Edition Introduction Sixth Sociology Terms
Making Connections: The Big Picture A Global Culture? Some sociologists see the online world contributing to the creation of an emerging global culture. Are you a part of any global communities? (Photo courtesy of quasireversible/flickr)Sociologists around the world are looking closely for signs of what would be an unprecedented event: the emergence of a global culture. In the past, empires such as those that existed in China, Europe, Africa, and Central and South America linked people from many different countries, but those people rarely became part of a common culture. They lived too far from each other, spoke different languages, practised different religions, and traded few goods.
Today, increases in communication, travel, and trade have made the world a much smaller place. More and more people are able to communicate with each other instantly—wherever they are located—by telephone, video, and text.
They share movies, television shows, music, games, and information over the internet. Students can study with teachers and pupils from the other side of the globe. Governments find it harder to hide conditions inside their countries from the rest of the world.Sociologists are researching many different aspects of this potential global culture. Some are exploring the dynamics involved in the social interactions of global online communities, such as when members feel a closer kinship to other group members than to people residing in their own country.
Other sociologists are studying the impact this growing international culture has on smaller, less-powerful local cultures. Yet other researchers are exploring how international markets and the outsourcing of labour impact social inequalities. Sociology can play a key role in people’s ability to understand the nature of this emerging global culture and how to respond to it.Critical SociologyThe critical perspective in sociology has its origins in social activism, social justice movements, revolutionary struggles, and radical critique.
As Karl Marx put it, its focus was the “ruthless critique of everything existing” (Marx 1843). The key elements of this analysis are the emphases on power relations and the understanding of society as historical—subject to change, struggle, contradiction, instability, social movement and radical transformation. Rather than objectivity and value neutrality, the tradition of critical sociology promotes practices of liberation and social change in order to achieve universal social justice. As Marx stated, “the philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it” (1845). This is why it is misleading to call critical sociology “conflict theory” as some introductory textbooks do. While conflict is certainly central to the critical analyses of power and domination, the focus of critical sociology is on developing types of knowledge and political action that enable emancipation from power relations (i.e., from the conditions of conflict in society). Historical materialism, feminism, environmentalism, anti-racism, queer studies, and poststructuralism are all examples of the critical perspective in sociology.One of the outcomes of a systematic analysis such as these is that it generates questions about the relationship between our everyday life and issues concerning social justice and environmental sustainability.
In line with the philosophical traditions of the Enlightenment, critical sociology is sociology with an “emancipatory interest” (Habermas 1972); that is, a sociology that seeks not simply to understand or describe the world, but to use sociological knowledge to change and improve the world, to emancipate people from conditions of servitude. What does the word critical mean in this context?
Critical sociologists argue that it is important to understand that the critical tradition in sociology is not about complaining or being “negative.” Nor is it about adopting a moral position from which to judge people or society. Making Connections: Sociology in the Real World Farming and Locavores: How Sociological Perspectives Might View Food ConsumptionThe consumption of food is a commonplace, daily occurrence, yet it can also be associated with important moments in our lives. Eating can be an individual or a group action, and eating habits and customs are influenced by our cultures. In the context of society, our nation’s food system is at the core of numerous social movements, political issues, and economic debates. Any of these factors might become a topic of sociological study.A structural-functional approach to the topic of food consumption might be interested in the role of the agriculture industry within the nation’s economy and how this has changed from the early days of manual-labour farming to modern mechanized production. Food production is a primary example of how human systems adapt to environmental systems. In many respects the concerns of environmentalists and others with respect to the destructive relationship between industrial agriculture and the ecosystem are the results of a dysfunctional system of adaptation.
The concept of sustainable agriculture points to the changes needed to return the interface between humans and the natural environment to a state of dynamic equilibrium.A sociologist viewing food consumption through a symbolic interactionist lens would be more interested in micro-level topics, such as the symbolic use of food in religious rituals, or the role it plays in the social interaction of a family dinner. This perspective might also study the interactions among group members who identify themselves based on their sharing a particular diet, such as vegetarians (people who don’t eat meat) or locavores (people who strive to eat locally produced food). The increasing concern that people have with their diets speaks to the way that the life of the biological body is as much a symbolic reality, interpreted within contemporary discourses on health risks and beauty, as it is a biological reality.A critical sociologist might be interested in the power differentials present in the regulation of food, exploring where people’s right to information intersects with corporations’ drive for profit and how the government mediates those interests. Or a critical sociologist might be interested in the power and powerlessness experienced by local farmers versus large farming conglomerates.
In the documentary Food Inc., the plight of farmers resulting from Monsanto’s patenting of seed technology is depicted as a product of the corporatization of the food industry. Another topic of study might be how nutrition varies between different social classes. Why Study Sociology? Tommy Douglas (1904-1986). As premier of Saskatchewan Tommy Douglas introduced legislation for the first publicly funded health care plan in Canada in 1961.
Sociologist Bernard Blishen (1919 – ) was the research director for the Royal Commission on Health Services which drew up the plan for Canada’s national medicare program in 1964. (Photo National Archives of Canada, C-036222)When Bernard Blishen picked up the phone one day in 1961, he was surprised to hear Chief Justice Emmett Hall on the other end of the line asking him to be the research director for the newly established Royal Commission on Health Services. Publically funded health care had been introduced for the first time in Canada that year by a socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) government in Saskatchewan amid bitter controversy. Doctors in Saskatchewan went on strike and private health care insurers mounted an expensive anti-public health care campaign. Because it was a Conservative government commission, appointed by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, Blishen’s colleagues advised him that it was going to be a whitewash document to defend the interests of private medical care. However, Blishen took on the project as a challenge, and when the commission’s report was published it advocated that the Saskatchewan plan be adopted nationally (Vaughan 2004).Blishen went on to work in the field of medical sociology and also created a widely used index to measure socioeconomic status known as the Blishen scale.
He received the Order of Canada in 2011 in recognition of his contributions to the creation of public health care in Canada.Since it was first founded, many people interested in sociology have been driven by the scholarly desire to contribute knowledge to this field, while others have seen it as way not only to study society, but also to improve it. Besides the creation of public health care in Canada, sociology has played a crucial role in many important social reforms such as equal opportunity for women in the workplace, improved treatment for individuals with mental and learning disabilities, increased recognition and accommodation for people from different ethnic backgrounds, the creation of hate crime legislation, the right of aboriginal populations to preserve their land and culture, and prison system reforms.The prominent sociologist Peter L. Berger (1929– ), in his 1963 book Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective, describes a sociologist as “someone concerned with understanding society in a disciplined way.” He asserts that sociologists have a natural interest in the monumental moments of people’s lives, as well as a fascination with banal, everyday occurrences. Berger also describes the “aha” moment when a sociological theory becomes applicable and understood:There is a deceptive simplicity and obviousness about some sociological investigations. One reads them, nods at the familiar scene, remarks that one has heard all this before and don’t people have better things to do than to waste their time on truisms—until one is suddenly brought up against an insight that radically questions everything one had previously assumed about this familiar scene. This is the point at which one begins to sense the excitement of sociology (Berger 1963).Sociology can be exciting because it teaches people ways to recognize how they fit into the world and how others perceive them.
Looking at themselves and society from a sociological perspective helps people see where they connect to different groups based on the many different ways they classify themselves and how society classifies them in turn. It raises awareness of how those classifications—such as economic and status levels, education, ethnicity, or sexual orientation—affect perceptions.Sociology teaches people not to accept easy explanations. It teaches them a way to organize their thinking so that they can ask better questions and formulate better answers.
It makes people more aware that there are many different kinds of people in the world who do not necessarily think the way they do. It increases their willingness and ability to try to see the world from other people’s perspectives.
This prepares them to live and work in an increasingly diverse and integrated world. Sociology in the WorkplaceEmployers continue to seek people with what are called “transferable skills.” This means that they want to hire people whose knowledge and education can be applied in a variety of settings and whose skills will contribute to various tasks. Making Connections: Sociology in the Real World Please “Friend” Me: Students and Social NetworkingThe phenomenon known as Facebook was designed specifically for students. Whereas earlier generations wrote notes in each other’s printed yearbooks at the end of the academic year, modern technology and the internet ushered in dynamic new ways for people to interact socially.
Instead of having to meet up on campus, students can call, text, and Skype from their dorm rooms. Instead of a study group gathering weekly in the library, online forums and chat rooms help learners connect.
The availability and immediacy of computer technology has forever changed the ways students engage with each other.Now, after several social networks have vied for primacy, a few have established their place in the market and some have attracted niche audience. While Facebook launched the social networking trend geared toward teens and young adults, now people of all ages are actively “friending” each other. LinkedIn distinguished itself by focusing on professional connections, serving as a virtual world for workplace networking. Newer offshoots like Foursquare help people connect based on the real-world places they frequent, while Twitter has cornered the market on brevity.These newer modes of social interaction have also spawned questionable consequences, such as cyberbullying and what some call FAD, or Facebook addiction disorder. In an international study of smartphone users aged 18 to 30, 60 percent say they are “compulsive” about checking their smartphones and 42 percent admit to feeling “anxious” when disconnected; 75 percent check their smartphones in bed; more than 33 percent check them in the bathroom and 46 percent email and check social media while eating (Cisco 2012). An International Data Corporation (IDC) study of 7,446 smartphone users aged 18 to 44 in the United States in 2012 found that:.
Sociology Terms List
Half of the U.S. Population have smartphones and of those 70 percent use Facebook. Using Facebook is the third most common smartphone activity, behind email (78 percent) and web browsing (73 percent). 61 percent of smartphone users check Facebook every day. 62 percent of smartphone users check their device first thing on waking up in the morning and 79 percent check within 15 minutes. Among 18-to-24-year-olds the figures are 74 percent and 89 percent, respectively.
Smartphone users check Facebook approximately 14 times a day. 84 percent of the time using smartphones is spent on texting, emailing and using social media like Facebook, whereas only 16 percent of the time is spent on phone calls. People spend an average of 132 minutes a day on their smartphones including 33 minutes on Facebook. People use Facebook throughout the day, even in places where they are not supposed to: 46 percent use Facebook while doing errands and shopping; 47 percent when they are eating out; 48 percent while working out; 46 percent in meetings or class; and 50 percent while at the movies.The study noted that the dominant feeling the survey group reported was “a sense of feeling connected” (IDC 2012).
Yet, in the international study cited above, two-thirds of 18- to 30-year-old smartphone users said they spend more time with friends online than they do in person.All of these social networks demonstrate emerging ways that people interact, whether positive or negative. Sociologists ask whether there might be long-term effects of replacing face-to-face interaction with social media. In an interview on the Conan O’Brian Show that ironically circulated widely through social media, the comedian Louis CK described the use of smartphones as “toxic.” They do not allow for children who use them to build skills of empathy because the children do not interact face to face, or see the effects their comments have on others. Moreover, he argues, they do not allow people to be alone with their feelings. “The thing is, you need to build an ability to just be yourself and not be doing something. That’s what the phones are taking away” (NewsComAu 2013).
Introduction Sociology Quiz
What do you think? How do social media like Facebook and communication technologies like smartphones change the way we communicate? How could this question be studied?
.Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 'I have chosen Society in Focus because of its appeal to students, its organization, and its contemporary approach to social issues.' Betty DaughenbaughWor-Wic Community College' Society in Focus has solid coverage of major concepts and principles, plus the inclusion of globalization and technomedia themes make it very timely.' Michael MillerUniversity of Texas - San Antonio'Our faculty chose the text for several reasons: it possesses a rich yet focused approach to instruction, it is very current in recent research and thematic developments in the discipline, and it is rather grounded substantively; using popular culture references where appropriate - whcih gives greater context to sociological concepts.' Terence StewartMott Community College'The text provides integration of sociological theory throughout each chapter, and is very readable and affordable.' Terence StewartMott Community College.
Four-color, comprehensive text at special low price–30%-40% less than competing titles. Includes timely and highly engaging research in every chapter on the powerful influences of mass media and “technomedia,” information technologies such as computers, email, the Internet, cell phones and PDAs. Majority of chapters have a special section on this topic. Offers balanced coverage of sociology's three major theoretical perspectives, and shows how other paradigms (including feminism) can deepen our understanding of complex issues. Chapter-ending “Looking to the Future” sections invite students to speculate on what society will look like five, ten, or twenty years from the present.
Each chapter includes “Sociological Focus” boxes, a chapter summary, and key terms. The key terms are defined in the margins throughout the chapter, as well as, listed at the end of the chapter. A lively and colorful design includes many global social maps and images from popular culture. The 6 th edition has been revised and updated throughout, including the following enhancements:. New section on “Infotainment: Information/Entertainment” (Ch 2).
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Streamlined coverage of types of societies (condensed information into Table 3.2); and new sections on “Sanctions” and “Taboos” (Ch 3). New section on “Young Adults: Betwixt and Between”—the phenomenon of adult children either continuing to live with their parents, or moving out, going to college, etc., and then moving back in with their parents. About the Author(s)William E.
Thompson was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was the first member of his family to receive a high school diploma. Adobe cc all product x-force keygen / activator. He received his bachelor's degree from Northeastern State University, a master's degree from Missouri State University, and a Ph.D. From Oklahoma State University. Professor Thompson has authored and coauthored more than 30 articles in professional journals, including several reprinted in sociology textbooks and readers. He has coauthored a textbook on juvenile delinquency. Thompson also is the author of The Glass House,a nonfiction account of his mother's two year battle with cancer and the lessons about life and living learned from her death and dying.Professor Thompson began his college teaching career at the University of Tulsa.
He spent the next ten years at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas. He is currently a professor of sociology and criminal justice and Director of Mayo College, a residential learning community for first-year students, at Texas A&M University - Commerce.
He has also taught in the British Studies Program at Kings College, University of London. In 1993 Thompson received an Outstanding Teaching Award from the Texas Association of College Teachers, and in 1994 he won the Distinguished Faculty Award for Research and Teaching at Texas A&M University - Commerce. For fun and relaxation Thompson plays the drums.