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Introduction:
Good news everyone this file contains my short yet quaint summary of the mandatory reading for
society today. Please be advised that when I refer to mandatory reading I am actually referring to the
pages; that our teacher has so graciously provided as a must-read for the exam. I shall be releasing a
summary of the lecture slides at a later date. As usual use at your own discretion; as I will not be held
liable and bla, bla, bla.
Contents
Introduction: .................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 26: Living in the twenty-first century ................................................................... 2
Traditional Societies: ................................................................................................................ 2
Modern Societies: .................................................................................................................... 2
Modernity ................................................................................................................................ 2
Modernization ......................................................................................................................... 2
Key Dimensions of Modernization: ........................................................................................... 2
Postmodernity ......................................................................................................................... 3
Postmodernism: Explained ....................................................................................................... 3
Postmodernism: Issue .............................................................................................................. 3
Postmodernism: themes........................................................................................................... 3
Chapter 18: family as a social institution ........................................................................... 4
Chapter 18: Definitions ............................................................................................................. 4
Important: ............................................................................................................................... 4
People do family ...................................................................................................................... 4
Functions of the family ............................................................................................................. 4
Causes of higher divorce rates: ................................................................................................. 5
5 predictions regarding the future of families ............................................................................ 6
Chapter 20 Education as a Social institution ...................................................................... 6
Chapter 20 Education Definitions: ............................................................................................. 6
Education and Social Conflict .................................................................................................... 6
Credentialism ........................................................................................................................... 7
Pro Credentialism argument ..................................................................................................... 7
Con Credentialism argument .................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 15 Work as a Social Institution ............................................................................. 7
Chapter 15 Definitions .............................................................................................................. 7
Unemployment: ....................................................................................................................... 7
Unemployment Groups: ........................................................................................................... 7
Unemployment Experience: ..................................................................................................... 7
Consumption ........................................................................................................................... 8
Chapter 19: Religion as a social institution ........................................................................ 8
Chapter 19: Definitions ............................................................................................................. 8
Religion:................................................................................................................................... 8
Religion: Major Functions ......................................................................................................... 8
Religion: As power Marx........................................................................................................... 9
Critical comment ...................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 6: The black underclass urban decay .................................................................... 9
Chapter 6: Definitions............................................................................................................... 9
Primary Groups ........................................................................................................................ 9
Secondary group: ..................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 16: Definitions ........................................................................................................... 10
Three models of contemporary politics and society: ................................................................ 10
New politics: Rise of social movement .................................................................................... 11
Chapter 26: Living in the twenty-first century
Traditional Societies:
 Values: Homogeneous; sacred character; few subcultures and countercultures
 Norms: High moral significance little tolerance of diversity
 Time orientation: Present is linked to the past
 Technology: Pre-industrial; human and animal energy
 Status and role: Few statuses, most ascribed; few specialized roles
 Relationships: Typically primary; little anonymity and privacy.
 Communication: Face to face
 Social control: Informal gossip
 Social stratification: Strong patterns of social inequality with little mobility.
 Gender patterns: Pronounced patriarchy; women’s live centered at home.
 Economy: Based on agriculture; some manufacturing in the home; little while-collar work
 State: Small-scale government; little state intervention in society
 Family: Extended family as the primary means of socialization and economic production.
 Religion: Religion guides world-view; little religious pluralism.
Modern Societies:
 Values: Heterogeneous; non-religious character with many subcultures and countercultures.
 Norms: Variable moral significance; high tolerance of diversity
 Time orientation: Present linked to future
 Technology: Industrial; advanced energy sources
 Status and role: Many statuses, some ascribed and some achieved many specialized roles.
 Relationships: Typically secondary; considerable anonymity and privacy.
 Communication: Face to face; supplemented by mass media.
 Social control: Formal police and legal system
 Social stratification: Fluid patterns of social inequality; considerable mobility.
 Gender patterns: Declining patriarchy; increase number of women in the paid labor force.
 Economy: Based on industrial mass production; factories become centers of production;
increasing white-collar work.
 State: Large scale government; considerable state intervention in society.
 Family: Nuclear family retains some socialization functions but is more a unit of consumption
than of production.
 Religion: Religion weakens with the rise of science; extensive religious pluralism.
Modernity: Social patterns linked to industrialization.
Modernization: The process of social change initiates by industrialization.
Key Dimensions of Modernization:
1. The decline of small, traditional communities.
(Modernization destroys the small concrete and cohesive communities; those communities
have been around for thousands of years and have offered people very defined roles; which
bring a sense of solidarity and belonging and a well-defined place in society; these
communities are now almost gone and even far away rural areas have access to technology
and a connection with the society at large)
2. The expansion of personal choice.
(In pre-industrial society people did not choose their own path in life but rather it was all
arranged by things they were unable to control: gods, spirits or fate; due to tradition people
have very limited choices. With modernization the power of tradition fades and people can
see their life as thousands of choices this view is called individualization)
3. Increasing diversity in beliefs.
(Before strong family ties and powerful religious beliefs forced conformity; nowadays in a
scientific world; tradition is no longer strong and morality is a personal choice; expansion of
cities and international organizations combines people of a variety of backgrounds and
diverse beliefs)
4. Future orientation and growing awareness of time.
(People in modern societies care allot more about time than they used to; before time was
measured in seasons winter, summer; nowadays everybody has a clock and modern people
believe that time is money they are future orientated as opposed to past orientated; modern
people are also optimistic believing that new technology is going to make life better)
Postmodernity: Social patterns characteristic of post-industrial societies.
Postmodernism: Explained
*Controversial term as many sociologists do not agree with it. It is also made look funny by those that
take it too far; but in this book it is used to highlight all the changes that are happening right now as
societies break away from modern capitalism into a new form. Modern skepticism is a useful tool for
careful thinking.
Postmodernism: Issue
*There is disagreement about what the term actually entrails; however there are 5 universal themes of
postmodernism:
Postmodernism: themes
1. In some important respects, modernity has failed.
(The promise of modernity was that of a life free of want and a life over which people had
more control and developing of a rationality that would save us. However, the modern world
still has many social problems such as poverty or financial hardship and on the extreme
terrible genocidal systems (North Korea).
2. The bright light of progress is fading.
(People used to look to the future expecting that their lives would be better; nowadays even
world leaders have no idea what’s going to happen. Optimism of the past is replaced of
pessimism of the future (I will never get a job) etc.
3. Science no longer holds all the answers
(There was a universal modern view that science and technology would make everything
better; argument that science has caused more problems than it has solved; it allowed for
genocides such as the holocaust and the atomic bomb; while simultaneously causing un-told
amount of environmental damage. Taking science apart also shows that it has often be used
for political purposes by powerful segments of society.
4. Cultural debates are intensifying.
(Modernity was offering the bright promise of better individuality and tolerance; however
critics argue that it has failed in that regard; societies being heterosexist which continues to
shape the world today. Multiculturalism is trying to bring disadvantaged minorities back from
the edge of society; while religious interests are back on the agenda.
5. Social institutions are changing.
(Post-industrial society is remaking society once again. Industrial revolution as an example
placed importance on material things; the information revolution made ideas important. The
post-modern society now doesn’t’ abide to either one instead individuals find new ways to
relate to one another.
Chapter 18: family as a social institution
Chapter 18: Definitions
 Family definition: A social institution, found in all societies, that unites individuals into
cooperative groups that oversee the bearing and raising of children.
 Kinship: A social bond, based on blood, marriage or adoption that joins individuals into
families.
 Family unit: A social group of two or more people, related by blood, marriage or adoption,
who usually live together.
 Marriage: A legally sanctioned relationship, involving economic cooperation as well as
normative sexual activity and child-bearing that people expect to be enduring.
 Families of choice: People with or without legal or blood ties who feel they belong together
and wish to define themselves as a family.
 Incest taboo: A cultural norm forbidding sexual relations or marriage between certain kin.
Important:
* Most families are built on kinship
* Difference of who falls under kinship (Historically and now)
historically: Types that were considered part of a family unit and kinship.
 A family of orientation: Those that are born into the family sibling/parents.
 A family of procreation: People having children or adopting children.
*Throughout the world families are formed around marriage.
Marriage: Used to be the only allowed way for procreation.
 Illegitimate children out of marriage.
 Legitimate children within marriage.
*Matrimony in Latin means “The condition of motherhood”.
*More and more children are born out of wedlock which is weakening the marriage concept.
* Additionally people now argue with the “Family” definition; they think it is too single standard
orientated; nowadays many people have non-traditional family ties: AKA families of choice (referred
above)
* Definition of family is now a moral and political manner. Sociologist Christopher Carrington has
the definition of “People who love and care for another”. He sees families not through kinship or
institutions but rather through a series of activities “People do family”.
People do family: through their actions people make a family EG:
 Feeding work: The one that cooks, shops and plans
House work: The one that cleans, washes and looks after plants and pets.
 Consumption work: Watching of TV, arranging holidays or buying clothes and household
goods.
 Care work: Looking after parents, children or other.
Functions of the family:
1. Socialization: (The family is the first and most important source of socialization; in a perfect
world parents teach their children how to be a well-integrated contributing member of
2.
3.
4.
5.
society; however, family socialization is an ongoing process through a person’s entire life and
parents learn as much from children as children learn from parents).
Regulation of sexual activity:
(Every culture regulates sexual activity in the interest of maintaining kinship and organization
of property rights; one example of a regulation is the incest taboo: However what exactly falls
under the incest taboo differs per society; and some societies such as ancient Egyptians did
not have incest taboo and married in-family. Reproduction between family members can
affect the offspring physical and mental health; however, no other species has incest taboo.
The reason for it is social rather than biological:
Key reasons for Incest control:
1st: To minimize sexual competition within families by restricting legitimate sexual activity to
spouses.
2nd: It forces people to marry outside their immediate families, creating bigger alliances.
3rd: Forbidding reproduction among close relatives protects kinship from collapsing into
chaos.
Social placement: Families are not biologically necessary but they do provide the basis for
social placement of children: Social identity based on race, ethnicity, religion and social class
are all given at birth. Families make inheritance clear and allow for the transfer of social
standing from parent to child.
Material and emotional security: People see family as a ‘haven in a heartless world’. They
look to their kin for physical protection, emotional support or financial assistance. Most
families do provide all of those things, not without conflict though.
Causes of higher divorce rates:
1. Divorce is legally easier to accomplish.
(In the past divorce was nearly impossible, in the UK it required a special act of parliament;
ergo it was only for the very wealthy, increasingly so today divorce laws have weakened and
people can now finally divorce happily)
2. Demographic changes.
(Stability of marriages in the past is over-exaggerated; because nowadays we divorce
however, in the past people often did not live past 40. So assuming people got married at 18
that only gave them about 20 years before one of them died; we have replaced death with
divorce) Disappointingly humanity lives on.
3. Individualization is increasing.
(Both men and women have equal control of their lives; people are very interested in personal
happiness and individualist pursuit not of children; there is no clear guideline to determine
who should do what in a household which puts tensions on marriages; add to that the
overwhelming joy of having an irritating money sucking vampire and surprisingly the result
is failed marriages.
4. Romantic love often subsides.
(Modern culture is over statured by only marrying those that you truly love; so nowadays if
you stop loving someone it’s sufficient ground for divorce. People get divorced just because
they are bored which is arguably a solid reason.
5. Women are now less dependent on men and have changed expectations.
(Since women now have jobs and earn an income they no longer feel the need to ask men for
money; and since women now earn money they suddenly have changed expectations for their
life. They are surprisingly no longer satisfied by staying at home 24/7 while cooking, cleaning
and generally being servants to men. And with the popular culture emphasizing that you no
longer need a man to make you happy (hint Frozen) women are now perfectly satisfied to get
divorced.)
6. Many of today’s marriages are stressful.
(Both people in a marriage tend to work which is excruciatingly painful process; and since
most people don’t earn enough to afford baby sitters tensions in marriages are rising. Divorce
is therefore more common during the early years of a marriage particular after having a child.
The lesson here is if you have a terrible difficult marriage; try having a child to stabilize the
failure that is your life. Oh and of course women have changed expectations (As if anyone
could forget feminism in every single book written after the 80’s).
7. Divorce is more socially acceptable
(Divorce no longer carries a negative stigma with it as it did before; people now rightly
rejoice at the idea of divorce; after all who can say that their divorce is going bad.
Looking ahead: Families in the twenty-first century:
Traditional vs new family debate
Change is to continue
5 predictions regarding the future of families:
1. High divorce rates will continue due to the reasons listed above as well as a culture of divorce
now after several generations of divorce people are more inclined to do it.
2. Life will be highly variable: The new family will be very diverse with gay/lesbian families,
single-parents and so forth.
3. Men and childrearing: Older established generation of men with good work positions are
eager to become fathers; new image of the man as taking care of the children.
4. Economic change will reform marriage and the family. Most families are two incomes in
order to support children; and while parents are trying their best to give their children
everything; it seems more often than not that the children are left with only rudimentary care;
however, there is an increase in the attention that parents place on their children.
5. New reproductive technology will increase even though ethical concerns will slow down
development. In-vitro technologies and test tube designer babies will likely be the future.
Chapter 20 Education as a Social institution
640 646 662
Chapter 20 Education Definitions:
Education: The social institution guiding the critical learning of knowledge, job skills, cultural norms
and values.
Schooling: Formal instruction under the direction of specially trained teachers.
Hidden curriculum: the subtle presentation of political or cultural ideas in the classroom.
Credentialism: Evaluating a person on the basis of educational qualifications.
Education and Social Conflict: Education at all levels is a means of reproducing society’s
inequalities. Education can be a way of social control, reinforcing acceptance of the status quo and in
many sometimes hidden ways a school reproduces he status hierarchy. UK system was in class issues
and control; public schools came very early for the elite and it was only in the 19th century that the
working class finally got a form of a school; Sunday school teaching moral values. There was a fear
that too much education will make the working class rebel. Capitalism demands literate, docile and
disciplined workforce. Schools will teach immigrants the dominant national language as well as
cultural values that support capitalism: Compliance, punctuality and discipline are still present
forming the hidden curriculum. It teaches young people to ‘know their place and sit still in it’ and
‘reproduces inequality by justifying privilege and attributing poverty to personal failure’.
Class divisions: Conflict theorists argue that schools tailor education according to the students’ social
background, which increases inequality. There is different performance of children at school from
different class background; children from working-class homes consistently under-achieve at every
level of the educational system as compared to the middle-class and upper-class children. Attributed
to mandatory IQ test in UK at age 11; and explained that people of lower social class do not have the
necessary intelligence meaning that they deserve their position. That is contested by the fact that
government do not invest as heavily in schools that are aimed towards the edge of society.
Additionally, children of low social class grew up in an environment that discouraged school as their
parents see little hope for upward social mobility and rebel against the system; combined with the fact
that they can’t afford books, materials and specialty schools. People in poorer areas develop different
types of dialects and vocabulary with words associated with rich middle/high class gaining status; and
those that use lower-class vocabulary are seen as uneducated. Ergo many factors which have nothing
to do with biological potential create the divide in the UK at least. Additionally there are:
Ethnic Difference, Gender Differences, Disability divisions
Credentialism: People see diplomas and degrees as evidence of ability to perform specialized
occupational roles; since modern societies are more technologically complex, culturally diverse and
socially mobile a CV or resume often says more about who you are than family background does.
Pro Credentialism argument: Functional analysis argues that this is a way for modern societies to
make sure that important jobs are filled by qualified people.
Con Credentialism argument: The credentials often have little relation to the responsibilities of a
specific job; and maintain that degrees serve as a shorthand way to sort out the people with the
manners and attitude sought by many employers. Credentialism in short operates much like family
background as a gatekeeping strategy that restricts prestigious occupations to a small segment of the
population. And finally this emphasis on credentials can encourage over-education in which workers
have more knowledge and skills than they need to perform a job.
Chapter 15 Work as a Social Institution
Page 464: Short sociological definition of economies; changing economy etc.
Page 488: Unemployment what does it mean and how is it experienced?
Page 495: Paragraph on consumption
Chapter 15 Definitions:
Economies: Social institutions that organized the production, distribution and consumption of goods
and services.
Economies are never just economies: that economy connects to all social institutions such as family,
immigration, politics etc. everything is connected with the economy.
Unemployment:
Each society has unemployment allot of which is temporary; few young people entering the labor
force find a job right away; some workers temporarily leave the labor force while seeking a new job
or to have children or other reasons. Economy also generates unemployment which is called structural
unemployment. Jobs disappear as an occupation becomes obsolete, foreign businesses take over and
big corporations. Since 1980’s downsizing in the US has costed 5 million jobs.
Unemployment Groups:
 Those who experience redundancies due to economic change.
 Unskilled youth trying to make the transition from school to work.
 Older workers who face enforced retirement.
 Unemployed women.
 The long-term unemployed groups.
Unemployment Experience:
Unemployment wreaks havoc on lives and families. Studies show that at first unemployment is
followed by a shock and then by a short denial and optimism: people experience it as being on
vacation. Afterward this is followed by distress and anxiety and if the unemployment is long-lasting it
can lead to resignation and adjustment. Unemployment is also linked to bad health, premature death,
attempted and actual suicide, marriage breakdown, child battering, racial conflicts, and football
hooliganism. Subculture of despair can emerge linked to the development of an underclass; for
women seeing work as the escape from home can be especially difficult. Those who have the least are
affected the most.
Consumption: It is seen as a major advanced I has become the means for a higher standard of living.
Goods and brands spread around the world but they are used differently and become different things.
Worldwide music has developed through packaging of CD; s and the internet. And the amount of
products available now in the supermarket such as foods is staggering. “Far from flattering culture,
consumerism has enriched it, giving us a greater choice and a better control of our lives”. Growing
mass participation in creative activities such as DIY to music to cooking to reading to painting to all
kinds of hobbies.
Chapter 19: Religion as a social institution
Page 610: Paragraph what is religion (Definition)
Page 611: The functions of religion
Page 613: Inequality conflict and religion
Page 626: Religion in the 21 Century looking ahead
Chapter 19: Definitions
Faith: Belief anchored in conviction rather than scientific evidence.
Totem: An object in the natural world collectively defined as sacred.
Religion: For most of human history; humans living in small societies connected birth, death and all
in between with supernatural forces. However in the past several hundred years science has offered
alternative explanations for the natural world; and scientific sociologists offer different explanations
of how and why societies operate the way they do. Religion is a matter of faith. Since religion is
based on faith rather than actual facts; sociologists are baffled why billions of people around the
world organize their entire lives around differing religions, gods and customs. And because religions
are about things that are supernatural it is impossible to verify or disprove by science.
The functions of religion: Durkheim argues that society is godlike because it exists beyond the lives
of all those that make it; since even though it’s individual members may die it lives on. And people
celebrate the power of their own society; primitively through totems. The totem becomes the center
piece of a ritual which symbolizes the power of society to transform individuals into powerful
collectivity.
Religion: Major Functions
1. Social Cohesion:
(Religion unites people through shared symbols, values and norms. The religious doctrine and
ritual establish rules of fair play that makes organized social life possible; religious life puts
emphasis on our moral and emotional ties to on another.
2. Social control:
(Every society uses religious images and stories to promote conformity. Societies attribute
good norms such as marriage and reproduction with religion and use the religion as a
justification for them. Religion was also used to determine the political system; kings used to
rule by divine right. Today politicians still ask for god’s blessing implying that their efforts
are right and just.
3. Providing meaning and purpose:
(Religion makes people feel better by justifying their existence, in this way people will not
despair when life challenges them. For this reason major life events are marked by religious
occurrence: Marriage, birth, death.
Religion: As power Marx
Marx argues that religion serves the elite by legitimizing the status quo and diverting people’s
attention from the social inequalities of society. Hinduism for example creates and reinforces a caste
system which is a system of stratification. Christian church created allot of wealth for its leaders.
Religion is close with the political elite; Vatican has the status of a country in international law.
Religion also promotes gender and ethnic inequality: most religions were based on patriarchy around
males. Powerful Christian nations justified the colonization and exploitation of Africa, Americas and
Asia by claiming that they were converting heathens. And if political change is attempted it is said
that people are working against god. Marx said “The sigh of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a
heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people”.
Critical comment: In the 19th century religious groups were at the forefront to abolish slavery. In the
US Martin Luther King, JR were at the core of the civil rights movement and today serve as the main
lobbyists for the needs of poor immigrants from Latin America. So it is not all bad.
Chapter 6: The black underclass urban decay
Page 162: Difference between primary and secondary groups
Page 163: Table about the differences
Chapter 6: Definitions
Social Group: Two or more people who identify and interact with one another.
Primary group: A small social group whose members share personal and enduring relationship.
Primary Groups: Individuals that are very close to one another family and friends. It is people you
see and spent allot of time with every day, and that you feel comfortable being yourself around, and
that you trust. Additionally, the primary group offers a sort of a heaven in the storm and can provide
financial or other assistance. However, we don’t often ask close friends to help us move unpaid or to
just do something for us without returning the favor. Ergo Primary groups are an end not a means to
an end.
Primary Group Characteristics:
Quality of Relationships: Personal orientation
Duration of relationships: Usually long-term
Breadth of relationships: Broad; usually involving many activities
Subjective perception of relationships: As ends in themselves
Typical examples: Families, circle of friends
Secondary group: Is people we do not care about as individuals but think of in terms of what they
can do for us. Store keepers, neighbors and the like. For a store keeper you do not care about their
name or their life you are buying a good and paying for it by money; similarly, when a neighbor asks
for a favor you expect that the favor will be returned in the future. Secondary groups are therefore
groups you do not care about on a personal level.
Secondary Group Characteristics:
Quality of relationships: Goal orientation
Duration of the relationship: Variable; often short-term
Breadth of relationships: Narrow; usually involving few activities
Subjective perception of relationships: As means to an end
Typical examples: Co-workers; political organizations
Chapter 16: Citizenship
Page 516: Theoretical analysis on power in society and a table
Page 525: Paragraph dealing with new politics rise of social movements
Chapter 16: Definitions
Hegemony: The means by which a ruling/dominant group wins over a subordinated group through
ideas.
Political equality is one of the great myths of our time; the state always works in the interests of the
dominant, ruling economic class, it favors and supports capital. There are systems of checks and
balances different government organs and pressure groups; but often they are masks for what is truly
happening.
Antonio Gramsci: Italian Marxist imprisoned for most of his life than killed by the fascists; he was a
communist and believed that no government can rule by force alone for long; it would need the
support of the working class. For hegemony to work the dominant group must convince the
subordinate groups to listen to them and agree with them.
Ralph Miliband: He showed that cabinet ministers, senior police, top judges all work in the interest of
capital and occupy elite positions in the bourgeoisie. Much work goes to the media for hiding the real
nature of the power providing a process of legitimation.
Nicos Poulantzas: He looks at the state as part of society; independent of people. The ruling class does
not govern but its interests are served through autonomous functioning of state which rises above
sectional interest and maintains a myth of public interests and national unity. The state works through
a repressive apparatus army, police using coercive power and an ideological apparatus church,
schools, media which manipulates values and beliefs. Can’t be proven or disproven and offers no way
for the individual to do anything.
Three models of contemporary politics and society:
Pluralist:
Distribution of power: Highly dispersed
Is it democratic? Yes: every vote counts; no one groups dominates.
Voter apathy: Some people are just not interested, but all could have a voice.
Power elite:
Distribution of power: Concentrated
Is it democratic: No: A small share of people dominate economy, armed services and government.
Voter apathy: How can ordinary folk stop ‘Big government’? Apathy is perfectly understandable.
Ruling class:
Distribution of power: Concentrated
Is it democratic? No: concentration of wealth and power
Voter apathy: Apathy is alienation more people are powerless.
New politics: Rise of social movement
Politics is always moving and changing, and in the 21st century there are hints that new politics are in
the meaning: Evidenced by partial break-up of nation states, globalized politics and the creation of
major new political units such as the EU; the new wars and collapse of the traditional divide between
left and right. Seeming growth of political apathy and voter discontent. Potential for digital
democracy where voting is done through computers; as well as post-materialist values. Sub-politics
the world of major political institutions is under question through a politics that takes place in
everyday life. Formal politics become less and less effective as sub-politics develop. Rise and
proliferation of new social movements which are far more common today than they were in the past.