soiciology
Nisha0102
slidesforweekfour.pptx
Portrayal of the Modern society in Sociology (Microsociology)
Week five
Soci1125
Important points about the Quiz I
Your Quiz I will be held on October 8th
You need to log into moodle and then find Quiz I in Week five ( 5-11 October)
You can take the quiz any time between 12 Am To 11.59 Pm ( the entire Friday October 8th Day according to Vancouver time zone)
If you do not take your quiz during this timeline, you will get Zero. And this fact is not negotiable.
You have two chances to complete the Quiz. Your highest Grade will be recorded as your Quiz grade.
Quiz entails 20 ( multiple choices and true /false ) questions and you have 25 Minutes to finish it.
For quiz, you Only need to study the Textbook chapter one( the entire chapter) and chapter two ( from beginning until page 60) in detail and carefully ( my lecture is not necessary).
Sample of the questions
Fatima is trying to apply the sociological imagination to her life as a student. Which of the following insights is she not likely to arrive at?
Some of the difficulties she faces as a student are common to all students of colour on campus.
Some of the difficulties she faces as a student are because her discipline does not support female students to excel.
Some of the difficulties she faces as a student are because she has not learned to manage her time to study and complete her readings.
Some of the difficulties she faces as a student are because some of the students who attend her university are much wealthier than she is and can afford extra supports.
Sample of questions
What is the best opposite of the sociological concept of structure?
Agency
Ascribed status
Gender
Privilege
Rousseau suggested that human beings are the only animal that is perfectible, and can achieve their potential through society.
a True
b False
Max Weber( founder of interpretative sociology)
Along with the philosophers Wilhelm Dilthey (1833–1911) and Heinrich Rickert (1863–1936), Weber believed that natural science rules cannot apply to social science.
Because despite the subjects of natural science, the subjects of social science assign meaning to their behavior
,” Weber described sociology as “a science which attempts the interpretive understanding of social action in order to arrive at a causal explanation of its course and effects” (Weber, 1922)
Weber’s “social actions” Vs Durkheim’s “social fact”
Social action is the main unit of sociological analysis for Weber
“Action is social in so far as, by virtue of the subjective meaning attached to it by the acting individual (or individuals), it takes account of the behavior of others and is thereby oriented in its course” (Weber, 1922).
Verstehen
To deeply understand the logic of human behaviors one needs to understand both the objective feature of the behavior and also the meaning that human attribute to it.
Weber and Dilthey introduced the concept of Verstehen, means to understand from a subject’s point of view.
To understand human behaviour in different culture the sociologists cannot interprets the humans’ acts based on own belief system, rather they should learn to see it empathetically from an insider’s point of view.
George Simmel
He believes that Macro level structures are sum of individual social interactions. However, each macro structure( for example culture or religions) imposes some particular feature ( for example norms, value )to individual interaction within itself.
Language as a main macro structure which imposes its meaning to our micro interaction : if you don’t know the greeting word and short talk in each language you may misunderstood social actions
“formal sociology”, or the sociology of social forms. Formal Sociology: Different human interactions can be similar in form
Thomas Theorem
“If men[sic] define situations as real, they are real in their consequences”
Question: Some example of Thomas Theorem concept in our everyday life
In Canada as a multicultural society, people with different ethnicity, cultural and historical background live together and interact with each others. These interactions may result in generation of so many stereotypes and stigmas ( racial, gender, etc.).
Can you find some examples that these stereotypes leads to consequences that prove Thomas Theorem concept?
Symbolic Interactionism principles
Ritzer’s principles of Symbolic Interactionism
Humans have the capacity for thought
Human thinking is shaped by social interaction
People learn meanings and symbols in social settings
Meanings and symbols enable people to carry on uniquely human actions and interactions
Meanings and symbols change dependent upon interpretation
Unique ability to interact with self
Culmination of interaction and patterns of action make up society
Symbolic Interactionism: Charles H. Cooley
Cooley believes the best way to understand human’s action is by “Sympathetic introspection”.
Looking-glass self: We develop our self image through the cues we receive from others
Self-fulfilling prophecy: Internalize impressions and as a result become the kind of person we believe others see us as.
Charles Horton Cooley: The looking glass self
1- the imagination of our appearance( action) in other’s eyes.
2- the estimation of the other’s judgement of our appearance( action)
3- internalizing the other’s imaginary judgement( identifying ourselves by other’s picture of us)
4- and feeling of self shame, pride which influence our self esteem.
Note : the significance or wight of that other in our life determines the power of their judgement in our self image and self esteem.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Teacher Belief:
Ethnic group A ‘s IQ is higher than Ethnic group B’s IQ
Teacher’s action:
Smiling, calling and praising A students more than B students.
Students’ reactions:
Student from group A: Study enthusiastically and get higher grades.
Students from group B: Become disappointed and study less and get lower grades
Proving
From Myers 2008
Symbolic Interactionim: George Herbert Mead
Human mind results from the individual’s ability to respond and engage with the environment: I + Me = Self
Significant others: Those around us from whom we want to gain approval from (parents, peers, etc.)
Generalized other: The attitudes, viewpoints and expectations that are associated with the “average” member of society.
George Herbert Mead: The dialectical Nature of the Self
Me: self as social object
It is the cognitive awareness of the self or retrieval of self in my memory which is influenced by “generalized other’s” standpoint .
Me, is the self on all moments that we reflect on,or recall our Self or plan how to behave in future.
I: initiating Subject
“I” is the spontaneous and immediate presentation of “ self” at the moment of interaction.
“I” is the moment of “freedom and initiative” “( Mead 1934: 175).Because, it is fed by our self –consciousness but is not determined by it.
“The “I” of this moment is present in the “me” of the next moment…I become a “me” in so far as I remember what I said. ( Mead 1934: 175).
Mead’s Development of Self
Preparatory Stage (birth to age 3): children are only capable of imitation: They have no ability to imagine how others see things. They copy the actions of people with whom they regularly interact, such as their mothers and fathers.
Primary Stage( Play Stage) (ages 3 to 5):begins to assume one roles of others and the social expectation from it. The “me” starts growing by getting attention from significant others. Via development of language skills,the child get the elementary value and attitudes of their culture.
Secondary Socialization (Game Stage )(elementary school years): occurs in early adolescence and beyond through participation in groups that have defined multiple roles at once( students, sport team member, etc.) and get to know the expectations of generalized others.
Agents of Socialization contribute to generating the generalized other and “me”.
The individuals, groups and social institutions that work together to help people become functioning members of society
Four Primary Agents of Socialization
Families
Peers
Education
Mass media
Families
Families are responsible for socialization during formative years
Learn values and attitudes, gender roles, social classes, and ethnic identities
Families also responsible for assigning socioeconomic status and provide varying degrees of cultural capital
Peers
The importance of peers increases in adolescence
Teens imitate friends as they receive rewards for likeness
Peers may encourage a teen to pursue activities that society views as admirable (e.g., volunteer work, participation in school clubs)
Peer groups may also encourage a teen to violate norms of society (e.g., through dress, drug use, crime, etc.)
Education
Individuals spend a great deal of time in educational institutions
Learn knowledge and skill but also social roles through interactions with teachers and peers
The hidden curriculum includes the informal and unwritten norms and rules that reinforce and maintain social conventions.
Gender role socialization reinforces roles that are appropriate for boys and for girls
Canadian school teachers had lower expectations from aboriginal students than white students. (Riley&Ungerleider 2012)
When you expect less from someone you will see less from them!
Mass Media
Communication produced by few people for consumption of the masses
Provides subtle socialization
How do celebrity social media accounts socialize young people? What about reality TV shows?
The dominance of television is being replaced by the Internet and social media.
Think about how social media acts as agent of socialization.
Symbolic Interactionism: Erving Goffman
Dramaturgical analysis - The “self” emerges from the performances we play in various situations and how the other actors relate to us
There is no self beyond social interactions.
Goffman’s Dramaturgy
Goffman’s dramaturgical approach is a metaphorical technique used to explain how an individual presents an “idealized” rather than authentic version of herself.
Front stage: the actual moment of presenting( performing) the” idealized” version of my self to the audience.
Back stage: a place, relative to a given performance, where we do the required labour to keep up our performance in front stage.
Question
what does happen if the social positions and agents of socialization of a particular group of people, require them to play contradictory roles simultaneously?
Double Consciousness: W.E.B. Du Bois
Double consciousness - Refers to a sense of self that entails unreconciled fractions and identities.
E.g. the Unnegotiable experiences of being “black” and being “American” in Black Americans’ experiences
Black Americans have to see the world as White Americans see because they are called by society as “American”.
But they simultaneously see the world from Black perspective, as they called by the same society as part of black ethnicity.
To whom might we also apply this concept in Canada?
