Sociology - Ch.10: Social Institutions
Polítical systems : government :
A formal, organizad agency that excercises power and control in modern society.
Democracy:
A political system in which all citizens have a right to participate.
Dictatorship:
A political system in which power is concentrated in the hands of a few elites who control military and economic resources.
Totalitarianism:
A political system in which the government seeks to control every aspect of citizens' lives, public and private.
Authoritarianism:
A political system that denies ordinary citizens representation by and control over their own government.
The power elite: (definition)
A relatively small group of influential individuals occupying the top positions with the major economic, political, and military institutions of the country.
Politics, education, and religion are often discussed together in sociology because...
All 3 overlap in everyday life.
What is the "hidden curriculum"? What nonacademic functions does it fulfill?
All answers should be able to define the hidden curriculum as lessons that students learn indirectly but that are an implicit part of their socialization in the school environment. Good answers will identify its functions: training future workers for an industrial economy and reinforcing and reproducing inequality. The very best answers might also mention that the hidden curriculum is hard to adjust because it is based not only on what is taught but also on how it is taught.
Unschooling:
An alternative to traditional education and homeschooling. Parents are in charge of their children's learning, but unlike homeschooling, they reject traditional curriculums and teaching methods.
Religion:
Any institutionalized system of shared beliefs and rituals that identify a relationship between the sacred and the profane.
What are the methods and tactics of managing and influencing government called
Authoritarian
What is the term for the legitimate right to wield power?
Authority
Disenfranchised:
Barred from voting, either temporarily or permanently.
What occurs when a government bars an individual temporarily or permanently from voting.
Disenfranchisement
Which term is used for a person who is stripped of voting rights, either temporarily or permanently?
Disenfranchisement
Schools that blend high school and college are called?
Early college high school
What is the central means by which modern society transmits knowledge, values, and expectations to its members?
Education
Social institutions
Methods and tactics of managing a políticas entity such as a nation or state, as well as the administration and control of its internal and external affairs.
Early college high schools:
New institutions that blend high school and college into a program in which students can earn a high school diploma and two years of college credit at the same time.
Trie or false: Not all citizens are equally represented by a democratic government.
True
True or false: a democratic government does not equally represent all citizens
True
What is the definition for the "hidden curriculum" concept?
lessons that students learn indirectly by how it's presented and organized.
Education:
- Beyond the transmission of knowledge, education reproduces society by transmitting values, norms, and social stratification. - Just as education attainment affects social status and life chances, social status also affects access to education. - Females, nonwhite ethnic groups, the poor, and the disabled face individual and institutional discrimination in schooling.
Voting in the USA:
- Many voting-elegible U.S. citizens do not excercise their right to vote. - A majority of states disenfranchise convicted felons while they are incarcerated. Other states also disenfranchise felons while they are on parole, on probation, or permanently. - Americans cannot vote unless they are registered: only 17 states allow same-day registration.
Social media and politics:
- Social media provides information and allows for interaction, networking, and user-generated content. - An increasing number of Americans get their political and campaign news online, including social networking sites. - Social media sites have contributed to the rise in "fake news" because fraudulent news stories can spread quickly online.
Education:
- The central means by which a society transmits its knowledge, values, and expectations to its members. - It can be either formal or informal and is commonly tied to the school system.
The media and the political process:
- The media plays a key role in the political process. - The founders probably envisioned the media as a means of informing and educating the public while checking and balancing the government's power. - Campaigns and elections
Homeschooling:
-The education of school-age children under their parents' supervision outside of a conventional school campus. - Many parents choose homeschooling to control their children's academic education and limit their exposure to the socializing effects of peer culture in schools.
Hidden curriculum:
-The lessons that students learn indirectly through their school experience, but that are an implicit part of their socialization in the school environment. -It reinforces and reproduces conditions of social equality by presenting and reinforcing what is considered "normal", "right", or "good".
The power elite: (characteristics)
1. Know each other personally and professionally. 2. Recognize their status as part of the ultimate "members only" club. 3. Run in many of the same circles in their personal lives. 4. Serve on each other's boards of directors and do business directly with other members. 5. Overwhelmingly white males.
The power elite: (facts)
Conflict theorists argue that power in the US is held by a small group of power elites.
Educated citizens should participate in the election of officials who then represent their interests in lawmaking, law enforcement, resource allocation, and international affairs.
If you can vote you should, you can't complain if you don't vote
What is religiosity?
It's the extent of a person's consistent and regular practice of their religious beliefs.
What are the methods and tactics of managing and influencing government called
Politics
Dual enrollment:
Programs that allow high school students to gain college credit for the courses they take through concurrent enrollment with a local college.
How is determining religiosity a complex phenomenon in the United States?
Religious affiliation varies across demographics (age, race, gender, political party, and education) even though most Americans state that religion is important to them. For instance, a recent study shows that younger Americans (one-third of the population under thirty years old) tend to be religiously unaffiliated; more simply, religious attendance does not necessarily indicate religious beliefs.
What are systems and structures within society that shape the activities of groups and individuals called?
Social institutions
Power
The ability to get others to do one's bidding, as definen by Max Weber
Religiosity:
The consistent and regular practice of religious beliefs that is gauged in terms of the frequency of attendance at worship services and the importance of religious beliefs to an individual.
Authority
The legitimate, noncoercive, excercise of power.
According to C.Wright Mills, a small and unified group of people occupy the highest positions of the major economic, political, and military institutions and exercise tremendous influence in American social life. What does he call this group?
The power elite
What is the MOST extreme form of authoritarianism?
Totalitarianism
What is one implication of power elite theory for understanding American society?
Working hard is often not enough to reach positions of power. In addition, control is concentrated in the hands of those who are wealthy rather than those who are democratically elected.
What technique is used to disenfranchise part of the American population today
denying people who have been convicted of felonies their right to vote for the rest of their life (convicted felons)
