Sociology 1301 (Introduction to Sociology)
GENDER—Section 9
I.
Sex and Gender
A) Lindsey and Beach note that gender is an important aspect for ordering social relationships
B) Social institutions such as agents of socialization are structured in terms of attitudes and
behavior regarding gender
C) Definitions
1) The sociological meaning of gender refers to cultural ideas that construct images and
expectations of males and females
2) The term sex is limited to biological differences such as reproductive function and
secondary sexual characteristics such as body hair (m) and breast development (f)
3) Blackwell notes that the difference between sex and gender is a misleading distinction
because it ignores how sex is also a socially constructed set of ideas shaped by culture
(other cultures have more than 2 sexes—berdache Native Am.—and intersexed question)
4) Gender usually deals with male or female personality traits and behavioral tendencies that
take the form of opposites
a) these opposites, are masculinity and femininity
1. Masculinity typically involves aggressiveness, logic, emotional inexpressiveness
and dominance
2. Femininity is seen as associated with peacefulness, intuitiveness, emotional
expressiveness and submissiveness (Blackwell)
3. Most cultures have multiple versions of masculinity and femininity, but one is
regarded as having dominance or hegemony over the rest
4. Among gay men definitions of masculinity may be vastly different from those of
the mainstream heterosexual community
b) Traits that typically are applied to men and women do not describe most people
properly
1. as an example wives may be submissive to their husband, but not to their male
children
2. So to describe women as submissive in an absolute sense confuses a personality
trait (always submissive) with cultural expectations of a certain role
c) Other sociologists argue that the common emphasis on masculinity and femininity as
lying at the root of gender inequality is misplaced
1. Androgyny is a concept that involves the mixture of feminine and masculine
traits and is seen as some feminists as the answer to gender inequality
a. example “it’s Pat”
d) Others claim that the oppression of women is not based on personality differences,
but on the social organization of patriarchy and its institutions
1. examples of the patriarchy (male rule) of institutions are the division of labor in
the family and the competitive exploitative nature of capitalism
2. In this perspective masculinity and femininity serve mythic and social control
functions that reinforce male dominance
a. males are supposed to be dominant and women submissive
3. An example involving social control is when men are playing with their children
it is acceptable to be tender, but when with other men masculine ideology is
invoked to bring them into line with male dominance
4. Similarly, Women may take a dominant role with children and it is accepted, but
they are likely to be criticized if they show dominance or power over their
husbands
5. Lindsey and Beach note that patriarchy goes together with androcentrism
where male centered norms operate throughout the social institutions and
become the standard
6. Sexism or the belief that one sex (female) is inferior to the other sex (male) is
reinforced by patriarchy and androcentrism
a.
II.
Sexism is also reinforced by the belief that gender roles are determined by
biology and cannot be significantly altered
e) The significance of femininity and masculinity lies in relation to their gender roles
(sometimes called sex roles)
1. Gender roles are sets of expectations and other ideas about how females and
males are supposed to think, feel, appear and behave in relation to other people
2. In Western societies, men who appear and behave in culturally masculine ways
are seen as conforming to their gender role
3. Some argue that feminine women are expected to defer to husbands, but not
sons suggesting that there is no absolute male or female role
4. The idea of male children deferring to their mothers (females) reinforces this
idea
5) Recently, the postmodern perspective has greatly expanded ideas about sex and gender
a) Gender can be redefined as the name of a social position that locates men and
women in relation to a system of gender privilege
1. This revises the idea that gender is a collection of personality traits or a
particular body type defined in relation to production
b) Gender can be also defined as a process (something that we are doing) rather than
something people are in a concrete sense
c) Essentially, gender is something that varies in place, time and circumstance
d) Some Postmodernists also argue that there is such a diversity among women (race,
age, social class, ethnicity etc.) that to refer to them all as women distorts the reality
of their lives
1. when taken to an extreme this argument suggests that there is no such thing as a
“man” or a “woman” in the unitary sense usually associated with those words
e) other postmodern feminists do not go to the extreme of arguing that there is little
meaning to “Man” or “woman”
f) They argue instead that it is important to be aware of the socially constructed nature
of the categories and the diversity of experience included in each
Theoretical perspectives on Gender roles
A) The functionalist perspective argues that gender roles for men and women are beneficial
1) In pre-industrial societies the easiest way to maintain order is to assign different tasks to
men and women
2) When spouses assume complementary roles such as wage earner and housewife
disruptions are minimized and harmony is maximized
3) If there is too much overlap between roles competition may develop and disrupt the
family system
4) The main argument against this is that the model for it was based on the traditional white
middle-class family and that contemporary families especially in the developed world do
not fit the traditional pattern
B) Conflict theory deals with the relationship between the exploiter and the exploited
1) women are seen as subordinate to men in the autocracy of the household and cannot be
freed until they take part in paid production
2) The public sphere is seen as powerful, while the domestic sphere is seen as largely
powerless
3) The theory is criticized because it over emphasizes economics and assumes that there is
an inevitability to competition between family members
4) It dismisses the consensus among wives and husbands on task allocation and ignores the
idea that paid employment is not an absolute cure for inequality
C) Symbolic Interactionism argues that gender is a social construction and that people called
females or males are endowed with certain traits that are defined as feminine or masculine
1) This perspective asserts that ideas like gender must be examined in terms of the meanings
that people bring to them
2) Gender roles are seen as scripted by males and females and that these labels promote
competition between the sexes, rejection and emotional segregation (men and women
tend to adopt opposite roles)
3) This view partially ignores macrolevel processes that often severely limit choice of action
and does not allow people to do what they would prefer to do
D) Feminist Sociological theory: Linking Race, class, and Gender
1) Lindsey and Beach claim that feminism is an inclusive worldwide movement to end
sexism and sexist oppression by empowerment, allowing women to have a measure of
control over their own destinies
2) Blackwell suggests that feminism can be defined in 2 major ways
a) In the narrowest sense it is a complex set of political ideologies used by the women’s
movement to advance the cause of women’s equality, end sexism and the practice of
social oppression (key idea: advances women’s inequality)
b) In a deeper sense feminism is a variety of interrelated frameworks used to observe
and analyze the complex ways in which gender and gender inequality are
constructed, enforced and manifested from the largest institutional settings to
people’s daily lives (key idea: it analyzes how gender and gender inequality are
constructed)
1. The frameworks generate theories about psychological, spiritual and social life
and their consequences
a. examples are music literature, patterns of violence and unequal distributions
of wealth, income and power
b. The frameworks also produce research methodologies that may be at odds
with the scientific method
c. The argument is that standard research practices serve the patriarchal status
quo by rendering the experience and perspectives of women largely
invisible
3) Most feminist thinking and research draws upon one or more of three perspectives
a) Liberal feminism
1. Liberal feminism traces its roots to the Enlightenment (1700s European
movement)
2. Its central idea is that a just society results from the free choices of educated
aware or enlightened people
3. Social problems are seen as arising primarily from ignorance and social
constraints on freedom of choice (Blackwell)
4. In this perspective gender inequality is seen as arising primarily from
socialization that causes people to grow up with distorted and harmful ideas
about males and females
5. Inequality also arises from cultural ideas that restrict people’s freedom to choose
how to live their lives
6. Liberal solutions focus on changing ideas and cultural practices
a. examples would be rewriting textbooks to outlawing discrimination
7. Liberal feminism is the dominant form of feminism in most industrial societies
today
8. Problems are that it does not have a historical analysis that explains the origins
of gender inequality or a sociological analysis that relates it to a larger
institutional context
9. Instead it accepts the major features of patriarchal systems such as capitalism,
militarism, adversarial legal systems, competition and hierarchy
10. These larger social systems are not seen as problematic
11. The problem lies with women’s lack of free access to positions within them
12. Essentially a liberal feminist would want women to be military or corporate
leaders, but would not see war or corporate capitalism as needing feminist
analysis
b) Socialist or Marxist feminism
1. Marxist feminism makes a direct causal link between capitalism and the
patriarchal subordination of women
2. Women are seen as an exploited class in the capitalist mode of production, both
by their husbands within families and by employers in the paid labor market
a.
mode of production refers to the way a society is organized to produce
goods and services
b. A mode of production contains 2 major aspects
A. the forces of production that include all of the elements that are
brought together for production
1 Examples are land, raw materials, fuel, human skill and labor,
machinery tools and factories
B. the relations of production refer to a set of social relationships
through which the forces of production are used and decisions are made
about what to do with the results
C. This includes not only relationships among people, but also the
people’s relation to the forces of production
1 examples are whether individuals own land or the means of
production or whether they are paid to use the means of production
owned by someone else
2 The means of production refers to the tools and machinery used to
transform raw materials into finished goods
3. When women are in families much of the labor is free or for subsistence wages
(husbands supply food, shelter)
4. In a paid labor market women provide cheap labor and are seen as wives or
mothers and cannot command a decent wage
5. In Traditional patriarchy men owned land and the means of production
6. However with the advent of capitalism most people own neither productive land
nor capital suggesting that men must find other ways to assert dominance
a. Male dominance remains in the capitalist system through measures such as
the control of jobs, wages and with them family income
7. The strongest criticism of Marxist feminism is the idea that patriarchy predates
capitalism by several thousand years and cannot be understood as a product of
capitalism
8. It also ignores the fact that male dominance continues in non-capitalist countries
such as the People’s Republic of China
c) Radical feminism sees gender inequality as a result of the collective efforts of men to
dominate, control and exploit women
1. The central problem for radical feminists is threefold
a. to understand how the subordination of women is accomplished and
sustained
b. the consequences subordination produces
c. how subordination might be ended
2. They see violence against women, compulsory heterosexuality, and the
organization of the traditional family as ways to ensure male dominance
3. One of the complaints against radical feminism is that it can be tied to
essentialist thinking (establishing a truth that defines something’s essence)
4. They believe patriarchy and women’s oppression are rooted in male tendencies
to dominate and be aggressive
d) Postmodern feminism raises fundamental issues about how we think about gender
inequality
1. They analyze what we mean when we use words like women and men
2. They suggest that, for example, when the word “women” is used it tends to refer
to women of a particular class or race rather than all women
e) Psychoanalytic feminism focuses on how gender emerges as a part of psycho-social
development
f) Ecofeminism argues that patriarchal dynamics shape relations not only among
humans, but between humans and the rest of the natural world to the detriment of
both
g) Existentialist feminism is based on the works of Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986)
that argue that under patriarchy women are regarded as the “other”
1.
III.
They are seen as marginal and mystified in a male-centered, male identified and
male dominated world
h) Multicultural and global feminism acknowledges that gender intersects with race,
class, issues of colonization and the exploitation of women worldwide
1. Men and women who subscribe to this branch seek to work together across
national boundaries to change patriarchy
2. They seek to end the oppression of women on a global level
Gendered Social Institutions
A) family life encourages the division of the genders at an early age
1) Toys that are given to girls encourage domesticity, interpersonal closeness and a social
orientation
2) Toys given to boys are more complex and expensive and foster self reliance and problem
solving
3) It is argued that siblings and peers ensure that children will play with their toys in gender
specific ways
4) Mori (female), in an autobiographical work, suggests that in all cultures this may not be
the case (31-Polite Lies)
5) She notes that “Kazumi was the only girl I knew who wanted to play like a girl…She
wanted our two dolls to have tea and enjoy a nice quiet visit” 31
6) Mori claims that “on the rare occasions these girls (not Kazumi) and I played with dolls,
we snapped off the arms and legs and traded them so each doll looked ridiculous with
someone else’s leg or arm” 31
B) Education
1) In Kindergarten, females are studious and quiet, but the teacher pays more attention to
disruptive students who are usually boys
a) Gender segregated play groups that initially develop in preschool continue and have
powerful socialization outcomes
2) In elementary schools girls get higher grades than boys
a) However, despite this it is communicated that girls are less important than boys
b) Girls are called on less than boys and while they receive less criticism they receive
less instruction
3) In High school girl’s standardized tests decrease especially in mathematics
a) girls develop a poor self-image with a sharp drop in self-esteem occurring between
elementary and middle school
b) Boys experience consistent gains in self-confidence and believe they are good at a lot
of things
c) Girls scholastic achievement tends to decline in reading and writing, but especially in
math where boys are beginning to excel
4) In Higher education women are now enrolled in greater numbers than men
a) In college as in High school girls popularity is associated with how popular they are
with boys
b) About one third of women report gender discrimination in and outside of the
classroom by instructors and classmates in a climate that can negatively affect a
woman’s personal and intellectual development
c) Compared to women, men are distributed in a wider variety of majors and the jobs
derived from these majors are in lucrative expanding fields such as computer science
and engineering
C) Gender and the workplace
1) Men have traditionally taken an instrumental (leadership type) role in the family
assuming primary responsibility for economic support and contact with the rest of society
2) While women have been relegated to an expressive role based on providing love,
nurturing, emotional support and maintenance of the home
3) Today, the female role has changed and the majority of American women over the age of
16 work for pay outside of the home and there are more single mothers than at any other
time in history
4) The employment of women does not mean that men share equally in domestic work, but
that the end of the work day begins the “second shift” or another “full-time job” as wife
and mother
5) It has been the traditional view that women are best suited to occupy the lowest-paying
and least powerful jobs
6) There are 3 basic myths concerning devaluation of women’s employment (T&H)
a) women who are full time housewives are not working
b) women who work for wages work for extra money not because they must
c) women’s work is not as valuable as men’s
7) Despite a large female presence in the workforce almost half of all women employed
outside of the home are in clerical or service work
8) Sociologist Jessie Bernard coined the term “pink-collar occupation” to describe clerical
work or fields that are composed largely of females
a) examples of pink-collar work are secretaries, cashiers and elementary school
teachers (Gilbert and Kahl…The American Class structure)
b) These jobs offer lower pay and prestige than other positions requiring similar levels
of education and training
c) They seldom involve any exercise of authority and provide only limited
opportunities for job advancement
9) Sociological research suggests that stereotypes and gender segregation are an important
part of the American workplace accounting for the wide disparity between the earnings of
men and women
a) This stereotyping can lead to “gender tracking” or separate career ladders for men
and women.
b) In the corporate world a “glass ceiling” blocks women from climbing the corporate
ladder and entering upper-echelon positions beyond a particular point (295)
c) The Federal Glass Ceiling Commission reported that women account for a mere 5%
of the senior managers of Fortune 1000 companies
d) However, women are making advances in employment that according to Thompson
and Hickey indicate that “the glass ceiling is being cracked if not shattered” (298)
e) “Glass walls” often stop women from moving laterally, depriving them of the
supervisory experience necessary to advance vertically
f) It is also noted that males in female dominated occupations have more advantages
than women doing the same jobs
1. This is known as the “glass escalator effect” where men take their privileges
with them and experience upward mobility as a result
g) the wage gap is associated with the human capital model where the gender gap in
wages is seen as due to individual choices in matters of education, family and
occupation
1. The human capital model is consistent with the law of supply and demand
women can be paid less because they choose occupations and work schedules
that allow them to fulfill what they may see as familial responsibilities
Sociology 1301 (Introduction to Sociology)
RELIGION—Section 10
I.
Religion
A) Kornblum suggests that religion can be seen as any set of coherent answers to the dilemmas
of human existence that makes the world meaningful
1) A religious tradition’s worldview is outlined in a set of interrelated beliefs that explain
the world and guide people in living their lives (Kurtz..Gods in the Global village)
2) Ideas surrounding religion are expressed in narratives (myths and legends) that
incorporate the oppositions and contradictions in life
3) The narratives are reenacted and reinforced through rituals that are sustained by and in
turn provide legitimacy for the institutions of each religious movement
4) almost all religions involve their adherents in a system of beliefs and practices that
express devotion to the supernatural and foster deep feelings of spirituality
a) the supernatural may refer to gods, spirits, ghosts etc.
b) all cultures according to Heider are concerned with supernatural power and have
patterned rituals (rituals are examined further in a moment) to help people get
through climactic moments
c) These climactic moments may be birth, coming of age, marriage and death
5) Religion has also been defined in terms of its social function
a) religion in terms of social function is a system of beliefs and rituals that helps bind
people together through shared worship, thereby creating a social group
1. rituals can be defined as formal patterns of activity that express symbolically a
set of shared meanings
2. In the case of religious rituals such as baptism or communion the shared
meanings are sacred (discussed later when Durkheim is examined)
6) Bronislaw Malinowski suggests that it is useful to distinguish between 3 related concepts
concerning religion
a) Science is instrumental and based on rational understandings of physical principles
b) Magic is also instrumental but it invokes supernatural powers through words or other
acts that are thought to automatically coerce the supernatural
1. Magic like religion is based on faith rather than scientific proof
c) Religion, like magic, is based on belief and invokes supernatural powers
1. Rather than spells it works by prayers that are used to beseech the supernatural
d) These three ideas are ideal types and their value lies in pointing to some crucial
variables
1. The difference between the natural and supernatural is not recognized by all
cultures
a. an example would be developing a religious belief about a meteor that fell
from the sky
2. The difference between beseeching prayer and coercive spell is not always clear
a. An examples to think about is turning on a television set for someone
completely ignorant of electronics (science, magic, creating religion?)
7) The anxiety theory of magic also relates to religion and is rooted in Malinowski’s
tripartite system for dealing with science, magic and religion
a) this theory suggests that people will use scientific technology as far as it will extend
then resort to magic or religion to reduce anxiety
8) Lindsey and Beach suggest that all religions try to reconcile faith with modern life
a) some religions try to adapt to social change
b) Others see adaptation as surrendering the faith to forces of secularization
1. It should be noted that since medieval times the traditional dominance of
religion in many spheres of life has been greatly reduced
2. Secularization refers to the process in which religion, challenged by science and
modernization, loses its influence on society, thereby threatening its existence
3. Secularization usually accompanies the increasing differentiation of cultural
institutions or the separation of other institutions from religion
a.
II.
In Europe during the Middle Ages there were no schools separate from the
church
b. During that era laws and courts were guided by religious doctrine and
clerical law could be as important as civil law
c. The Renaissance, the Enlightenment (1700s) and the revolutions of the
1700s and 1800s speeded up the process of differentiation
d. During these periods schools, science, laws, courts and other institutions
gained independence from religious control (only Western Europe)
e. It should be noted that secular schools and governments do not result in
complete secularization
f. It should also be noted that in almost every society that has experienced
secularization one can find examples of religious revival
4. The counterchallenge to secularization is fundamentalism
5. Fundamentalism is a movement designed to revitalize faith by returning to the
traditional ways the religion was practiced in the past
6. Many fundamentalist practices are based on a literal interpretation of religious
doctrine although they may disagree on the what authentic religious content
should look like today
7. It should be noted that Kurtz sees fundamentalism and secularization differently
a. he sees fundamentalism as religious orthodoxy (a less emotionally charged
phrase)
b. he also sees the idea of religious orthodoxy in terms of its opposition to
modernity (an event larger than just secularization)
Theoretical perspectives on religion
A) the functionalist view
1) Emile Durkheim may be the most important proponent of the functionalist view
2) His book “The elementary forms of religious life” is seen by Randall Collins (famous
sociologist) as “perhaps the greatest single book of the twentieth century”
3) Durkheim’s general idea was to show the social relativity of such ideas as time, space,
causality, God and the self
a) all of these ideas can be seen as creations of society
b) Durkheim sees the natural world as only a backdrop for the symbolic creations of
humans and their social rituals
c) He argues that God is revealed to be the collective consciousness (or conscious) of
the community
d) He defines religion as a “unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred
things” (L&B 455)
4) Durkheim identified 3 universal aspects of all religions, which he called the elementary
forms of religion
5) These 3 ways are a distinction between the sacred and profane, a set of beliefs and a set
of rituals
a) Brinkerhof & White argue that a central component of all religions is the division of
human experience into the sacred and the profane
1. The profane represents all that is routine and taken for granted in the everyday
world
2. Profane items are known and familiar and are not sacred (not “evil”)
3. Profane items are also are controllable, understandable and manipulatable
4. The sacred refers to the events and things that we hold in awe and reverence
5. It deals with the transcendent
6. The sacred cannot be understood or controlled
7. In premodern societies most of the world is viewed as sacred and many events
are beyond control and manipulation
8. As human knowledge advances and the ability to explain or control that which
was previously mysterious, fewer events require supernatural explanations
b) In terms of belief a common dimension to all religions is a set of beliefs about the
supernatural (Brinkerhof & White)
1.
Religious beliefs can center around birth, death, creation, success failure and
crisis
2. These beliefs become a part of the world view constructed by society as a
rationale for the human condition and the problems associated with that
condition
3. These beliefs are often organized into a specific theology or a systematic
formulation of religious doctrine
4. It is these official religious doctrines that are often expressed in the rituals of the
church
c) Rituals relate to the actual practice of religion and are beliefs translated into behavior
1. Rituals bring people together to express through their actions the things they
hold sacred
2. Rituals may be performed at births, deaths, weddings, plantings, harvests and at
other times on a religion specific basis
d) Lindsey and Beach argue that there are 6 functions to religion
1. Social cohesion. This is the idea that religion lets believers establish strong
bonds that form a community
2. Support system. A moral community allows people to find strength, comfort and
support in times of crisis
3. Emotional health. Religion addresses the main questions of life (Why am I
alive? Etc) that give it purpose and meaning thereby bolstering emotional wellbeing
4. Social Service. Theology can provide a moral pathway and in many societies
religion provides an enormous amount of voluntary service for the community
5. Social control. When a government takes its moral authority from religion it
legitimizes political authority
6. Social Change. The prophetic aspect of religion can influence social change
a. an example is Martin Luther King’s religious imagery in the “I have a
dream” speech
e) Brinkerhof and White note that Durkheim thought that most of the central values and
norms in any culture are taught and reinforced by its religion
1. These taught values and norms cease to be merely the usual way of doing things
and become the only moral way of doing them
2. These traditions become sacred and are continuously affirmed through ritual and
practice and is largely immune to change
B) Conflict theory recognizes that religion is integral to social functioning, but tends to focus on
its role of maintaining a stratification system that benefits some and harms others
1) It essentially emphasizes the social control function of religion
2) Marx argued that the economic base influences all other social institutions so as the
wealthy class controls politics and the economy, they also control religious ideology
3) These religious ideologies promote conformity, allow for the acceptance of poverty and
injustice with the expectation of improvement in conditions after death
4) Conflict theorists argue that in small, homogeneous societies religion promotes cohesion
and benefits society as a whole
5) However, in complex stratified societies religion does not serve the common good
6) It is seen to serve the desires of the elites who can use religion to promote their agendas
at the expense of the majority
7) This idea has been adjusted recently to suggest that elites do not have total control of
religion
a) This suggests that subordinate groups may use them to challenge existing social
arrangements
b) An example is when slave owners used the Bible to justify slavery and abolitionists
used the same Bible to condemn slavery
C) Thompson and Hickey claim that the symbolic interactionist approach is advanced in the
writings of Max Weber
1) Weber’s comprehensive study of religions worldwide showed that some groups were
highly conservative while others inspired radical social and economic transformations
2) Weber concluded from this that not only do economic forces shape religion (conflict
theory), but under certain circumstances the reverse can also occur
3) In “The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” Weber analyzed the
influence of religious ideals on other social institutions
4) Weber argued that the Protestant Reformation paved the way for bourgeoisie capitalism
5) Weber claimed that 3 aspects of capitalism were essential to creating a new morality,
specifically, predestination, the concept of a calling and rationalism
1) Predestination is the theological argument that we cannot earn salvation or
damnation since our salvation is God’s decision
a) No priests or popes could intercede on our behalf so we essentially stand alone
b) This resulted in an awful isolation where individuals searched for signs of grace
that would tell them if they were saved or damned
2) Another element of Protestantism was Martin Luther’s idea of a “calling”
a) Luther argued that God calls each of us to some earthly duty and that our best
service to God is through hard work at our allotted task
3) The last element of early Protestantism is an emphasis on rationalism as a means to
salvation
a) The idea of rationalism led to adult baptism since the decision to be baptized
reflected a serious desire on the part of the individual rather than something
imposed by parents
b) Rationalism also led to the translation of the Bible from Latin into the common
language so that individuals might interpret Scriptures for themselves
c) It also resulted in the elimination of music and ritual from church services
4) The combination of the 3 elements produced what Weber called the Protestant ethic
where idleness and indulgence were sinful
a) if individuals follow the ethic then they work hard and make decisions on a
rational rather than an emotional basis
b) An example is Scrooge who bases Crachet’s wages on business considerations
rather than on what Crachet needs to feed his crippled son—this is not to say
that these individuals would behave in exactly that manner
c) Wealth acquired thusly is not spent on wicked indulgence (pleasures), but is
reinvested in the business
d) In the Protestant ethic, wealth was an unintended consequence of behaviors
directed by religious motives
e) The shift from the Protestant ethic to capitalism required that wealth become an
end (wealth is the end) in itself rather than a means to an end (Wealth is a sign
of God’s favor)
D) The social constructionist approach to religion (symbolic interactionist)
1) This perspective suggests that religion is a human enterprise that is produced and then
continually altered through social interaction
2) It is noted that although religious truths and symbols are inherited from previous
generations, these truths are always subject to change (endpoint fallacy)
3) People essentially transform truths and adapt symbols to their own circumstances
4) It is noted that while religious truths and symbols are social constructions
5) These constructions eventually take on a powerful reality called symbolic realism that is
separated from the people who constructed them
6) Symbolic realism assumes that not only are symbols created, but that the symbols act
back on their creators
a) an example is veiling in some Islamic countries where despite personal feelings, laws
or personal religious belief a woman who does not veil is seen as a loose woman
E) Rational choice theory and religion
1) Rational choice theory applies a marketplace approach to religion by assuming that
people’s choice of religion will be determined by its costs and benefits to them
2) Kurtz notes that a number of forces shape the religious marketplace (12-13)
III.
a) The individual preferences of religious consumers are important
b) The process of cultural production and the creators of the narratives embodied in a
religious tradition
1. Briefly cultural production refers to what is being produced as a part of the
individual religious culture (implied) that differs from other religions
2. The second part of the sentence refers to who created the ideas of the religious
tradition
c) The social world in which the cultural constructions are found including both the
religious community with its norms that shape individual preferences and the broader
world where that group exists
1. simply, this refers to the milieu
d) Kurtz notes that the religious marketplace is not an absolute and that even in the
most technologically advanced societies ancient religious practices persist (12-13)
Religious beliefs and organizations
A) Religious belief can be divided into 4 ideal types (animism, theism, animatism and ethical
religions)
1) animism refers to a belief in supernatural beings or spirits capable of hurting or helping
people
a) This belief system is usually associated with tribes and imbues all of nature, animate
and inanimate with spiritual powers
b) Spirits in this belief system include ghosts, souls of the dead, animal spirits, guardian
angels, ancestral spirits, fairies and demons
c) These spirits can cross over into the world of the living so many placate them by
rituals in their honor
2) Religions that recognize supernaturals that are more powerful than ghosts or spirits
practice theism
a) Theism is the belief in one or more supreme beings or gods who, because of their
power and influence in human affairs deserve to be worshipped
b) The most common form of theism is Polytheism
c) Polytheism is the belief in many gods having human or animal like forms who have
varying degrees of power
d) Some polytheistic religions in complex stratified societies have a “high god” or an
“ultimate principle” that has more power than the lesser gods
e) Monotheistic religions are religions that acknowledge the existence of a single
supreme God
f) Three of the largest and most influential religions in the world (Christianity, Judaism
and Islam) are from this tradition
3) Animatism is a system of beliefs in which supernatural “forces” rather than “beings”
(gods or spirits) are the dominant forces in the universe
a) many of those who believe in this system are in small scale preliterate societies
b) Many believe in an impersonal force called mana that being neither “good” nor
“evil” can lend supernatural power to events, objects, places, and people
4) Lastly, there are ethical religions that are based on philosophical ideals that show how
people may achieve enlightenment, peace and harmony in this world
a) Many of these religions originated in the Far East
b) Thompson and Hickey claim that Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism are
examples
5) Some sociologists also note the presence of civil (or secular) religion to describe a system
of values associated with sacred symbols that is a part of society and shared by its
members regardless of their religion
a) an example would be intense emotional feelings that come with nationalism,
patriotism or reverence for symbols such as the nation’s flag
B) Types of religious organization
1) The ecclesia is a large, formally organized religious body that includes most members of
society and is supported by and closely allied with secular and state powers
a) It can become the state religion such as the Church of England
2)
3)
4)
5)
b) The state helps it to maintain its religious monopoly by suppressing or co-opting
competing groups (Iran, Taliban)
The church is an inclusive religious body that brings together a moral community of
believers for formalized worship and accommodates itself to the larger world
a) it is a bureaucratic organization
A denomination is a socially accepted and legally recognized body with bureaucratic
characteristics similar to the larger church with which it has its official relationship
a) Denominations within a religion share a common theology, but interpret it
differently
b) As an example there are 2 major Lutheran denominations the Lutheran church
Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA)
1. The LCMS interprets the Bible literally, while the ELCA does not
A sect is a small, less formally organized religious group that usually has separated from
a denomination and is in a negative tension with the larger society
a) Sects often arise to challenge churches that some members believe have strayed too
far from the faith
b) They do not see themselves as “new” faiths, but “true” faiths
A cult organizes around a charismatic leader who provides the basis for a new,
unconventional religion and rends to be small, informal and unstable
a) Charisma is seen as an aspect of personality that sets some people apart and can be
seen in the realm of the supernatural or superhuman
b) Charismatic leaders also form close bonds with their followers
c) However, unless the charisma can be routinized or institutionalized the cult will not
survive the death of its leader
d) Thompson and Hickey suggest that the word cult should be rejected due to its
negative connotations and would institute the use of “New religious movement”
1. These movements are often critical of society
2. The new religious movements can be seen as looking toward the future or
newness in 2 important ways
a. borrowing symbols and rituals from distant cultures
b. they transform local religious traditions ex. Handling snakes (this may be
threatening to the majority)
Sociology 1301 (Introduction to Sociology)
POLITICAL ECONOMY (Section 11)
I.
II.
Political economy-some definitions
A) The phrase “political economy” is a concept referring to the interdependent workings and
interests of political and economic systems especially in complex industrial societies
1) the connection between the two is so strong that it is virtually impossible to understand
the workings of one without taking into account the workings of the other
2) The idea is most closely associated with Karl Marx
3) Blackwell claims that the concept of political economy draws attention to how the state
actively supports economic systems
4) In a Marxian view, as the state supports the economic system it also protects and
promotes the interests of those who dominate and benefit most from it
5) In return the state depends on the economic system for its resources
6) Lindsey and Beach offer effective definitions for both the state and the economy
a) The state refers to the institution that maintains a monopoly over the legitimate use
of force within a given territory
b) The economy is the institution that organizes the production, distribution and
consumption of goods and services
c) However, it is noted that the distinction between the state and the economy is
becoming increasingly fuzzy
Power and Authority
A) Power is seen as a key sociological concept that has several meanings with a large amount of
disagreement
1) Lewellen claims that power may be independent or dependent
a) Independent power is a relation of dominance based on the direct capabilities of an
individual, such as special knowledge skills, or personal charisma
1. Everyone possesses some of this force
2. However, real power relationships come into being when one individual is
recognized to have more of the kind that is needed for group decision making
3. At the band (25-250 people) and tribe (100s to 1000s of people) personal
qualities are the main way that people gain influence over the group
4. This influence is usually limited to arbitrating disputes or setting an example
5. In more centralized societies (chiefdoms or states) this type of power may
become objectified and formalized
6. It may attach itself to a particular office no matter who holds that office
7. In extreme form it may it may result in political domination
a. An example is the elaborate ritual and taboos surrounding Hawaiian chiefs
or even the emperor of Japan
8. Lewellen notes that even when this power is not taken to extremes everyone is
constantly assessing the power of those with whom they come into contact
a. After assessment of power individuals adjust their behavior accord to the
perceived power of the other
b. This could mean simple deference or obedience to elaborate social rituals
(Japan)
b) Dependent power comes into existence when an individual with independent power
(either by nature of personality or office or both) lends another person the right to
make decisions
c) This lending of power may be done in 3 ways
1. an individual can grant decision-making powers to another
2. a group holding such power can allocate it to individuals
3. a group or individual can delegate the right to power to a number of other people
2) Max Weber notes that power is the ability to control others, events, or resources and to
make happen what one wants to happen despite obstacles, resistance or opposition
3) Weber’s power always involves interactions of at least 2 parties and is always
hierarchical
a) This is sometimes referred to by feminists as power-over
4) Power is also the ability to not act as well as an ability to shape people’s beliefs and
values through control of forces such as the mass media or educational institutions
5) Power can be taken away, lost, held, stolen and it is used in adversarial relationships
between those with more power and those with less
6) Authority is power associated with membership in a certain social status, such as power
exercised by parents over children
a) authority is a form of power that is socially defined as legitimate, which means that
those subject to it accept it (Power+legitimacy=authority)
b) Coercive power or power based on fear and the use of force is not seen as a
legitimate form of power and unlike authority it is unstable
c) The ideas of legitimate power and coercion are seen by Lewellen (107) as opposite
kinds of support
1. Swartz, Turner and Tuden (10) (Lewellen) define support as “anything that
contributes to the formulation and/or implementation of political ends
2. There is a continuum of supports that run from legitimacy to forceful coercion
3. Support can be lost as well as gained so a wise government should seek as many
forms of support as possible
4. In a political group different supports operate in different areas and political
competitors try to manipulate various sources of support into their favoring them
5. Support may be direct or indirect
a. Direct support can be seen in the act of voting for a candidate or a
charismatic individual may speak to people directly
b. Indirect support is when one votes for an individual who appoints another
individual to a position or initiating a rumor against an opponent
7) Marx unlike Weber used the idea of power in relation to social classes and social systems
rather than individuals
a) Marx claimed that power rests on a social classes relations with the means of
production
b) In this perspective the sociological importance of power lies not in relations among
individuals
1. Power lies in the domination and subordination of social classes based on the
relations to the means of production
a) State power, for example, would be seen as resting on a consensus of values and
interests in the name of which the state acts toward the greater benefit of all
8) Functionalists such as Talcott Parsons argue that power is not a matter of social coercion
and domination
a) Functionalists see power as stemming from a social system’s potential to coordinate
human activity and resources in order to accomplish goals
b) State power for example would be seen as resting on a consensus of values and
interests in the name of which the state acts toward the greater benefit of all
9) The feminist view of power involves the concept of power-to and views power as not
based on hierarchy and dominance or subordination.
a) Power for them rests on the capacity to do things and achieve goals, especially in
collaboration with others
b) This power-to view stresses cooperation, consensus and equality
c) An increase in power-to is not a zero sum game and does not result in the domination
of others
d) It is argued that power-to is infinitely expandable and power-over is not
e) Much of what Lindsey and beach deal with is power-over
B) Three types of power
1) Decision-making power is the ability to directly determine the behavior of others
a) an example is a police officer who is able to control someone against their will
2) Agenda control is less direct and is based on the ability to determine which issues will or
will not be addressed
a) An example might be the President of the United States during a Cabinet meeting
III.
3) Systemic power refers to advantages resulting from existing structural arrangements such
as distribution of wealth
a) This power results from the structural inability of subordinates to mobilize and press
their claims
b) It also concerns the ability of those in charge to create false or misleading beliefs
c) Large corporations often tell employees they are acting on their behalf when in
reality corporate profit comes first
C) Influence is also important and while not directly attached to power should be mentioned
1) Influence refers to the ability to persuade others to change their decisions
2) The wielder of influence has no right to make the decision and no formal or physical
sanctions apply
3) The person using influence must rely upon persuasion or personal appeals
4) Usually influence and power exist side by side
5) An example is the president of the United States having no authority to compel congress
to support his legislative proposals
6) He, therefore, calls Senators on the telephone or courts their favor in other ways and tries
to persuade them to change to his position
D) 3 types of Weberian authority and a 4th outside of his theory
1) Traditional authority is based on an uncodified collective sense that it is proper and
longstanding therefore it is legitimate
a) This type of authority is may be a justification for patriarchal notions about the
authority of husbands over wives
b) This type of authority can also be seen as attached to ascribed statuses such as kings
or queens in the case of those who hold traditional political authority
2) Charismatic authority is based on the social attribution of extraordinary personal
characteristics or abilities to a person
a) This authority is not based on the characteristics themselves, but by the attribution of
those characteristics by those who acknowledge the authority as legitimate
b) Charismatic authority is socially bestowed and may be withdrawn when the leader is
no longer seen as extraordinary
c) In its pure form this type of authority does not outlive its leader
d) However, it can combine with other forms of authority in a process called the
routinization of charisma
e) Unlike the other 2 Weberian types this type of authority is based on a person and not
a social status occupied by the person
f) In summary, Blackwell notes that sociologically it is misleading to refer to someone
as a charismatic leader because it implies that authority derives from and is
controlled by the person who exercises it
3) Rational-Legal authority is based on formally enacted norms that are codified usually in
written form
a) a person who uses this type of authority does so because the codes grant that
authority to whoever occupies that particular position
b) This is the form of authority found in workplaces, government, schools and most
major social institutions
4) The 4th type of authority is professional authority and is based on expertise (Blackwell)
a) As divisions of labor become more complex those who can give the impression of
having specialized knowledge are likely to achieve some authority as a result
b) Physicians (who also use other types of authority) can gain this type of authority
because their specialized knowledge is beyond the comprehension of many patients
1. Essentially the perception of expertise becomes a basis for authority in its own
right
5) It should be noted that the 4 types of authority are similar to ideal types because they are
seldom found in their pure form in any given situation
6) Blackwell notes that in practice, most authority is a blend of 2 or more types
Theoretical models of Political economy
A) The origins of many ideological terms such as liberals, conservatives and socialists centered
around a historical event that transpired in France in 1791 (Coulter…Principles of Politics and
Government 141-144)
1) During this year (the third year of the French revolution an attempt was made to reinstate
the old and seldom used French parliament called the Estates General
2) The idea was to work out a common approach to what had become a chaotic government
3) The delegates met in a semicircular room and the placement of the groups led to many of
the ideologies present today
4) On the extreme right of the speaker were a group of people who wanted King Louis XIV
to return to the throne
a) Political commentators labeled the views being presented
b) They suggested that these people were attempting to react or go back to conditions
prior to the revolution
c) The “extreme” right position thus became known as reactionary
5) Next to this group sat the nobility and clergy who supported a new monarchy based on
the old order
a) This group was trying to preserve or conserve the remnants of the feudal regime and
its politics, economics and legal structure and were subsequently labeled
conservatives
6) Next to them sat the lesser nobility who realized that change was needed in the
government of France if normalcy was to be restored after the French Revolution
a) these individuals were given the label moderates because they approached change in
a deliberate way
7) In the middle of the semicircle sat a group of middle class people who were new to the
political order, but important due to their economic clout
a) They had a reputation for sensibility and moderation and tended to favor a liberal
democracy like that in the U.S.
b) These individuals came to call themselves liberals due to their favoring liberal
democracy
8) To the left of this group were the emerging socialists although they were not usually
labeled as such
a) what they sought was a basic program involving the seizure of all land and
productive economic capital by the state to be used for the good of all people
b) The term socialist was applied to any group that wanted to seize private property and
convert it to public ends in a context of social responsibility
9) Lastly, at the extreme left of the semicircle sat a group of revolutionary socialists and
anarchists
a) They sought to destroy the concept of nation state and reduce government to the
level of the small city states of ancient Greece
b) They were labeled radicals because they wished to change government in a sudden
and dramatic manner with the result being unpredictable and unrecognizable
10) It should be noted that the supporters of Louis XIV brought a white flag (the official flag
of the Bourbon family) with a Fleurs-de-lis on it
11) In response the socialists brought a flag of their own for the left side of the meeting hall
a) It was a red square of cloth cut from a piece of drapery that happened too be
available
b) Since that day the color white has been associated with the right and the color red
with the left
B) Three positions on the ideal structure of political economy or Liberalism, Socialism and
Conservatism
1) Liberalism can be divided into two different views
a) Classical Liberalism suggests that each person enjoys the rights to life, liberty and
property The highest values in this belief are the aforementioned rights and the
freedom of the individual to pursue them
b) This view assumes that each person is a rational and responsible individual who is
the best judge of their own self interest
A person’s full capabilities can be realized only if the person is not limited by a
social order where tradition and hierarchy exist or by a government that restricts
individual freedom
d) No principle justifies the limitation of individual freedom and in economic terms
they support a laissez-faire economy—not restrained by the government (monopolies
can be a problem)
e) Equality before the law is seen as important, but the government should not try to
create material equality
f) The second type, Modern Liberalism favors a powerful government existing
alongside private property and market economics (Lindsey and Beach)
g) It is characterized by a strong welfare state
2) Socialism argues that humans are not innately selfish and aggressive, but social and
caring by nature (Danziger...Understanding the political world 41)
a) Environment is seen as the major determinant of behavior, therefore, it is crucial to
create an environment where cooperation and sharing are emphasized
b) It is crucial to establish this environment in such a way that the most important goal
for each individual is to increase the collective good of all
c) Individual rights and freedoms are important, but the most important value is the
good of society as a whole even if it subordinates the rights of the individual
d) Disparities of material conditions, status and power are seen as causing misery, deep
alienation and pervasive conflict in society
e) Collective control of the economy is often sought
f) The ideology, therefore centers on a commitment to use the power of the state to
increase equality
g) There are 2 major variations of socialism
1. Marxist-Leninist Socialism (often termed Communism) has three basic
assumptions
a. The old socioeconomic order will resist change by any means possible,
therefore, it must be violently overthrown
b. Since the transition to socialism will be difficult a powerful government
should be installed
A. This government needs to restructure the economy with public
ownership of all the major resources in society
c. a small, dictatorial leadership group needs to be established to effect
changes, but when relative equality is achieved both the government and
leadership groups can be abolished
A. These groups will be replaced by a decentralized citizen run politics
2. The second major type of socialism is Democratic socialism that has as its goal
egalitarianism, but assumes that the changes will be effected by democratic
means and not violence or repression
a. in this type of socialism the government does not try to achieve complete
equality, but to reduce inequality
3) Conservatism means simply to “conserve” with variations in what is being conserved
varying by time and place (Danziger...Understanding the political world 40)
a) Particular importance is placed on stability, tradition, loyalty to God and country,
and an antipathy to egalitarianism are hallmarks of this belief
b) It sees people as unequal in intelligence, shills and status and acknowledges that
some individuals and groups are superior to others
c) Society is composed of unequal groups that are linked in an organic whole and who
work cooperatively to maintain social order
d) There should be no constraints on the rights of superior groups, but these same
groups should protect the weak from severe hardships
e) Tradition and religion, rather than reason are viewed as the most valuable resources
for guiding society
f) Forced equality is especially unwise because it disrupts the natural cooperative
hierarchy among groups and causes social conflict and unnatural change
c)
IV.
Contemporary Economic and political systems
A) Economic systems
1) Capitalism is based on private ownership of the means of production and hired workers
and is a system where the economy takes precedence over the political realm (Market
economy?)
2) State socialism is where the state owns the means of production in a transitional stage
between capitalism and communism (Planned economy?)
3) Mixed Economies are the most common type of economy and can be described as a
combination of the prior two types of economy (Brown & Brown…A survey of the social
sciences 257)
B) Political systems can be divided into two types Democracy and
authoritarianism/totalitarianism
1) Democracy described as a system that includes citizens in government with their consent
being the formal basis for the legitimacy of the state has several assumptions behind it
a) These assumptions are that government exists for the people, people can manage
their own affairs, the majority rules and anyone can organize
b) In addition there must be the rule of law (basic law must be known and available to
citizens and people must agree on the rules)
c) Inglehart suggests that democracy is rooted in two developmental orientations
grounded in economic development that allow it to coalesce from the other form of
political system
1. Structural changes—Industrialization changes society’s social structure in many
ways leading to mass participation in politics
a. Some of the changes are urbanization, mass education, occupational
specialization, organizational networks, greater income equality etc.
b. Rising educational levels allow for an articulate public that can more readily
organize and communicate
c. Rising occupational specialization creates a more autonomous workforce
with specialized skills increasing their bargaining power with the elites
2. Cultural Changes—Economic development is conducive to cultural changes that
help to add stability to democracy (Weimar Repub. democratic and unstable)
a. a “culture of trust” develops with the idea of the “loyal” and not traitorous
(authoritarian regimes) opposition. They are trusted to play by the rules and
not seize all power for themselves
b. “Mass legitimacy” is a crucial aspect for the survival of democracies,
specifically, if bad economic times arise as they did in the Weimar Republic
will democracy continue or be supplanted by authoritarianism
A. It should be noted that “mass legitimacy” can also sustain
authoritarianism
2) In Authoritarianism regimes the people are excluded from any meaningful participation
in decision making
a) The goals of this government style are to control the treasury and economic
resources of a nation, eliminate opposition to its control
b) It also wishes to tax the citizens to provide income and to remind citizens of its
power and presence or even do something for the public good to remind citizens that
the government or dictator does help them
3) Totalitarianism is a form of authoritarianism that has no formal limits on the extent to
which government can intervene in people’s everyday lives
a) Coulter (162) identifies 5 basic characteristics of this type of regime
b) This type of government has
1. an official ideology
2. a single party dictatorship
3. it remakes individuals
4. it distrusts the people
5. Lastly, it has a mass organizations or demonstrations to show the oneness of the
people
Sociology 1301 (Introduction to Sociology)
SOCIAL CHANGE, GLOBALIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT—Section 12
I.
Thompson and Hickey see social change as a process through which patterns of social behavior,
social relationships, social institutions and systems of stratification are changed over time
A) Brinkerhof and White define social change as significant alterations over time in patterns of
material and nonmaterial culture
1) There can be macro-changes which are gradual, large scale and because of the slowness
of the change imperceptible to people in their daily lives
a) Modernization where societies become more internally differentiated and complex is
a good example
2) There can also be middle level changes that may take place in our communities and
workplace
a) An example would be issues such as urbanization or increased crime (Kornblum)
3) Micro-changes are small rapid changes produced by countless decisions people make as
they interact with others in the course of their daily lives
a) these are the small acts of ordinary people that may slowly and imperceptibly alter
social institutions and entire societies
4) Lindsey and Beach note that social change is continual and universal
5) Brinkerhof and White note that it may also be temporary or permanent
a) Fads are widely dispersed patterns of behavior that develop rapidly and end almost
as rapidly and although insignificant they represent something new and have
temporary value (Belt Buckles)
b) Fashions are longer lasting cultural patterns and usually last a year or two before
they are replaced
6) Brinkerhof and White also suggest that the direction of change may be toward
development and progress or toward decay and decline
a) this is, of course subjective in terms of what is development and progress, but this
suggests that subjective meanings are attached to any event and that different people
see events in different ways
b) They argue that the optimistic model sees growth and progress
c) The pessimistic model sees change as a form of growth and decay
d) There is also the idea that more complex patterns of change allow for alternating
periods of growth stability and decline
7) The issue of social change can also be seen in terms of magnitude and impact
a) simply issues such as fads may affect only small segments of the population and then
only briefly
b) However, there may be major transitions such as industrialization that permanently
and significantly alter culture
8) The rate of change may also vary and be fast, slow, continuous, orderly or uneven
9) Kornblum (276) suggests that social change can be due to endogenous forces or from
social forces building within societies
10) He also suggests that change can also come from exogenous forces or from forces for
change outside of a specific society
11) Kornblum ultimately sees change as necessary and proceeding from uniform causes
12) Lindsey and Beach argue that there are multiple sources for social change
a) Human cultural and social patterns respond to changes in the physical environment
(desertification and Sahel)
b) Demographic changes in size, composition and distribution of human populations
(especially immigrants)
c) New ideas create new ways of viewing the world
d) New technologies composed of the tools and skills needed to use them
e) Governmental changes especially the modern nation state has led to social change
f) Competition and war often lead to innovations (space race)
g) Institutionalized social change where change is planned for (research and
development)
II.
h) Social movements push for change from a grassroots perspective (Civil rights
movement)
Theoretical perspectives on social change
A) The cyclical approach to social change dominated people’s (not necessarily scientific thought)
thinking for much of human history (Thompson and Hickey)
1) It should be noted that early scientists and historians generally rejected cyclical theories,
but some held that societies have their own life spans
2) It should also be noted that this cyclical notion can be a culturally based perspective on
the world in general as well
a) Many native Americans make no clear distinctions between the past and the future
because they are seen as the same because history is seen as repeated in endless
cycles
3) Essentially each society is born, matures then experiences decay and death and are
replaced by “youthful” societies
4) Arnold Toynbee, specifically, disagreed with the inevitability of decline and proposed
that “creative efforts” by individuals might allow civilizations to survive
5) Pitirim Sorokin took this theory a bit further when he suggested that civilizations
oscillated between three types of worldviews
a) the ideational worldview emphasizes faith and spirituality
b) The sensate worldview emphasizes practical and utilitarian approaches to reality
c) The idealistic view balances the practical and transcendental
6) Sorokin claims that change occurs when a mode of thinking reaches its logical limit
7) Thomas Caplow found similar oscillations in contemporary industrial societies
a) an example is the rise and fall of scholarly theories
B) Evolutionary theory suggests that social change is moving in a specific direction
1) Herbert Spencer saw social evolution as a process through which societies develop in
predictable ways that generally reflect progress toward better forms of social life
2) There are two types of evolutionary change that take place (unilinear and multilinear)
a) Unilinear social change is seen as natural and constant, having direction and being
continuous
1. Change is seen as necessary and proceeds from uniform causes
2. 2 assumptions implied in this theory are:
a. all of the world’s societies would eventually come to resemble Western
Europe in terms of their institutions, cultural values and ideologies
b. the idea that social evolution is progress
3. Blackwell argues that the cyclical change view is a variation on unilinear theory
b) The Multilinear model of evolutionary change is less ethnocentric and is seen by
sociologists as a more realistic approach
1. This theory does not assume that large-scale change in a society represents
progress
2. It tries to account for not only the values that are lost but also for those that are
gained
3. This model suggests that one should study each society separately to discover
the evolutionary stages unique to it as well as the stages experienced by other
societies
a. an example would nonindustrialized nations that have become highly
urbanized and lowered their death rates, but are not industrialized
4. Multilinear theory is related to what is known as the episodic approach
5. Episodic theory stresses the importance of accidents and unique historical, social
and environmental circumstances that explain a certain course of social change
a. Episodic theory was originally developed in opposition to evolutionary
theory, but within the context of multilinear theory there is room for
considering episodic factors
C) Functionalist theory
1) Talcott Parsons suggests that as change occurs a society’s institutions attempt to restore
equilibrium (Kornblum)
III.
2) This idea is based on a homeostatic model of society where societies are organized in
ways that tend toward relatively stable forms based on a consensus of values and norms
(Blackwell)
3) Social systems are never perfectly integrated and strains and tensions develop between
various parts
4) Institutions exist to manage and control these strains
5) Brinkerhof and White argue in an expansion on Parsons that parts of society are in
dynamic equilibrium or constantly adjusting to preserve the stability of the system as a
whole
6) Dynamic equilibrium can be seen as the functionalist view of change
7) Functionalists tend to see most change as slow and adaptive
8) If the pressure from change becomes too great the system merely collapses
9) Parson’s functionalist view can also be evolutionary because he assumes that social
change consists of 3 different processes (Brinkrthof and White)
a) societies become more highly differentiated with a more complex division of labor
b) this greater differentiation leads to more integration and interdependence (sort of
organic solidarity)
c) the society becomes more adaptive and flexible
10) This theory of increasing differentiation led Parsons to conclude that socialism is
regressive in an evolutionary sense
a) It is seen as regressive because it increases connections between economic and
political institutions and decreases the influence of religious institutions leading to a
simplification of society
b) The simplification reduces societal integration and the ability of society to adapt to
changing circumstances and to maintain itself
D) Conflict theory argues that conflict among groups with different amounts of power produces
social change
1) This conflict leads to a new system of social stratification leading to further conflict and
further change (dialectic)
2) Karl Marx argued that struggles between classes are a source of social change in every
period of history
3) He also postulated that in any society the main conflicting classes will be the exploiters
and the exploited
4) Modern conflict theorists depart from the Marxian view and contend that conflict occurs
among many different kinds of groups and in every social institution
5) Ralf Dahrendorf claims that this conflict produces social change at all times, but that the
change is not always revolutionary
E) Conflict Functionalism (Brinkerhof and White) is a perspective developed by Lewis Coser
that claims that conflict has both negative and positive effects on society
1) Conflict can lead to the resolution of disagreements and can restore unity
2) It leads to adjustment and adaptation that enables different groups to live side by side
3) Coser also thinks that conflict strengthens in-group cohesion of members by offering
them a common opposition
4) This idea, by stressing adaptation and positive functions and the presence of conflict and
change combines conflict and functionalist perspectives
The Great transformation
A) Modernization is seen by Inglehart as involving industrialization and related changes
1) It should be noted here that the social changes associated with modernization have altered
individual behavior patterns creating a personal orientation called modernity
2) The aforementioned Industrialization tends to bring increasing urbanization, growing
occupational specialization and higher levels of education in any society that under takes
it
a) The level of mass political participation also rises
3) The study of modernization played a key role in the social science of the late 1950s and
early 1960s
4) The idea was severely criticized during the 1970s and is widely seen in academic circles
as being discredited
5) The main reason that academics pursued modernization theory was its potential for
predictive power
a) it implied that once a society entered the trajectory of industrialization that certain
types of cultural and political change were likely to take place
b) These changes could range from lower birthrates, higher life expectancies, increased
mass political participation and possibly democracy
c) Critics claimed it was naïve to assume that economic development easily produced
liberal democracies (ignoring the usual scientific caveats)
6) Recent Theorists and their perspectives
a) Bell views changes in the structure of the workforce as the leading cause of cultural
change
1. His milestone for the coming of “Postindustrial society” is reached when the
majority of the workforce is in the tertiary sector of the economy or in the
service industry
a. These people are working with neither raw materials (primary) nor with
manufacturing (secondary)
b. This leads to a massive expansion in formal education
b) Inglehart’s view can be summed up in 4 essential points of modernization
1. change is not linear because it reaches points of diminishing returns and must
begin to move in a new direction (ending of modernization)
2. Previous versions of modernization theory were deterministic (Marx economics,
Weber culture)
a. The new view is that the relations between economics, culture and politics
are mutually supportive (systems in a biological organism—organic
analogy)
b. If one breaks down all activity ceases
3. The ethnocentric view of modernization equaling Westernization is rejected
a. In some ways East Asia is now the leading force of modernization
4. Democracy is not an integral part of the modernization phase and fascism and
communism are the most prominent alternatives
a. However, democracy does become more likely as societies move into the
Postmodernization phase
7) Modernization can be seen as a process that above all increases the economic and
political capabilities of a society
a) the economic capabilities are increased through industrialization
b) The political capabilities are increased through bureaucratization
8) Modernization is seen as highly attractive because it allows a move from poverty to
wealth
9) As Max Weber put it the transition from preindustrial society to industrial society is
characterized by “the pervasive rationalization of all spheres of society”
a) It is essentially a shift from traditional usually religious values to Rational-Legal
values in political, economic and social life
10) The direction of development for advanced industrial societies has changed in the last 25
years and has moved into what could be called Postmodernization
11) The rise of industrial society led to a shift in basic values de-emphasizing the
instrumental rationality of industrial society
12) Postmodern values became prevalent bringing societal changes from equal rights for
women to democratic political institutions and the decline of socialist regimes
13) A Postmodern society can be defined as moving away from functionalism, enthusiasm
for science and economic growth both hallmarks of industrial societies
14) It is a moving toward aesthetic and human considerations and incorporates elements of
the past into a new context
15) The Postmodern can be divided into three main schools
a)
Postmodernism is the rejection of modernity or a rejection of rationality, authority,
technology and science
1. in this school of thought there is a tendency to equate these ideas with
Westernization, therefore, it is a rejection of Westernization
b) Postmodernism is the revalorization of tradition
1. Since modernization devalued tradition its demise opens the way for
revalorization
c) Postmodernism is the rise of new values and lifestyles, with greater tolerance for
ethnic, cultural and sexual diversity
1. It leaves up to individual choice the life one wants to lead
16) What is the reason for this shift to Postmodernism?
a) The shift to postmodernism is not the first time a shift has taken place
b) In agrarian society the worldview discouraged social mobility, emphasized tradition,
inherited status, communal obligations and was backed up by absolute religious
norms
c) It gave way to an industrialism/modernity based worldview that encouraged
economic achievement, individualism, innovation with increasingly secular social
norms
d) Advanced industrial societies are now changing their sociopolitical trajectories in 2
fundamental ways
1. VALUES: In postmodernism emphasis on economic achievement is lessening
and an emphasis on quality of life is becoming a value
a. essentially it is a shift from materialist values of economic and physical
security
b. These values are replaced by Postmaterialist values emphasizing individual
self expression and quality of life issues
2. INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE: The limits to the development of hierarchical
bureaucratic organizations that helped create modern society are also being
reached (example: Soviet Union)
a. In a bureaucratic state the oligarchical political party, the mass production
assembly line, the old-line labor union and the hierarchical corporation all
played enormous roles in organizing people
A. Oligarchy refers to a social system under the political control of a small
elite (Blackwell)
b. The aforementioned ideas have come to a turning point for 2 reasons
A. they are reaching the limits of their functional effectiveness
1 bureaucracy is deadening to innovation and has a negative effect on
motivation and morale
2 old line political parties and labor unions are in decline
3 Bureaucratic institutions are inherently less effective in hightechnology societies with specialized workforces than in earlier
industrial society
B. they are reaching the limits of mass acceptability
1 A reason for the decline in bureaucratic institutions is because they
are less acceptable because people’s values have changed
2 assembly line mass production created standardized routines that led
to alienation, dehumanization and an uninteresting work experience
3 Bureaucracy strips away spontaneity, self-expression and creativity
c. Postmodern society again is characterized by the decline of hierarchical
institutions, and rigid social norms and by the expansion of individual
choice and mass participation
d. This shift to postmodernism/postmaterialism is taking place through age
cohorts raised in secure societies adopting new values other than those
needed for survival (modernity)
A. However, the loss of security (war, economic problems) can cause a
momentary shift back to survivalist values
IV.
B. The long term trend (1990s), is toward postmodernity despite
momentary setbacks
17) In his study of 43 societies, Inglehart found in his examination of societal changes that
the shift to postmodernity is to some extent predictable in terms of linkages between
cultural, economic and political changes. (not true in every case, but generally true)
The Global Economy
A) Globalization is a process in which social life within societies is increasingly affected by
international influences
1) These influences can be based on anything from political and trade ties to shared music,
clothing styles and the mass media
2) Martin (Lechner and Boli…The Globalization Reader 12-13) notes that “the accelerated
integration of previously marginalized societies is the best thing that has happened in the
lifetime of the post-war generation”
a) he argues that the true collaboration across borders has lessened the impact or
removed totalitarian regimes in the former U.S.S.R. and other nations
b) It has also increased human happiness in areas that are taking advantage of the
opportunities it provides
c) Martin argues that it will lead to an irreversible shift of power away from the
developed countries to the rest of the world
d) He believes that the anti-globalization argument of the left wing (cheap labor causes
the loss of jobs and capital for industrial jobs etc.) is profoundly immoral
e) It is immoral to exclude third-world aspirations merely to preserve the convenient
framework of a particular pattern of western work (Unionism)
f) Critics see more losers than winners in globalization, but the reality is that many
workers in developing countries receive better wages than they would anywhere else
g) Essentially these are only sweatshops in the Western civilization mindset, because to
the local people in poor countries the jobs created may be a gold mine
h) This does not mean support for poor conditions or low wages, but that perceptions of
people in developed countries are in many instances dissimilar from those in
developing countries
3) Arguably the most powerful form of globalization is economic where planning and
control expand from a relatively narrow focus to a broad global focus
a) an example of the narrow focus is a single firm doing business on a regional and
national basis
b) The aforementioned broad global focus refers to the idea that the entire world serves
as a source of labor, raw materials and markets
1. An example would be Multinational Corporations that are large private
businesses operating in several countries that exploit local conditions to their
advantage (Archer & Blackwell)
2. Multinational Corporations (MNCs) have been partly responsible for scientific
and technical achievements and the internationalization of economic factors
c) If workers in an affluent industrial society strike at a MNC then the company has the
option of shifting work to another country where workers are more compliant and
have lower expectations
d) In service industries such as banking and insurance this can be accomplished by
transmitting work from one computer to another
e) Blackwell sees economic globalization as important because it concentrates
economic power and weakens the position of working people under industrial
capitalism