of behavior and qualities of persons that others in society devalue and discredit. So what exactly is deviance? In this essay the focus is how deviance is socially defined, not physiological deviations from the expected norm. Deviance is defined as, "The recognized violation of cultural norms." Deviance is an act of rebellion against set of rules, and expected behavior established by a certain society (Macionis, 2008). Deviance however is defined in many different ways. It is depended on the norms of the society, and region. Individuals become deviant when people label their actions as deviance. It depends on how that society defines deviance on individuals. The institution of rules and breaking rules in society is determined by strong social powers. Such stigma leads to social inequality in our society. Sociologists Theories Sociologists however defines deviance as behavior that violates an essential social norm. Deviants are people who go beyond the limits of socially acceptable behavior. Although the definition of deviance is simple, deviant acts in real life are hard to turn down. No single act, not even taking another person's life is forbidden at all times in any human society. Deviance is relative. What is deviant behavior in one place may be acceptable in another place. Different cultures have different levels of social order and control, therefore making what can be seen as...
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...is the distinction between Structural and Social action theories. Structural or macro perspectives analyses the way society as a whole fits together. Structural theory sees society as a system of relationships that creates the structure of the society in which we live. It is this structure that determines our lives and characters. Structured sets of social relationships are the 'reality' that lie below the appearance of 'the free individual' of western individualism. Structuralism focuses on the particular set of 'structural laws' that apply in any one society. Despite their differences, both functionalism and Marxism use a model of how society as a whole works. Many functionalists base their model of society around the assumption of basic needs and go to explain how different parts of society help to meet those needs. Marxists, on the other hand, see society as resting upon an economic base or infrastructure, with a superstructure above it. They see society as divided into social classes which have the potential to be in conflict with each other. However, the main differences between functionalist and Marxist perspectives then, is the way they characterize the social structure. Functionalists stress the extent to which the different elements of the social structure fit together harmoniously. Marxists stress the lack of fit between the different parts, particularly social classes, and so emphasize the potential for social conflict. Not all sociological...
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...Introductory Sociology Online Test 1 February 26, 2011 Chapter 1 Questions: 1. The sociological perspective stresses the ___________________ in which people live. a. social contexts b. geographical location c. neighborhoods d. cities 2. What world event most inspired the development of sociology? a. the Industrial Revolution b. the invention of the printing press c. the discovery of the New World d. the drafting of the U.S. Constitution 3. According to Marx, the capitalists, who own the means of production, exploit the: a. bourgeoisie b. proletariat c. masses d. peasants 4. The degree to which people are tied to their social group is called: a. social prevention b. positivism c. social submergence d. social integration 5. Laud Humphreys’ study of a city park bathroom resulted in an ethical controversy because: a. his study could not be replicated b. his results were falsified c. some of his writing had been plagiarized d. he used deception and did not identify himself as a researcher 6. Weber concluded that the key factor in the rise of capitalism was: a. social upheaval b. survival of the fittest c. religion d. technology 7. Despite writing an insightful examination of the United States, Harriet Martineau’s work was ignored because she was: a. not a real sociologist b. a theologian ...
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...Chapter Seven: Deviance Deviance is recognized as the violation of cultural norms. Norms help guide us thought life activity. Crime is an act of violation of society formally enacted criminal law. Criminal deviance is divided into a wide range of offenses, from minor traffic violation to sexual assault to murder. In general that we would normally view nonconformity as breaking the rules, or regulation, like driving while under the influence of alcohol, stealing which is viewed as someone is negative or an bad person. On the other side we view someone that is good as a nerd that doesn’t do anything but think about computer software and programs, and someone that does a lot of volunteer work. Deviance doesn’t have to involve our actions or even choose. Some deviances action can be detached on how we all think about others and if we don’t like a certain people because of the person’s disability race, and other difference. This means that racial hate groups are performing a deviance act against other unlike racial groups. Social control is subjected to everyone in a society. Social control is an attempt to control people’s thoughts and behavior to standards of the society. Unfortunately social control has been able to control all of those murders and other people that constantly break the rules and regulation. In cases of serious deviance, however may bring action by the criminal justice system, which is a formal response by police, courts, and prison official to alleged...
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...Sharna Luscombe Outline and asses the functionalist explanations of crime and deviance. Functionalist ignore deviance; they look at society as a whole and ignore individualism. Functionalism is a structuralist approach (also known as a consensus theory) they believe that individuals are shaped by society and social facts. A limitation of functionalist is that they ignore certain groups within society, such as women and people with disabilities. They also ignore factors such as ‘race’ and social class. They believe that society will maintain stability if the institutions still exists and the factors that may cause conflict – are ignored. I will assessing the functionalist contribution to explanations of crime, to how useful it is and if those explanations have been applied within modern day society. Also how useful the explanations are at reducing crime. Deviance is a normative approach, it is associated with behaviour that differs from the set norms and values set out by society. Deviance is linked to informal social control through sanctions (not by laws or government policy). In a Post Modern society – this definition of deviance would be problematic because it refers to societal norms (which would have disappeared; due to individualism making it hard to follow set norms and values). Deviance could collapse in a post-modern society. Durkheim (1895) is a positivist who proposed the concept of anomie; as an explanation as to why certain people commit crime. He believes that...
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...behaviour is , then , the inevitable expression of class conflict resulting from the exploitative nature of economic relations. Criminality is simply not something that people have or don’t have; crime is not something some people do and others don’t. Crime is a matter of who can pin the label on whom and underlying this socio-political process is the structure of social relations determined by capitalism. Using material from item A and elsewhere asses the usefulness of the Marxist approaches to an understanding of crime and deviance (21 marks) Marxists essentially see crime and deviance as defined by the ruling class and used as a means of social control – if you don’t conform then you will be punished. Institutions such as the police, the justice system, prisons and schools, the family and religion are there to encourage you to conform. They argue that white collar crimes (which tend to be committed by the more powerful in society) are ignored, while crimes committed by the less powerful in society such as burglary and street crime are focussed on and seen as more serious. Marxists would also argue that different social classes are policed differently, with the working class heavily policed in the expectation that they will be more criminal and therefore raising the chances of their crimes being detected. Classical Marxists argue that this fundamental fact of exploitation provides the key to unlock the explanations for the workings of society. They believe there are 5 main elements...
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...University, 2013a). This idea is based on positivists holding the belief that criminal behaviour is distinct in its characteristics to that of non-criminal behaviour, thus making it abnormal. This abnormal behaviour can be determined either by biological and psychological or social factors, and was spearheaded by the works of Cesare Lombroso, Enrico Ferri and Raffaele Garofalo (The Open University, 2013a). Their aim was to focus on establishing the causality of crime by asking questions, such as whether criminals are born or made and whether the factors of crime are individual or social, through the use of natural scientific methods in order to produce objective and quantifiable results to support the prediction of future crimes. As a result, positivists have only been concerned with the measurable and observable, and have consciously neglected the more abstract ideas of the causes of crime (The Open University, 2013a). In more recent times, however, this argument is generally not accepted as sufficiently addressing the root of crime and criminal behaviour. Positivism and the use of quantitative methods of data research has its advantages in attempting to establish causal relationships and providing statistical analysis on which to build crime-reduction policy, and has introduced the emphasis on criminal behaviour rather than how...
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...Department of History HIST*2800 Winter 2014 “The Trouble with Normal” Part One: Sample Outline (15%) Date Due: Drop Box Feb 24th Historically, social problems about youth and youth subcultures have been used as a wedge to pry open private family life and intimate relations, for public gaze or scrutiny. The purpose of this essay for you to play the role of an ANTHROPOLOGIST studying STRANGE popular cultural treatments of: A) youth subculture; or, B) the nuclear family unit. Your outline and final essay must view either topic A or B from three different social science theoretical perspectives or theories (suggestions: structural functionalism, Marxism, deviance or labeling theory, feminism, men’s movement, queer theory, marketing theory, youth transition theory, leisure or sub-cultural theory, etc.). The movies will provide opportunities for you to practice casting a “serious eye” on the historical and social construction of “normal” class, race and gender roles, and their links to social institutions (family and school). You should look/imagine how the film provide “primary source” evidence of particular norms, values, ideologies, rituals or worldviews, at a point in time. The sitcoms tend to take a light-heated or silly approach to dark and serious social issues. You should look/imagine how sitcoms over 3 decades have emphasized elite prejudices, stereotypes, punished nonconformity, and promoted or reinforced heterosexism, classism, sexism, etc. AND...
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...creation of the institutions in society that function to keep society going. Analogy to the human body.(Emile Durkheim) *Conflict Theory- groups with power in society will take care of their needs at the expense of others groups who struggle to get their fair share of societies resources.(Karl Marx/ Max Weber) *Symbolic Interactionism -The study of how information is transferred through human interactions. The issue for researchers studying social problems concerns how groups make their issues known. sociological cannon- the foundational works of a discipline. *Important to the study of social change during the transition from tradition to modernity. Karl Marx- class struggle Max Weber - bureaucracy, ideas causing social change Emile Durkheim- The function of institutions in society. Tradition=Modernity Rural= Urban Farm= Factory Monarchy= Democracy Religion= Science *The works of Marx, Weber and Durkheim replaced the early sociological works that focused on social control had been developed during time of european colonization. U.S Sociology - Social Problems Research Chicago School of Sociology 1900-1940 Examined the problems of cities that were caused by rapid industrialization, immigration, crime. -While social conditions were seen as contributions to problems, ultimately individuals were blamed for their failure to adapt. Structural Functionalism 1950’s- -Seen as a “golden ear” researchers conclude that U.S institutions were a model...
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...Interactionism, derived from the work of George Herbert Mead, is a sociological perspective that is important to social psychology. The framework of symbolic interactionism has its strengths and weaknesses in terms of its ability to explain behavior. I will attempt to utilize this theory to explain the social problem of recidivism and then explore the ways in which it can be used to alleviate this social problem. Symbolic interactionism is a distinctive approach to the study of human life and human conduct in which reality is formed as a result of the interactions between individuals. According to this theory, people do not respond directly to reality, they respond to the social understanding of reality. This means that humans exist not in the physical space composed of realities but in the "world" composed only of "objects." The concept of object is a fundamental piece of Mead’s analysis. Human beings live in a world or environment of objects, and their activities are formed around objects. According to Mead, objects are human constructs and not selfexisting entities with intrinsic nature (Blumer, 1966). According to the symbolic interactionism theory, both individual and society are created through social interaction and one cannot be understood in terms without the other. Behavior is not defined by forces from the ...
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...CHAPTER 7 DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL Deviance 171 Social Policy and Social Control: Illicit Drug Use in Canada and Worldwide 193 What Is Deviance? 171 Explaining Deviance 175 Social Control 182 Conformity and Obedience 182 Informal and Formal Social Control Law and Society 186 Crime 185 187 Types of Crime 188 Crime Statistics 190 The Issue 193 The Setting 193 Sociological Insights 193 Policy Initiatives 193 Boxes RESEARCH IN ACTION: Street Kids 183 sOCIOLOGY IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY: Singapore: A Nation of Campaigns 186 TAKING SOCIOLOGY TO WORK: Holly Johnson, Chief of Research, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada 192 Cigarette smoking has become stigmatized in Canada. This newspaper advertisement, sponsored by Health Canada, reverses the typical advertising strategy of equating smoking with sexiness. 169 H eidi Fleiss was in her late twenties when she was arrested for operating a call girl service. At the time, her pediatrician father had reacted flippantly, “I guess I didn’t do such a good job on Heidi after all.” Later, he would be convicted of conspiring to hide profits from his daughter’s call girl ring. Fleiss had dropped out of school when she was sixteen and established a liaison with a playboyfinancier who gave her a Rolls-Royce for her twenty-first birthday. In her early twenties, Fleiss interned in the world of prostitution by working for Madame Alex (Elizabeth Adams)...
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