Economy

Economy - is the social institution that ensures the maintenance of society through the production, distribution, and consumption of
goods and services
Role of money in various types of economies (pre-industrial, industrial, postindustrial)
Preindustrial economies include hunting and gathering, horticultural and pastoral, and agrarian societies
Industrial economies result from sweeping changes to the system of production and distribution of goods and services during
industrialization
Postindustrial economies are based on the provision of services rather than goods as a primary source of livelihood for workers
and profit for owners and corporate share holders
Money as a symbolic object
Social construction of the value of money
primary, secondary, tertiary sector production
Primary sector production - the extraction of raw materials and natural resources from the environment
Secondary sector production - the processing of raw materials (from the primary sector) into finished goods
Tertiary sector production - the provision of services rather than goods
Relation of types of production with types of economies
Capitalism (key elements/advantages-disadvantages) - is an economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of
production from which personal profits can be derived through market competition and without government intervention
ideal capitalism has four distinctive features: Private ownership of the means of productions, pursuit of personal profit,
competition, and lack of government intervention
Socialism (key elements/advantages-disadvantages) is an economic system characterized by public ownership of the means of
production, the pursuit of collective goals, and centralized decision making
Type of economic system we have

Politics

Politics - is the social institution through which power is acquired and exercised by some people and groups
Government - is the formal organization that has the legal and political authority to regulate the relationships among members of a
society and between the society and those outside its borders
State - the political entity that possesses a legitimate monopoly over the use of force within its territory to achieve its goals
Power/authority
Power - is the ability of persons or groups to achieve their goals despite opposition from others. It is a social relationship that
involves both leaders and followers. It is also a dimension in the structure of social stratification
Authority - power that people accept as legitimate rather than coercive
Ideal types of authority
Traditional Authority - is power that is legitimized on the basis of long-standing custom (Weber) where the authority of
traditional leaders, such as kings, queens, pharaoh so, emperors, and religious dignitaries, is usually grounded in religious
beliefs and custom
Charismatic Authority - is power legitimized on the basis of a leader's exceptional personal qualities or the demonstration of
extraordinary insight and accomplishment that inspire loyalty and obedience from followers. Tends to be temporary

Routinization of charisma - occurs when charismatic authority is succeeded by a bureaucracy controlled by a rationally
established authority or by a combination of traditional and bureaucratic authority
Rational-legal authority - is power legitimized by law or written rules and regulations (aka bureaucratic authority) is based on
an organizational structure that includes a clearly defined division of labor, hierarchy of authority, formal rules, and
impersonality. Authority is invested in the office, not in the person who holds the office. The governmental bureaucracy is the
apparatus responsible for creating and enforcing rules in the public interest
Political systems
Monarchy - is a political system in which power resides in one person or family and is passed from generation to generation
through lines of inheritance
Authoritarian - is a political system controlled by rulers who deny popular participation in government
Totalitarianism - is a political system in which the state seeks to regulate all aspects of people's public and private rights
Democracy - is a political system in which the people hold the ruling power either directly or through elected representatives
Representative democracy - citizens elect representatives to serve as bridges between themselves and the government
Relation between political philosophy to preferred economic systems
Sociological perspectives on politics
Functionalist perspective: The Pluralist Model - power in political systems is widely dispersed throughout many competing
interest groups

Decisions are made on behalf of the people by leaders who engage in bargaining, accommodation, and compromise

Competition among leadership groups makes abuse of power by any one group difficult

Power is widely dispersed, and people can influence public policy by voting

Public policy reflects a balance among competing interest groups

Conflict perspectives: Elite Models - power in political systems is concentrated in the hands of a small groups of elites, and the
masses are relatively powerless

Decisions are made by a small group of elite people

Consensus exists among the elite on the basic values and goals of society

Power is highly concentrated at the top of a pyramid shaped social hierarchy

Public policy reflects the values and preferences of the elite

Political parties - is an organization whose purpose is to gain and hold legitimate control of government
develops and articulates policy positions
educates voters about issues and simplifies the choices for them
recruiters candidates who agree with those policies, helps those candidates win office, and holds the candidates responsible for
implementing the party's policy positions
Governmental bureaucracies is made up of the permanent government in Washington made up of top tier civil service bureaucrats
who have a major power base. It has been able to perpetuate itself and expand because many of its employees have highly
specialized knowledge and skills and cannot be easily replaced by outsiders
Iron triangle - a three-way arrangement in which a private interest group (usually a corporation), a congressional committee or
subcommittee, and a bureaucratic agency make the final decision on a political issue that is to be decided by that agency
Military-industrial complex - the mutual interdependence of the military establishment and private military contractors

Terrorism

Family

Family - a group of people who are related to one another by bonds of blood, marriage, or adoption, and who live together, form an
economic unit, and bear and raise children
Kinship - refers to a social network of people based on common ancestry, marriage, or adoption
Kinship systems - Yankee/Eskimo - Crow - Hawaiian North America (Yankee/Eskimo) "mom" "dad" "grandma" "grandpa" systematic naming of members of the extended or
immediate family
Crow - your mothers sister is called your mother
Family of origin/family of procreation
Family of orientation - is the family into which a person is born and in which early socialization usually takes place
Family of procreation - is the family that a person forms by having or adopting children
Extended/nuclear/blended -- Which is associated with which economic system?
Extended family - is a family unit composed of relatives in addition to parents and children who live in the same household. Is
mostly seen in horticultural and agricultural societies
Nuclear family - is a family composed of one or two parents and their dependent children, all of whom live apart from other
relatives. Seen in more industrialized and urbanized areas
Marriage patters (monogamy, serial monogamy, polygamy)
Marriage - is a legally recognized and/or socially approved arrangement between two or more individuals that carries certain
rights and obligations and usually involves sexual activity
Monogamy - a marriage between two partners, usually a woman and a man
Serial monogamy - married to one person at a time
Polygamy - either more than one husband or more than one wife at the same time - polygyny polyandry
Polygyny - the concurrent marriage of one man with two or more women
Polyandry - the concurrent marriage of one woman with two or more men
Descent/inheritance
Patrilineal descent - a system of tracing descent through the father's side of the family
Matrilineal descent - a system of tracing descent through the mother's side of the family
Bilateral descent - a system of tracing descent through bother mother's and father's sides of the family
Power/authority in families
Patriarchal family - is a family structure in which authority is held by the eldest male (usually the father)
matriarchal family - is a family structure in which authority is held by the eldest female (usually the mother)
Egalitarian family - is a family structure in which both partners share power and authority equally
Residential patterns
Patrilocal residence - refers to the custom of married couple living in the same household (or community) as the husband's
parents
Matrilocal - the custom of a married couple living in the same household (or community) as the wife's parents
Neolocal residence - the custom of a married couple living in their own residence apart from both the husband's and wife's
parents
Endogamy - is the practice of marrying within one's own group
Exogamy - is the practice is marrying outside one's own group
Sociological perspectives on families
Functionalist role of families in maintaining stability of society and individuals well-being. In modern societies, families serve
the functions of sexual regulation, socialization, economic and psychological support, and provision of social status.
Instrumental role: father expressive role: mother
Conflict/feminist families as sources of conflict and social inequality. Families both mirror and help perpetuate social
inequalities based on class and gender
Symbolic interactionist family dynamics, including communication patters and the subjective meanings that people assign to
events. Interactions within families create a shared reality
Postmodernist permeability of families or its capability of being diffused or invaded in such a manner that the familys original
nature is modified or changed. In postmodern society, families are diverse and fragmented. Boundaries between workplace and
home are blurred

Education

Education - is the social institution responsible for the systematic transmission of knowledge, skills, and cultural values within a
formally organized structure
manifest functions defined as open, stated, and intended goals or consequences of activities within an organization or institution
(functionalist)
socialization the teaching of children the student role, specific academic subjects and political socialization
transmission of culture transmission of cultural norms and values to each new generation and play an active part in the
process of assimilation
social control schools are responsible for teaching values such as discipline, respect, obedience, punctuality, and
perseverance
social placement schools are responsible for identifying the most qualified people to fill available positions in society
change and innovation as student populations change over time, new programs are introduced to meet societal needs ex. Sex
education
Latent functions hidden, unstated, and sometimes unintended consequences of activities within an organization or institution
(functionalist)
restricting some activities keeping students off the streets and our of the full-time job market for a number of years, thus
keep unemployment within reasonable bounds
matchmaking and production of social networks young people often meet future marriage partners and develop social
networks that may last for many years
Creating a generation gap students may learn information in school that contradicts beliefs held by their parents or religion
creating a generational gap if students decide to accept the newly acquired perspective
Cultural capital/class reproduction - Pierre Bourdieu's term for people's social assets, including values, beliefs, attitudes, and
competencies in language and culture (conflict)

the school legitimated and reinforces the social elites by engaging in specific practices that uphold the patterns of behavior and
the attitudes of the dominant class
Hidden curriculum - is the transmission of cultural values and attitudes, such as conformity and obedience to authority, through
implied demands found in the rules, routines, and regulations of schools (conflict)
Labeling and self-fulfilling prophecy - labeling amounts to a self-fulling prophecy--previously defined as an unsubstantiated belief or
prediction resulting in behavior that makes the originally false belief come true (use of IQ tests) (symbolic interactionist)
Unequal funding of schools - educational funds come from state legislature appropriations and local property taxes. Families have
relocated from the city to the suburbs thus eroding the local property- tax base

Religion

Religion (manifest/latent functions) - religion is a social institution composed of a unified system of beliefs, symbols, and rituals-based on some sacred or supernatural realm--that guides human behavior, gives meaning to life, and unites believers into a
community
Theological vs. sociological perspectives on sacred/profane
Sacred - refers to those aspects of life that are extraordinary or supernatural
Profane - the everyday, secular, or "worldly" aspects of life
Simple supernaturalism - the belief that supernatural forces affect people's lives wither positively or negatively
Animism - is the belief that plants, animals, or other elements of the natural world are endowed with spirits or life forces having an
effect on events in society
Theism - a belief in a god or gods
Polytheism (which religions are polytheistic/controversy) - a belief in more than one God
Monotheism (which religions are monotheistic/controversy) - a belief in a single, supreme being or God who is responsible for
significant events such as the creation of the world
Secularization - the process by which religious beliefs, practices, and institutions lose their significant step in sectors of society and
culture
Sociological perspectives on religion
Functionalist Perspective - sacred belief and rituals bind people together and help maintain social control

Collective representations group help meanings that express something important about the group itself

Civil religion the set of beliefs, rituals, and symbols that makes sacred the values of the society and places the nation in
the context of the ultimate system of meaning
Conflict Perspectives - religion may be used to justify the status quo (Marx) or to promote social change (Weber)
Symbolic Interactionist - religion may serve as a reference group for many people, but because of race, class, and gender,
people may experience it differently
Rational Choice - religious persons and organizations, interacting within a competitive market framework, offer a variety or
religions and religious products to consumers, who stop around for religious theologies, practices, and communities that best
suit them
Functions of religion
Meaning and purpose offers meaning for the human experience
Social cohesion and a sense of belonging religious teaching and practices help promote social cohesion
Social control and support for the government sacred symbols and beliefs establish motivations based on the concept of a
general order of existence
Opiate of the people (Marx) the capitalist class uses religious ideology as a tool of domination to mislead the workers about their
true interests. People become complacent because they have been taught to believe in an afterlife in which they will be rewarded
for their suffering and misery in this life false consciousness
Patriarchy religion is mainly dominated by men. (Gilman) mens religion taught people to submit and obey rather than to think
about and realistically confront situations; the monopolization of religious thoughts and doctrines by men contributed to intolerance
and the subordination of women (symbolic interactionist)
Protestant ethic (Weber) religion could be a catalyst to produce social change. Predestination; people look for earthly signs of
whether or not they are saved; those who have faith, perform good works, and achieve economic success are more likely to be
among the chosen of God. Wealth was an unintended consequence of religious piety and hard work
Key points on the diverse religious traditions (may be modified TBA)
Hinduism (samsara, dharma, atma(n), nirvana, Brahma) Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), and Shiva (destroyer) are
divine. Union with the ultimate reality and escape from eternal reincarnation are achieved through yoga, adherence to scripture
and devotion
Buddhism (4 noble truths, 8-fold path, Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana) Through meditation and adherence to the Eight-Fold
Path (correct thought and behavior), people can free themselves from desire and suffering, escape the cycle of eternal rebirth,
and achieve nirvana (enlightenment)
Abrahamic traditions (Isaac, Ishmael)
Judaism (Pentateuch, 5 books of Torah, Passover, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist) Gods nature and will are
revealed in the Torah (Hebrew scripture) and in His intervention in history. God has established a covenant with the people of
Israel, who are called to a life of holiness, justice, holiness, mercy, and fidelity to Gods law
Christianity (early Christianity, other Christianity, Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant) Jesus is the son of God. Through good
moral and religious behavior (and/or Gods grace), people achieve eternal life with God
Islam (5 pillars, greater jihad, lesser jihad) Muhammad received the Quran (scriptures) from God. On Judgement day,
believers who have submitted to Gods will, as revealed in the Quran, will go to an eternal Garden of Eden
Soul - atman is the core of the human being
4 books of the Old Testament Pentateuch - is really 5

Health/mental health

Health - a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being

Health care - is any activity intended to improve health
Medicine - an institutionalize do system for the scientific diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of illness
Life expectancy - refers to an estimate of the average lifetime of people born in a specific year
Infant mortality - is the number of deaths of infants under 1 year of age per 1000 live births in a given year
A large proportion of these deaths occur during the infants first month of life
Social epidemiology - is the study of the causes and distribution of health, disease, and impairment throughout a population
Lifestyle factors (is a voluntary action on a person's part)

Drug use and abuse - are used for either therapeutic or recreational purposes. Ex: alcohol and tobacco
Alcohol - long term use could lead to alcoholism which can cause permanent damage to the brain or other parts of the body
Nicotine (Tobacco) - the nicotine in tobacco is a toxic, dependency-producing psychoactive drug that is more addictive than
heroin (is a stimulant)
Illegal drugs - marijuana use associated with drop in IQ levels in users who started smoking before the age of 18. Cocaine use is
also prevalent
Sexually Transmitted Diseases - unprotected sex can lead to the spread of STDs that could potentially threaten the survival of
an individual ex: chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, AIDS
Staying Healthy: Diet and Exercise - many people still have diets that are deficient in fruits and gee tables and their meals
contain more fats and added sugars than are recommended by current dietary guidelines
Rise of scientific medicine/professionalization several significant discoveries during the nineteenth century in areas such as
bacteriology and anesthesiology began to give medicine increasing credibility as a science.
Flexner report Flexner and the Johns Hopkins University faculty met up to develop a model of how medical education should take
place then visited institutions comparing them with the model
A medical should be a full-time, research-oriented, laboratory facility that devoted all of its energies to teaching and research,
not to the practice of medicine
All but two of the African American medical schools and only one of the medical schools for women survived resulting in the
exclusion of women and people of color from medical education
Professionalization of medicine
Abstract, specialized knowledge education resulted in the theoretical understanding of health, illness, and medicine
Autonomy doctors rely on their own judgement in selecting the appropriate technique for dealing with a problem
Self-regulation licensing, accreditation and regulatory boards and associations that set professional standards and require
members to adhere to a code of ethics as a form of public accountability
Authority physicians expect compliance with their directions and advice
Altruism physicians perform a valuable service to society rather than acting solely in their own self-interest
Paying for medical care U.S./other countries
United states fee-for-service basis where patients are individually billed for each service they receive, including treatment by
doctors, laboratory work, hospital visits, prescriptions, and other health-related expenses

Associated with the true spirit of capitalism and its inequality in distribution

The affordable Care Act of 2010

Private and public health insurance private health insurance is largely paid for by businesses and households while public
health care (ex: Medicare and Medicaid) is funded through social security taxes paid by current workers or funded by the
government

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) companies that provide, for a set monthly fee, total care with an emphasis on
prevention to avoid costly treatment later

Managed care any system of cost containment that closely monitors and controls health care providers decisions about
medical procedures, diagnostic tests, and other services that should be provided to patients preferred provider
organization (PPO)
Canada universal healthcare, a health care system in which all citizens receive medical services paid for by tax revenues.
Services are provided by private entities and are mostly free to patients as long as the premiums are paid up
Britain has a centralized, single-payer health care system that is funded by general revenues constitutes socialized
medicine where the government owns the medical care facilities and employs the physicians
China profit driven system is based on fee-for-service practice by physicians and the sale of highly expensive pharmaceutical
products that are marketed by doctors and hospitals
Functionalist, interactionist, conflict, postmodern perspectives
Functionalist: the sick role people who are sick are temporarily exempt from normal obligations but must want to get well and
seek competent help
Conflict perspective: inequalities in health and health care problems in health care are rooted in the capitalist system,
exemplified by the medical-industrial complex
Symbolic interactionist: the social construction of sickness people socially construct both health and illness, and how both
should be treated
Postmodernist: the clinical gaze doctors gain power through observing patients to gather information, thus appearing to
speak wisely.
Sick role - the set of patterned expectations that defines the norms and values appropriate for individuals who are sick and for those
who interact with them
Social construction of illness people explain disease by blaming it on those who are ill where the social definition of the illness
leads to the stigmatization or individuals who suffers the disease
Medicalization - refers to the process whereby no medical problems become defined and treated as illnesses or disorders
(medicalization of deviance)
It gives physicians and other medical professionals greater authority to determine what should be considered normal and
acceptable behavior and to establish the appropriate mechanisms for controlling deviant behaviors
Demedicalization refers to the process whereby a problem ceases to be defined as an illness or a disorder (ex: homosexuality)
Mental illness a condition in which a person has a severe mental disorder requiring extensive treatment with medication,
psychotherapy, and sometimes hospitalization
Disability - refers to a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major activities that a person would
normally do at a given stage of life and that may result in stigmatization or discrimination against the person with the disability
-

Socialized medicine - the VA, Irish medical system

Universal healthcare - private companies reimbursed by the government

Population/urbanization

Demography - a sub field of sociology that examines population size, composition and distribution.
population - is a group of people who live in a specified geographic area
Fertility - is the actual level of childbearing for an individual or a population | the primary biological factor being the number of
women of childbearing age.
Fecondity - is the potential number of children who could be born if every woman reproduced at her maximum biological
capacity
Crude birth rate - the number of live births per 1,000 people in a population in a given year

Referred to as a "crude" birth rate because it is based on the entire population and is not "refined" to incorporate significant
variables affecting fertility such as age, marital status, religion, and race/ethnicity
The United Nations divides countries into three categories based on fertility levels

Low fertility countries - women are not having enough children to ensure that each woman is replaced by a daughter
who survives to childbearing age

Intermediate-fertility countries - each woman is having between 1 to 1.5 daughters

High-fertility countries - where the average woman has ore than 1.5 daughters
Mortality - the incidence of death in a population
Crude death rate - the number of deaths per 1,00 people a population in a given year
Infant mortality rate - the number of deaths of infants under 1 year of age per 1,00 live births in a given year. It is an important
reflection of a society's level of preventative (prenatal) care, maternal nutrition, childbirth procedures, and neonatal care for
infants
Life expectancy - is an estimate of the average lifetime in years of people born in a specific year
Migration - is the movement of people from one geographic area to another for the purpose of changing residency
distribution - refers to the physical location of people throughout a geographic area
Density - is the number of people living in a specific geographic area
Immigration - is the movement of people into a geographic area to take up residency
Emigration - the movement of people out of a geographic area to take up residency elsewhere
Pull factors at the international level such as democratic government, religious freedom, employment opportunities, or a
temperate climate, may draw voluntary immigrants into a nation
Push factors at the international level, such as political unrest, violence, war, famine, plagues, and natural disasters, may
encourage people to leave one area and relocate elsewhere
Population pyramid - a graphic representation of the distribution of a population by sex and age
Malthusian perspective
Marxist perspective
Neo-Malthusian perspective
Demographic transition theory
Urbanization
Urban problems in U.S.
Key points from video, Affluenza