Sociology
Social construction of gender
-By this argument, the identification of females with traits such as care-taking, emotionality, etc. is socially constructed by forces such as the media, parents, and other agents of socialization. These traits do not reflect genetic dispositions. -In other words, our society associates the status of female with roles such as care-taking & emotionality. From a young age, girls are socialized to behave in these ways. -"CIS gender"= conforming to expected gender roles
Operational definition
-Operational definitions are specific embodiments of abstract concepts that a researcher plans to study
Strong vs. Weak ties in social movements
-Sociologists have identified high-risk activism, such as the civil rights movement, as a "strong-tie" phenomenon. -People are far more likely to stay engaged and not run home to safety if they have close friends who are also engaged. -The people who dropped out of the civil rights movement--who went home after the danger got too great--did not display any less ideological commitment. -But they lacked the strong-tie connection to other people who were staying.
Social Movement strategies & tactics
-Sometimes a social movement will send a lobbyist to persuade members of Congress to vote for a bill, or it will back a candidate in an election. -Since these methods work within existing institutions, they are called "institutional" strategies. -More often a social movement will hold a demonstration, sit-in, march, or some other tactic that does not involve working with a particular government institution. These tactics might even be illegal. -These are called "non-institutional" strategies.
The Gender Wage Gap
According to Pew Research Center, women earn 85% of what men earn. Gap is wider for women of color Gender Pay Gap? Maybe Not in the Corner Office, a Study Shows
Double standards - NY Times 2/28/16
Another double standard: "A series of experiments by Laurie A. Rudman, a psych professor at Rutgers, found that women who spoke directly about their strengths and achievements were considered more capable, but also less hirable." "Self-promotion by men made them more hirable."
Legal/Rational Authority
Based upon one's position in an organizational hierarchy or upon one's legally-defined abilities. Examples: bureaucratic officials, boss, judge, teacher/principal (as long as there's no force implied/involved), coach, president, Pope, priest
Issues in urbanization: Gentrification
Gentrification: the changes that arise when middle/upper-middle class (usually white) people move into neighborhoods that were traditionally composed of lower/working-class and/or predominately non-white people Pros and Cons of gentrification: higher income residents often bring economic activity, more stores, higher property values, etc. BUT rising property values often force out longtime residents, who are replaced initially by "hipsters" and then by people with more $ Examples: Brooklyn (NY), Canton, Hampden
McDonaldization of Law Enforcement
Increasing use of "CompStat" computer programs that determine crime "hot spots," so that police know where to concentrate patrols If the success of a police department is measured by constantly decreasing crime rates, what happens if/when all criminals have been locked up? How will crime rates continue to fall? "Stop & Frisk" (accused by critics of being racial profiling)
Media vs. Technology companies
The conglomerates listed on the previous slide do not include the largest tech companies, which are not owned by other companies: Apple, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Facebook, & Microsoft Tech companies face a unique set of issues, largely around questions of free speech, the power of algorithms, etc. Content moderators at YouTube, Facebook and Twitter see the worst of the web — and suffer silently - TRIGGER WARNING: VERY DISTURBING CONTENT
Climate change - pg. 472
The subfield of environmental sociology studies how humans interact with their environments. Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures due to human activity and, in particular, the release of greenhouse gases into the environment. http://climate.nasa.gov/ Shell Oil film about climate change from 1991
Cohort effects
When social change happens as a result of cohort effects, no individual's attitude ever necessarily changes. In this scenario, social change happens by older cohorts (& their attitudes) being replaced by younger cohorts
still chapter 1
•Hillbilly Elegy (2016) by JD Vance •Ramp Hollow by Steven Stoll (2017) •What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia (2018) by Elizabeth Catte •A major theme in these books is the tension between structure & agency. Specifically, what explains relatively high poverty rates in Appalachia? Are the people (& their culture) to blame (i.e., a culture of poverty argument), or is the poverty explained by more structural factors (especially the destruction of Appalachian land & culture by outsiders in pursuit of natural resources)?
Subjectivity vs. Objectivity
-Subjective research is influenced (biased) by researchers' personal feelings or opinions (or by sources of research funding) -Objective research looks to discover facts without distortion (bias) by personal feelings or opinions -Surveys may seem like a more objective research method, but the phrasing of questions can influence responses.
Experiments
-Used in social and natural sciences with similar research designs (experimental & control groups) -Strengths: influence of specific variables can be controlled by the researcher. Also, experiments are usually easier to replicate by future researchers. -Limitations: Many aspects of social life cannot be transported into a laboratory. Also, responses may be affected by the experiment itself (example: the "Hawthorne Effect")
The Lesson:
-When conducting an experiment, do not make your specific topic of interest obvious to those people who are being studied. -Keep in mind, however, that it is unethical to study people without telling them that they are being studied. -Medical experimentation & Race: Tuskegee experiments Henrietta Lacks
Other issues relating to sex & gender
Incels, including 2018 Florida shooter Suicide rates for men & women & again Suicide & "hegemonic masculinity" Film & the "Bechdel test" https://altright.com/2017/09/30/5-steps-to-become-a-real-man/ https://altright.com/2017/10/31/three-ways-to-become-a-better-woman/
stoll chapter 5 Real estate speculation
On page 133, Stoll discusses how real estate speculation by Wealthy Virginians kept Western VA impoverished in comparison to the rest of the state. In the wake of the housing crisis, a new breed of real estate investor is destroying America's cities.
Gender Inequality in the Media
"Catch-22" of gender in media & popular culture: Women who are perceived to be relying too much on their looks are criticized for reinforcing the stereotype that women are sex objects BUT women who are perceived as not caring about their looks are criticized and subject to speculation regarding sexual orientation, etc.
Homogenization of (mainstream) media (Pg. 173)
"Despite the variety of media at hand, the mainstream news and entertainment you enjoy are increasingly homogenized." "Research by McManus (1995) suggests that different news outlets all tell the same stories, using the same sources, resulting in the same message, presented with only slight variations." "So whether you are reading the New York Times or CNN's web site, the coverage of national events like a major court case or political issue will likely be the same."
Do Millennial Men Want Stay-at-Home Wives?
"In 1994, 83 percent of young men rejected the superiority of the male-breadwinner family. By 2014 that had fallen to 55 percent." "A recent study of 22 European and English-speaking countries found that American parents report the highest levels of unhappiness compared with non-parents, a difference the researchers found is 'entirely explained' by the absence of policies supporting work-family balance."
Other media/tech. issues
"Net Neutrality" - current court case Algorithms and gerrymandering - MD map, US Supreme Court case Yuval Noah Harari TED talk (start around 7:30) Tech C.E.O.s Are in Love With Their Principal Doomsayer - an example of cooptation? Zeynep Tufekci: Online social change: easy to organize, hard to win
Max Weber: Power vs. Authority
"Power is the ability to exercise one's will over others" (p. 377). Sometimes, power involves the use/threat of force. "Authority refers to accepted power—that is, power that people agree to follow" (p. 378). Authority is seen as rightfully exercised, or "legitimate." So, there is no need for force.
Demography
- the study of populations Changing fertility, mortality, and migration rates make up the total population composition, a snapshot of the demographic profile of a population. [See textbook charts on pp. 459 & 461] The End of Babies 10 demographic trends that are shaping the U.S. and the world Is Demography Destiny? (Note to self: define "Green Revolution")
still chapter 2 Dr. Carl Hart, Columbia University
-"HIGH PRICE: A Neuroscientist's Journey of Self-Discovery...." -Themes: structure/agency, structural vs. individualistic explanations of (Dr. Hart's) life outcomes, anecdotal vs. "scientific" evidence, experimental research methods -Was the "crack epidemic" of the 1980s a social construction? More generally, are the social problems associated with drug use a result of the drugs or a result of society's response to drugs?
Social Movement Participation vs. Engagement
-"You can participate without being engaged. Engagement is the step beyond participation." -So many companies are just seeking participants in their word of mouth and social media efforts. "Come participate in our campaign. Upload your videos and pictures. Come on, be present, so we can count you and your eyeballs for our metrics." -But those that engage - those that earn "the attention or efforts of"...are the ones that are building something that will last. It's the beginning of a movement. Which would you rather have?
The "Hawthorne Effect" - p. 36
-1927-'32 study of the effect of changes in lighting conditions on worker productivity in a factory in Illinois. -Changing the lighting conditions for the experimental group resulted in increased productivity, no matter what the change was. -They were just working harder because they knew that their productivity was being measured.
still chapter 2 Subsistence & cash economies: an uneasy balance
-A subsistence economy, which can involve a lot of trade/barter, can sometimes conflict with and a capitalist, cash-based economy. Why? -One reason: taxes are easier to collect in a cash-based economy -Pg. 75: "At some undefined point, money can change in its role from an attribute of a household to its controlling purpose, from freedom to imperative." -Often, the point when this occurs "hinges on the size and robustness of the ecological base." -Compare the ecological base to privacy of personal info. today
Anecdotal evidence
-Anecdotal evidence is based on personal experience or the experience of "someone you know." -For example, you might say that a restaurant is bad because you (or someone you know) ate there and came down with food poisoning. However, just because you had a bad experience at the restaurant doesn't mean that all/most people had a similar one. -In other words, the experience of one person is not necessarily generalizable. -Anecdotal evidence can be more attention-grabbing than empirical evidence (sometimes called "scientific" or "data-based"), even if it's is not generally accurate. -Note the use of anecdotal evidence by politicians.
Social movements & Social Media
-Do social media promote participation or engagement? -This question was asked often in the aftermath of the 2011 "Arab Spring" -Participation = liking/sharing a post -Engagement = joining a street protest -Rather than increasing engagement, journalist Malcolm Gladwell contends that social media only increase participation; after all, the cost of participation is so much lower than the cost of engagement.
Ethnography
-Ethnography: first-hand studies, using participant observation (researcher takes part in the activities being studied) and/or interviews -Strength: generates more in-depth information -Limitations: only useful for very small groups; not easy to generalize (apply conclusions from the small group studied to the larger population) -Example: the "Tea Room Trade" study
Social movement success, continued
-Framing theory argues that success depends on whether a movement is able to frame its goals in a way to make them appeal to more potential supporters -For example, the movement opposed to gay marriage could frame their goals in multiple ways: 1. Gay marriage could be presented as a violation of Biblical scripture: who will be convinced by this position? 2. Gay marriage could be presented as "the end of marriage as we know it." Does this frame broaden the potential appeal? -On the other side of the gay marriage debate, consider the significance of framing it as "marriage equality" vs. "gay marriage"
"Mob Mentality"
-From "Donald Trump and the Myth of Mobocracy": "Rather than surrendering their identity or losing themselves in the crowd, as Le Bon argued, individuals who join the group instead embrace a collective identity, one usually hedged by limits and informed by rules." -"Similarly, in his landmark work on crowds in the French Revolution, the historian George Rudé showed how the "mob" that took the Bastille was not bestial and base, but instead shaped by the actions of literate artisans."
Newman's definition:
-Globalization is the "process by which people's lives all around the world become economically, politically, environmentally, and culturally connected" (p. 269)
Economic Globalization & "Free Trade"
-Globalization= removal of barriers (like tariffs & subsidies) to free trade -What are tariffs & subsidies? -"Free trade" generally refers to transactions in which prices are determined only by supply & demand. -By this definition of free trade, tariffs & subsidies are a violation of free trade.
Depth vs. Breadth
-In-depth research explores a topic or group in great detail, but the findings may not be able to be generalized to a broader population. -Broader research is more generalizable, but it might be too shallow to offer real insight.
Why do people join social movements?
-Individualistic explanations emphasize potential joiners' strength of belief in the cause of a social movement influencing their likelihood of joining. -Structural explanations emphasize factors such as whether or not friends of a potential joiner have already joined a movement. -Sociologist Douglas McAdam studied "freedom riders," who traveled into the US South in the mid-1960s to register blacks to vote -Freedom riders' simply knowing another person who joined the movement was a stronger predictor of their joining than was their own strength of belief in the cause.
Social movements & Social Media, continued
-Instead of risking being arrested, shot with rubber bullets, or sprayed with fire hoses, social media activists can click "like" or retweet a message from the comfort and safety of their desk (Gladwell 2010). -Social media, by their very makeup, are "weak-tie" (McAdam and Paulsen 1993). People follow or friend people they have never met. But while these online acquaintances are a source of information and inspiration, the lack of engaged personal contact limits the level of risk we'll take on their behalf. -Facebook, Twitter and Instagram sent feeds that helped police track minorities in Ferguson and Baltimore, report says
Correlation vs. Causation
-Keep in mind, correlation does not necessarily indicate causation -A spurious (false, misleading) correlation looks like it might be causal, but it is not
Pros of Institutionalization
-Longevity With baseline organizational structure, can adapt to social, economic and political context/demands. -Access to government insiders Gains influence in established political structures -Creates accessible opportunities for those looking to get involved -Create support structures for smaller environmental groups
Grassroots vs. "Astroturf" movements
-Many social movements start as collections of concerned citizens: this would be a grassroots movement -"Astroturf" is the term used to describe movements that appear grassroots but are actually operated and financed by people in positions of authority (especially corporate leaders, such as the Koch brothers) -This is the basis of an ongoing debate about the Tea Party movement in the US
Predictability
-No surprises -McDonald's: "One taste worldwide" Examples from sport: domed stadiums, artificial turf -Education: standardized tests -Facebook/Amazon algorithms -Use of algorithms to predict the likelihood that someone will commit crimes
Social construction of sex
-Not the same arguments as for the social construction of race -Social construction of sex: the 2-category (M/F) system is a social construction that does not reflect the variety of human sexual diversity -According to this argument, sex should be viewed as a spectrum, not as a duality -Babies born of "indeterminate sex" (or "intersex")
Surveys
-Open-ended vs. fixed-response questions -Strengths: easy to study large #'s of people, allows for precise comparison of answers (especially with fixed-response questions) & for generalizability Limitations : -Findings may be superficial. -If survey is too standardized, it might miss important differences in respondents' views. - Respondents might feel pressured to answer questions in a certain way ("social desirability effect") Video: Why 2016 election polls missed their mark
Limitations of institutional strategies
-Overly narrow in strategies and objectives -Often relegated to litigation and lobbying -Fails to supply necessary vision to tackle problems wholesale -Risk of "co-optation/appropriation" by powers that be Is working outside of institutions the only way to force those institutions to listen/change? "co-opt" definitions from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/: to neutralize or win over (an independent minority, for example) through assimilation into an established group or culture: co-opt rebels by giving them positions of authority. to take or assume for one's own use; appropriate: co-opted the criticism by embracing it.
stoll chapter 2 Private property & capitalism
-Private property is a distinctive characteristic of capitalism. -Marx argued that the main characteristic of post-capitalist society would be communally-owned property (i.e., communism). -Stoll discusses the ways in which enclosure/private property threatened peasants' "subsistence" (pg. 67) way of life
Quantitative & Qualitative data (p. 38)
-Quantitative data - data collected in numerical form that can be counted -Qualitative data - data not collected in numerical form, often in response to "open ended" questions -Ethnographic data is often in Qualitative form
Calculability
-Quantity, not quality ("Big Mac," NOT "Good Mac") -Also the increased focus on quantification of parts of world (turning things into #'s) -Fantasy sports & advanced analytics -Social media: # of followers -Standardized testing
Reliability & Validity
-Reliability (how likely research results are to be replicated if the study is reproduced). -Social science has a complicated, infinitely tricky replication crisis -Researchers also strive for validity, which refers to how well the study measures what it was designed to measure.
What conditions make it likely for social movements to succeed?
-Resource mobilization theory argues that a movement's success depends largely on its ability to gather & deploy resources -Examples of resources? $, people -Political opportunity/process theory argues that a movement's success depends largely on whether or not there are people in positions of authority (specifically in the government) who are sympathetic to the movement's cause
The "irrationality of rationality"
-Ritzer: "inefficiencies and uncertainties that are often produced by seemingly rational systems" -Also refers to the dehumanizing effects of rationalization
Sex & Gender
-Sex: biological maleness/femaleness -Gender: "psychological, social, & cultural aspects of maleness & femaleness," like masculinity & femininity Sociologists often speak of "doing/performing" gender
stoll chapter 2 The emergence of private property
-Stoll compares the experience of peasants in England to the history of Appalachia -Stoll is arguing against versions of history that see private property (& capitalism) as inevitable, evolutionary developments. He argues that they are consequences of specific, intentional actions. Pg. 53: "Before the 16th century, no one in England owned land, not even [King] Richard II." -Enclosure (pg. 55): Through legal actions in courts and Parliament, Lords created "a new and shocking category of land use: private property."
What is McDonaldization?
-The process by which the principles behind the operation of fast-food restaurants have come to influence other aspects of the social structure, including the family, politics, education, & law enforcement. -Similar to Max Weber's concept of "rationalization," which referred to the greater influence of science on our lives (and the declining influence of religion, according to Weber)
Critiquing the existence of "mob mentality" (Jon Ronson, 2015: pg. 104)
-Those who believe in the existence of mob mentality often argue that this mentality is contagious, infecting people like an illness. -HOWEVER, social psychologist Steve Reicher points out, "The irony of those people who use contagion as an explanation is that they saw the TV pictures of the London riots but they didn't go out and riot themselves. -It is never true that everyone helplessly joins in with the crowd. The riot police don't join in with a rioting crowd. Contagion, it appears, is a problem for others." -In other words, people don't lost their minds when they join crowds. They are often consciously & intentionally acting in ways that they often believe is "doing something good."
Social Change
-Two different ways in which social change can occur: --Changes in individual attitudes/behaviors - if enough people change their attitudes about an issue (such as gay marriage) during their lifetimes, then society's views on the issue might change --Changes through "generational/cohort effects" - if the members of a younger generation have a different attitude about an issue than older generations, society's views on the issue will likely change as older generations die off. -NOTE: if society changes through cohort effects, it does not necessarily mean that anyone's attitudes ever change
Causation
-Variable: any measurable characteristic that can change in value/quantity -Examples of variables: income, sex, education level, & many more -Independent variables (IV) cause changes in dependent variables (DV) - p. 35 -IV = cause & DV = effect
Correlation
-Variables are correlated when a change in one variable coincides with a change in another variable (p. 47) -Variables are positively correlated when a change in one variable is associated with a change in another variable in the same direction (example: an increase in education level is correlated with an increase in income) -Negative correlation: when one variable changes in one direction (+ or -), the other variable moves in the opposite direction
The "crisis of succession"
-When a charismatic authority figure dies, the people who want to succeed that authority figure compete with each other. The uncertainty is the crisis of succession. -The people who want to succeed the charismatic authority figure often point to their own historical ties or legal/rational position to argue for their own legitimacy. Weber called this process the "routinization of charisma." -Examples from religion: Christianity, Islam, Mormonism The Civil Rights movement after the deaths of Dr. ML King Jr. & Malcolm X -What is going to happen to the Republican Party after Pres. Trump leaves office?
Social movements
-purposeful, organized groups striving to work toward a common social goal -Examples: think of the various groups (PETA, NRA, Greenpeace), the Civil rights movement -Social media has given rise to online movements that don't always seems like they are very organized (#MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter)
5 main principles of McDonaldization
1. Efficiency: finding the best/optimum means to a given end How to define "best/optimum?" Does it always mean fastest, cheapest? Education: online courses Jaron Lanier: Why Facebook Isn't Free Gannett, Now Largest U.S. Newspaper Chain, Targets 'Inefficiencies'
US & International Trade
1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (recently renegotiated & renamed US-Canada-Mexico Agreement): eliminated tariffs on goods traveling between US, Canada, & Mexico Current trade war with China involving tariffs
Developing nations & Climate change: A catch-22?
2 possible paths for developing nations: to pursue further development or not to pursue? Possible negative consequences of either path? Poor countries' economic development will contribute to climate change. But they are already its greatest victims
Race, Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), & Algorithms
A.I. Systems Echo Biases They're Fed Why The Sensitive Intersection of Race, Hate Speech And Algorithms Is Heating Up Mathwashing: How Algorithms Can Hide Gender and Racial Biases Turns Out Algorithms Are Racist Predictive Algorithms in Criminal Sentencing
Environmental factors
Adult behavior often differs with children labeled as boys or girls greater encouragement of motor activity with boys more interpersonal stimulation, vocalization and nurturing with girls Gender-specific terms of endearment and toys
Demography & education
Are Prospective Students About to Disappear? The spurious correlation between income and fertility rates: Lower-income people have slightly more children, but this not caused by their income. The actual cause is education level. As people stay in school longer, they often put off starting families, so they ultimately have fewer children than people who finish school & start families at a younger age.
Media/Tech: the functionalist argument
As a social institution, media have some beneficial purpose(s) to society What social function might a functionalist like Durkheim emphasize? What function did religion serve? What types of communities & connections are made possible/easier by technology? Other possible beneficial function: moral socialization? Pg. 178: "What is not clear, despite nearly 50 years of empirical research, is how much socializing influence the media have when compared to other agents of socialization, which include any social institution that passes along norms, values, and beliefs (such as peers, family, religious institutions, and the like)."
The "glass ceiling" - what is it?
Barriers (often sexism) that limit how high women can rise up the corporate ladder Glass ceiling is also used in reference to race The "glass escalator" refers to the phenomenon of men rising quickly to positions of authority in job fields that are predominately female "Failing up" - see also framing discussion
Anecdotal evidence
Based upon personal experience (anecdote = a story) Advantage: stories can be emotionally powerful & moving Disadvantages: 1. Stories of one person/one group might not be generalizable to the larger population 2. Anecdotes used as evidence can be chosen subjectively (influenced by personal opinion) & therefore potentially biased
Traditional Authority
Based upon tradition or upon one's historical connections (including family ties) to past leaders Examples: monarchs, familial business leaders (Ivanka Trump), president, Pope, priest, parents/guardians
Charismatic Authority
Based upon, in Weber's words, "the exceptional sanctity, heroism, or exemplary character of an individual person." Examples: ML King Jr., Gandhi, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, Oprah, Guy Fieri, Cult leader, Beyonce, Jesus, Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, Hitler, Pope Francis, Instagram influencers
Gender Inequality and the Economy
Close to half of all US workers are female - increases in many male-dominated fields Women (1983 to 2005): From 15% of lawyers to 30% From 16% of physicians to 32% In 2006: Still 97.3% of all admin assistants 94.8% of child care workers 97.7% of pre-school and Kindergarten teachers
So why is climate change a controversy?
Costly regulations that would require expensive operational upgrades have been a source of great anxiety to much of the business community As a rebuttal they argue, via lobbyists, that such regulations would be disastrous for the economy. Some go so far as to question the science used as evidence. There is a lot of finger-pointing among countries, especially when the issue arises of who "gets" to pollute.
How does social change happen?
Does society change as a consequence of enough individuals changing their attitudes over the course of their lifetimes? OR does change happen due to what is known in sociology as "cohort effects?" "Cohort effects" refer to new generations of people (cohorts) who possess different attitudes than their (grand)parents.
What is "globalization?"
Economic sense Cultural sense Political sense Environmental sense Other sense(s)?
McDonaldization & "Food, Inc."
Efficiency: finding the best/optimum means to a given end From "Food, Inc.": "A lot of food on a small amount of land at a low price - what's wrong with that?" Irrationality of rationality? Growing chickens "faster, fatter, bigger, cheaper" Farming transformed into an assembly-line industry -Predictability: chickens & potatoes must be of uniform, consistent (i.e., predictable) size Nonhuman technology: GPS technology used by corn farmers; meat processing workers "treated as human machine[s]" Control: "controlling-type mentality" of companies like Monsanto; corporations keeping farmers under control through debt -
Theoretical Perspectives on Urbanization
Functionalist perspectives focus on the ways in which cities emerge & develop to better meet the needs of the population. "In contrast to the functionalist approach, theoretical models in the conflict perspective focus on the way that urban areas change according to specific decisions made by political and economic leaders. These decisions generally benefit the middle and upper classes while exploiting the working and lower classes." (465-66) "For example, public land in poor neighborhoods may be rezoned for use as industrial land" (466), which further drives down real estate values in the surrounding neighborhoods & increases risk of pollution. Baltimore: the "White L" & the "Black Butterfly"
Economic Globalization, "Free Trade," & the Environment
Globalization= removal of barriers (like tariffs & subsidies) to free trade What are tariffs & subsidies? North American Free Trade Agreement (1994): eliminated tariffs on goods traveling between US, Canada, & Mexico Free trade & the "green economy" - US subsidies to fossil fuel companies
Algorithms
How YouTube's Shifting Algorithms Hurt Independent Media Facebook's Other Critics: Its Viral Stars Does it make sense to think of algorithms as social structures? Like social structures, algorithms are human creations which influence & shape our online experiences in ways that we do not always recognize.
Conflict theory and climate change
How a Warming Planet Drives Human Migration Where others might believe wars to be based upon differences in religion, ethnicity, etc., conflict theorists argue that they are really about competition for resources.
McDonaldization and Starbuckization
In recent years, Ritzer has begun to use the term "Starbuckization" instead of "McDonaldization" The 2 processes are similar, except "Unlike McDonald's, Starbucks emphasizes its quality brand image, coffee culture, personal connection with customers, and social responsibility. Starbuckization has made the high coffee culture a way of life globally."
Gender Inequality in Families
Much of the inequality women face revolves around the traditional view of their family role Because working women continue to be primarily responsible for housework, they often end up working what amounts to two full-time jobs The Second Shift by Arlie Hochschild: "second shift" refers to the housework (mainly performed by women) performed in addition to paid, full-time labor
Why does wage gap exist?
Occupational segregation (2 types): 1. Women are more concentrated in lower-paid job fields 2. Women are more concentrated in lower-paid subfields within the same field (e.g. female pediatricians) Evidence that occupational segregation does not explain the gap entirely. -Global phenomenon -In virtually every country men earn more than women Women's Economic Opportunity Index
Concentrated media ownership
On the surface, there is endless opportunity to find diverse media outlets. But the numbers are misleading. In 1983, a mere 50 corporations owned the bulk of mass-media outlets. Those 50 corporations have morphed into only 6 conglomerates (large companies consisting of many seemingly unrelated businesses). These conglomerates control most of the United States' mass-media vehicles: Time Warner, Disney, Viacom, General Electric, and the foreign-headquartered News Corporation (Australia) and Bertelsmann (Germany). Conflict theorists express concern that this limits the independence of media outlets. For example, if GE owns NBC, is NBC News able to air a story that reflects poorly on GE?
still chapter 4 History of West Virginia
Pg. 139: "In 1890, a judicial revolution brought a new generation of judges to the state supreme court. They reoriented the judiciary toward the interests of industry" - This would not surprise a conflict theorist. Laws that uphold the rights of corporations to take land & prevent people from continuing to hunt/live on that land would be a structural explanation of the poverty that exists in WVA Pg. 158: "All rights to property come from governments, which modify these rights to serve their most powerful constituents."
stoll chapter 5 Poverty in WVA: an individualistic explanation
Pg. 151: "Mountaineers needed to think differently about how they did things as their condition rapidly worsened. But they approached the landscape with long-standing assumptions that they could not (or would not) abandon." An explanation of poverty as the result of individuals' choices is an individualistic choice. Think of changes in the economy today: what would you consider to be changes that individuals (like yourselves) can be "reasonably" expected to undertake for the sake of employment? Moving to another part of the country/world? Retraining?
Media/Tech: the symbolic interactionist (SI) perspective
Pg. 179: "Theorists working in the interactionist perspective focus on...social construction of reality, an ongoing process in which people subjectively create and understand reality... media create and spread symbols that become the basis for our shared understanding of society." Social media (Facebook/Twitter/Snapchat/Instagram,etc.) and the front/back stage (Goffman) Sherry Turkle TED talk To be fair, the concerns raised by Turkle are similar to those raised by some people when the (non-cellular) telephone was invented.
still chapter 6 The McDonaldization of Appalachia
Pg. 235: "For conservationists, the opposite of waste was efficiency. The gospel of efficiency said that rivers shall not run to the seas without irrigating something or generating electricity." Pg. 235: "Foresters sought the 'optimum' relationship between agriculture and woodland" Think about the other elements of McDonaldization and how they are visible in the Stoll book. This will likely be the basis for an essay question (& maybe 1-2 multiple choice questions) on the final exam.
still chapter 6 The "irrationality of rationality"
Pg. 237: Building a highway through wilderness in order to construct a national park whose purpose is to preserve nature could be interpreted as an example of the irrationality of rationality. The poverty in Appalachia which has arisen (according to Stoll) as a result of the rise of industrial capitalism (which is obsessed with efficiency) could be interpreted as an example of the irrationality of rationality.
stoll chapter 6
Pg. 242: Folk art objects like rocking chairs and baskets "increased in cultural value as industrial capitalism undermined their environmental and social basis. According to one critic, they gained allure from the destruction of the culture that created them." - If these objects have value, is it irrational to destroy the culture that creates them?
Substitution of Nonhuman Tech.
Red-light & Speeding cameras Blue lights in Baltimore Self checkout in grocery stores, customer service Ordering tablets at restaurants (Chili's, Applebee's) Online education & dating Sport: instant replay How to Prepare for an Automated Future
Control
Ritzer p. 631: "Rational systems are oriented toward, and structured to expedite, control in a variety of senses" Control over uncertainties and over other people Texting vs. face to face interactions Sport: domes, Artificial turf
Fragmentation of media (pg. 173)
Simultaneous to...homogenization among the major news outlets, the opposite process is occurring in the newer media streams. With so many choices, people increasingly "customize" their news experience, minimizing "chance encounters" with information with which they disagree. TED Talk: Beware Online "Filter Bubbles" - Connecting us to many different viewpoints or to lots of people who share only our viewpoint?
Knowledge gap & Digital divide - pg. 167
The "digital divide" - "the uneven access to technology along race, class, and geographic lines" The "knowledge gap" - "an increasing gap in information for those who have less access to technology. Simply put, students in well-funded schools receive more exposure to technology than students in poorly funded schools." HOWEVER... The Digital Gap Between Rich and Poor Kids Is Not What We Expected As digital devices have come to dominate classrooms, some wealthy parents have begun to limit their children's access (see also this link)
Weber's 3 Types of Authority
The 3 types of authority are not mutually exclusive: 1. Legal/Rational 2. Traditional 3. Charismatic See Table 17.1 o
Demography & Social Change
Two different ways in which social change can occur: Changes in individual attitudes - if enough people whose attitudes about an issue (such as gay marriage) change their attitudes during their lifetimes, then society's views on the issue might change Changes through "generational/cohort effects" - if the members of a younger generation have a different attitude about an issue than older generations, society's views on the issue will likely change as older generations die off. Demographic change is similar to cohort effects, in the sense that neither one involves individuals changing their behaviors/attitudes.
Domhoff: Pluralism vs. Elite theories
Who has the power over the "food system" in the US? Some of the individuals interviewed in "Food, Inc." refer to the "industrial food system." This indicates how they would answer this question. However, what about the power of consumers to influence what types of foods are produced?
Gender-specific toys
domestic toys for girls encourage creativity, nurturance and physical attractiveness sports-related, science-related, mechanical, educational, and war-related toys for boys encourage invention, exploration, competition and aggression
Planned obsolescence
when a company plans for a product to be obsolete [outdated] from the time it's created
stroll chapter 1 Racialization
•"Poor whites...became a despised race." •"Descriptions of mountaineers emphasize their supposed degeneracy and grotesqueness, which came from their isolation, causing moral depravity, resulting in... degeneracy and grotesqueness." •"Once a racial type is in place, any worsening of a subject people's condition reinforces the type, providing proof after proof."
