Introduction to Sociology - Chapter One

workers; those who have no means of production of their own and so are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live

owners; the class of modern capitalists who own the means of production and employ wage laborers

the sense of dissatisfaction the modern worker feels as a result of producing goods that are owned and controlled by someone else, according to Karl Marx

a denial of the truth on the part of the oppressed when they fail to recognize the interests of the ruling class in their ideology

The recognition of social inequality on the part of the oppressed , leading to revolutionary action

Karl Marx's model of historical change, whereby two extreme positions come into conflict and create some new third thing between them

the existing social arrangements in a dialectal model

The opposition to the existing arrangements in a dialectical model

the new social system created out of the conflict between thesis and antithesis in a dialectical model

a contemporary form of conflict theory that criticizes many different systems and ideologies of domination and oppression

Practical action that is taken on the basis of intellectual or theoretical understanding

term developed by Emile Durkheim to describe the type of social bonds present in premodern, agrarian societies, in which shared traditions and beliefs created a sense of social cohesion

term developed by Emile Durkheim to describe the type of social bonds present in modern societies, based on difference, interdependence and individual rights.

"normlessness" term used to describe the alienation and loss of purpose that result from weaker social bonds and an increased pace of change

The degree of integration or unity within a particular society; the extent to which individuals feel connected to other member of their group

The holy, divine, or supernatural

The ordinary, mundane, or everyday

an intense energy in shared events where people feel swept up in something larger than themselves

The shared morals and beliefs that are common to a group and which foster social solidarity

Based on scientific experimentation or observation

a social institution that is relatively stable over time and that meets the needs of society by performing functions necessary to maintain social order and stability

a disturbance to or undesirable consequence of some aspect of the social system

the obvious, intended functions of a social structure for the social system

the less obvious, perhaps unintended functions of a social structure

a paradigm that sees social conflict as the basis of society and social change, and emphasizes a materialist view of society, a critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic model of historical change.

The rationalization of modern society

Max Weber's pessimistic description of modern life, in which we are caught in bureaucratic structures that control our lives through rigid rules and rationalization

secondary groups designed to perform tasks, efficiently, characterized by specification, technical competence, hierarchy, written rules, impersonality, and formal written communication

A paradigm that sees interaction and meaning as central to society and assumes that meanings are not inherent but are created through interaction