1
Q
Social construction of race
A
how people interact with and understand race by sorting people into different categories
how people act according to these meanings and categories creating real-world repercussions
e.g. hard to narrow people down into on, or how the definition of ‘white’ has been broadened
2
Q
scientific racism
A
- attempts to explain racial differences scientifically
- it is based on bodily differences
- focused on the origins, explanations and classifications f race
e.g. Haeckel thought that black people had more moveable toes
3
Q
ethnocentrism
A
- belief that one’s own culture or group is superior to other
- tendency to view all other cultures from a perspective of one’s own
e.g. white, European = normal, everyone else = abmnormal
4
Q
eugenics
A
- the idea that people can actively improve the genetic profile of humans
- leads to forced sterilisation of groups that are deemed as ‘unfit to reproduce’
e.g. Nazi Germany
5
Q
racialisation
A
the formation of a new racial identity, in which new ideological boundaries of difference are drawn around a formerly unnoticed group of people
e.g. post 9/11: brown+headscarf+beard = newly radicalised category
6
Q
ethnicity
A
common culture, religion, history, or ancestry shared by a group of people
7
Q
race
A
- externally imposed (someone else defines you)
- involuntary
- usually based on physical appearance
- hierarchical
- exclusive
8
Q
ethnicity
A
- voluntary (you choose what to identify as)
- self-defined (members of the group define what it means to be a part of that group)
- non-heirarchical
- relatively equal: one ethnicity does not necessarily have more power than another
- fluid: you can be in more than one
9
Q
Symbolic Ethnicity
A
- a nationality, not in the sense of a citizenship, but in the sense of identifying with a past or future nationality
- this can be easily expressed, without stigma
e.g. claiming Irishness because of your Irish heritage whilst being a US citizen
10
Q
culturelessness
A
- it implies a kind of white superiority since there is a ‘normal’ culture or a culture that is ‘beyond culture’
- white people often claim it
- there is an implication that people should strive towards this culture
11
Q
racialized ethnicity
A
- your ethnicity is tied to your race
- it becomes impossible to distinguish when or when not to engage in your ethnicity
e.g. ‘where are you from, no where are you really from?’
12
Q
stereotypes
A
widely shared perceptions about the personal characteristics, tendencies, or abilities of a group
13
Q
prejudice
A
preconceived beliefs, opinions, and attitudes about a group
14
Q
explicit bias
A
- bias that we are aware of
- has become less common, or at least has become more frowned upon
e.g. Charlottesville protests
15
Q
implicit bias
A
- subconscious bias that we may be completely unaware that we have
- very common
16
Q
discrimination
A
acting in a way that disadvantages certain groups of people
17
Q
institutional racism
A
the ways that the core institutions in our society have prejudiced and discriminatory values embedded into them
e.g.black veterans systematically excluded from receiving the benefits from the G.I. Bill
18
Q
Governmental institutionalised racism
A
Black WWII veterans excluded from the G.I. Bill
19
Q
residential institutionalised racism
A
- racial zoning
- sundown towns
- redlining
20
Q
racial zoning
A
preventing integration of different races and cultures into certain areas to safeguard property value
e.g. racial restrictions in Evanston
21
Q
sundown towns
A
all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States that practiced a form of segregation by enforcing restrictions excluding non-whites via some combination of discriminatory local laws, intimidation, and violence.
22
Q
redlining
A
denying investment to an area in which investment could improve the economic and housing opportunities of the residents
e.g. Chicago
23
Q
Criminal justice: institutional racism (2 egs)
A
EG crack vs cocaine mandatory sentencing
EG employment is harder for former inmates, let alone black former inmates
24
Q
gender
A
how we give meaning to sex through social interaction
25
sex
- biological differences that differentiate males and females
- seen as binary
- BUT 0.5-2% do not fall into either male or female
26
gender binary
a cultural system that only allows for there to be 2 genders
27
hegemonic masculinity
- traits and activities that are stereotypically associated with the male gender
- treated as 'normal' based on society's preferences
e.g. national men make dinner day
28
motherhood penalty
Systematic disadvantages faced by women (hiring, wage, promotion, etc.) due to the perception that mothers are less committed to their jobs than non-mothers
29
'doing gender'
- People actively reinforce, reproduce, and socialise others into acceptable gender identities through everyday interaction
- happens from a young age
e.g. high school: boys ridicule those who do not conform to masculine identity (spectre of the fag)
30
symbolic interactionism
The ways different social relations and social statuses are linked together in complex ways, leading to different experiences for different groups of people
31
sexuality
who a person wants to have sex with and why they do it
32
what is the cause of sexuality?
early sociology investigated if people were socialised into certain sexualities
now, it is more focussed on genetics
33
sexual double standard
men and women are judged differently for having sex
34
deviance
behaviours that violate social norms
35
3 types of social norms
- folkways
- mores
- laws
36
folkways
Least serious social norms. Refers to customs, traditions and etiquette. Unlikely to suffer long term consequences for violating these norms
e.g. taking your shoes off at home
37
mores
More serious social norms. Typically guided by morals and values and sanctions for violating these norms can be much stronger
e.g. a 60 year old dating a 20 year old
38
laws
the most serious social norms, to the extent that they are codified and punishment can follow from disobeying them
e.g.railing coke
39
social control
- a set of social mechanisms which creates a system of normative compliance
- comes in 2 types; informal and formal sanctions
40
formal sanctions
formal rules like codified laws that prohibit and sanction deviant behaviour
41
informal sanctions
the unexpressed but widely known rules of social membership, the unspoken rules of life
42
who championed the structural
Merton' strain theory
43
Merton's strain theory
- society has a set of acceptable goals and a set of acceptable ways to achieve them
- deviance occurs when someone's goals and/or means do not conform these societally determined means
44
conformist
someone who conforms to the goals of society and the means to achieve said goals
45
innovator
someone who conforms to the goals of society but not to the means of achieving them
e.g. drug dealer to support family and get them a good education
46
micro-level theory of deviance
How we create and understand deviance through our everyday interactions
47
labelling theory
the theory that people are aware that their actions place labels on them and how these reactions create a self identity
e.g. people not only worried about smoking weed but also about being labelled as a pothead
48
stigma
Some characteristic of an individual or group is seen as inferior or undesirable
49
visible stigma
stigmatised identities that are visible to everyone else
50
invisible stigma
stigmatised identities which are invisible too everyone else until you reveal it
51
EG invisible vs visible stigma
wounded warriors and PTSD
52
destigmatisation
The social process by which the changing cultural construction of groups reduces societal-level stigma over time.
53
2 ways to destigmatise
- removing blame
| - drawing equivalences
54
removing blame EG
disseminating knowledge that AIDS is a blood transported pathogen
55
drawing equivalences EG
media started saying that AIDS can be spread to anyone
56
social integration
how well integrated you are into your community
57
social regulation
the number of rules that you have that govern your social life
58
anomie
a sense of aimlessness or despair that arises from there being too little social regulations
59
anomic suicide
suicide that occurs as a result of too little social regulation
- may occur because of positive or negative shocks to one's everyday life
60
individual private insurance
You pay a premium to a private health company and they then cover your medical costs
61
Employer private insurance
Employer covers your healthcare costs
62
community rating
Combine different groups of workers with different expectations of health problems to even out costs (e.g. coal miners and bankers)
63
experience rating
Give each employee its own costs based on profession. Bankers get cheap insurance, coal miners get expensive insurance
64
Medicare
government subsidised healthcare for the elderly
65
medicaid
- government subsidised healthcare for the poor
- death spiral
- individual mandate meant that people had to prove that they had health insurance
66
deaths of despair
depressed people are slowly committing suicide through unhealthy coping mechanisms
67
social construction of illness
- the way that we understand and deal with illness in a social context
- illness is embedded with cultural meaning
- Medical knowledge itself is a political process with multiple interest groups having an opinion
- How people live with and experience illness is shaped by social relationships
68
disease v. illness
```
disease = biological condition which affects someone
illness = the social meaning of a condition
```
69
contested illnesses
Illnesses that some people don’t recognise or acknowledge as distinctly medical
e.g. fybromyalgia
70
medicalisation
A process by which human problems or experiences become defined as medical problems, usually in terms of illnesses, diseases, or syndromes
e.g. erectile dysfunction
71
medical disability
functional analysis of the body as a machine that needs to be fixed
based on an idea of deviance
72
social disability
- disability is socially constructed
| - society should be accommodating to these new communities
73
ontological equality
everyone is equal in God's eyes
74
equality of opportunity
inequality is acceptable as long as the rules of the game are fair (African Americans not playing by the same rules).
75
equality of condition
everyone is equal so long as they have the same starting point
76
equality of outcome
everyone gets the same outcome no matter how they got there
77
stratification
dimensions through which inequality emerges
can be on the basis of race, religion, etc
78
4 types of stratification
Estate system
caste system
class system
social hierarchy system
79
Estate system
- Politically based system of stratification based on limited social mobility
- Laws are written in a way in which rights and duties are separated unequally
e.g. Ancien Regime
80
caste system
- Religious-based systems of stratification characterised by no social mobility
- People are stratified based on the caste that their religion assigns them
e.g. India
81
class system
Economically based system of stratification, characterised by relative categorisation and somewhat loose social mobility
82
marxist view of the class system
Emphasizes class as a relational concept, and capitalism as inherently exploitative of workers
two classes of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie
83
weber's view of the class system
class is life chances available to people in the employment marketplace. People are not necessarily in conflict. Class is determined by money and property, or potential to get money and property
84
status hierarchy system
class is based not just on money but also on social status
Blau and Duncan index of stratification
85
money is utilitarian and rationalises transactions
utilitarian: has a specific practical use or purpose
rationalisation: transition from systems based on cultural values to systems based on efficiency and goals
86
what happens when we reduce values to monetary transactions?
what we hold as 'sacred' becomes 'profane'
e.g. snuggle buddies
87
how can we get around taboo transactions?
- reframe the transaction
- avoid transaction
- obfuscate the transaction
88
reframing the transaction
shift how people think of the transaction
e.g. life insurance is responsible, not profiting from death
89
reframing the transaction
shift how people think of the transaction from commoditised to altruistic
90
obfuscating the transaction
make monetary transactions look like they’re not monetary transactions.
91
3 types of obfuscation
- bundling
- brokerage
- gifts
92
bundling
sell a taboo product alongside a legitimate one
e.g. escorts will have dinner with you (but also sex you)
93
brokerage
the use of an intermediary
e.g. Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen
94
gifts
giving someone something in hopes that they return a similar favour one day
Sociology 110
flashcards
Decks in class (3)
# Cards
