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Transcript
Alienation Theory as an application to your experiences at work. Your Job • What do you like about your job? – What do think are the positive elements of a good job? • What do you hate about your job? – What are the worst things about a bad job? Human Nature? • Because of how we evolved, people really desire to be creative and produce something (usually with their hands) in a social context. Alienation • According to Karl Marx, there are 4 forms of alienation. – Product – Process – Others – Species Being • These forms of alienation take away our “human nature.” Alienation from Product • Estrangement from the things we make – The things we make do not belong to us. – As the worker produces, they are debilitated. • Estrangement from nature – Workers do not engage environment directly. – Products take on a life of their own. Alienation from Product • Alienation – ? – Perhaps, we have no connection to the product we produce, so we don’t recognize we should in our typical jobs! • “Now that’s the best quarter pounder I ever made!” • Less Alienated – Something I like – Meaningful (product) – Difference in the world – Accomplish Something – Work outside Alienation from Process • The mental aspect is stripped from labor. – People do not have control over their work. • People do not meet their needs directly. – Work is a means to earn wages. – Wages are used to buy the things we need. Alienation from Process – Boring • Dead End, Needs to be different, Tedious, Mindless, Meaningless tasks, Nothing to do – Bad Management • No Respect, Push you to work hard, No support, Bosses engage in politics, Do not work Micromanage, Rigid rules, Unjust policies, Opinions do not matter – Low Wages • No Benefits – Long Hours • Understaffed – Not enough hours • Part time – No Advancement – Interferes with other parts of life – No free time – Being deployed away from home Less Alienation from Process – Job is interesting • • • • Variation - different Mentally challenging Learn new skills Choices – Good Management • • • • • Respect Do not expect too much Help Fair Acknowledge work – Wages • Bonuses – Benefits • Insurance/Health Care – Flexible Work hours • Good Work hours – Possibility for Advancement Alienation from Others • Relations between people become relations between people and objects. – No longer meet our needs through people we know. • People treat each other as workers, not as fellow people. Alienation from Others • Alienation – Bad Co-Workers • • • • • Work less/lazy Complain Conflict Office politics Discrimination • Less Alienated – Get along with coworkers • Fun • Social • Communication – Bad Customers • • • • Make it difficult Rude (Cell Phones) Belittled Don’t cooperate or understand – Get along with people – Work with people Alienation from Species Being • What it means to be a social being is lost in wage work. – We lose our creative sense of self and do not identify with our work, but “animal” functions. – The social nature of making things is taken away since we usually do not know who ends up with the things we make. Alienation from Species Being • Alienation – Don’t like Job • Stress • Unhappy – Put on "fake smile" – Rather be doing other things – Takes time out of the day • Less Alienated – Job Satisfaction • Keep busy • Low stress • Fun / feel good – Something I want to do – Meaningful (to society/self) – Keep healthy / physical Animal Functions • What do I value in my free time? – Sex – Sleep/Naps – Eating – Nothing - No Thinking Species Being in Free Time • Product – Outdoors / lake • Process – – – – – – – – Creative Flexible Stress Free Relax No pressure to get things done No management No one yelling at you Am own boss • Others – – – – Family Friends Socialization Party • Species – – – – – Do what you want or like Freedom Independence Fun Athletic Theory The Framework of Sociology Sociological Perspectives • The three “perspectives” of Sociology • Alienation as an example of theory Sociological Perspectives • The “story” of Sociology tends to be placed in boxes. • While sociologists are associated with certain perspectives, they are more complex that your text suggests. • To make it easy to understand, Sociology is divided into “perspectives.” Sociological Perspectives • Conflict – Society changes as a result of struggles of various groups against each other as a result of inequality. • Interactionist – The world is socially constructed - meaning that we interpret the world around us and act based on those interpretations. • Functionalist – The elements of society are understood by their role (function) in maintaining society. Karl Marx • Lived from 1818 to 1883 • Political Economist • Studied Philosophy • Associated with the Conflict Perspective Classes • Classes arise out of the ability of one group to take what some else produces. – Slave owners take the slaves’ labor and what they produce. – Feudal lords take what peasants produce. – Workers under capitalism receive wages instead of what they produce. Conflict Perspective • Recognizes inequality between groups. • To understand history and society, we must understand how people use power to their advantage. • Does NOT assume conflict is inevitable. Conflict Perspective • The Conflict Perspective focuses on the inequalities between groups to understand social issues and changes over time. – Genocide in Rwanda in 1994 • Origins in Colonial period • Established one ethnic group as • elite class over another. – Fundamental Question: • How does inequality spark conflict? Conflict Perspective • The Conflict Perspective also suggests changes. – Informs public policy decisions. – Studies and participates in social movements. Max Weber • Lived from 1864 to 1920 • Historical Sociologist • Critical of Marxists • Associated with Interactionist Perspective Verstehen • Weber also argued that Sociologists should attempt to study their subjects deeply. • Research should attempt to find the multiple causes of a social issue. • Sociology is different from “natural” sciences in that it is “interpretive.” Interactionist Perspective • Interactionists focus on the “social construction” of the world around us. • They focus on the meaning that people attach to actions and institutions. • They also may look at how that meaning is manipulated by people in power (notice the link to conflict theory). Interactionist Perspective • The Interactionist Perspective attempts to understand the meanings people associate with their social actions and the social institutions around them. – Genocide in Rwanda in 1994 • Extremist Hutu leaders used radio • programs to dehumanize Tutsis. – Fundamental Question: • How are Extemist Hutus able to shape • people’s perceptions about Tutsis? Emile Durkheim • Lived from 1858 to 1917 • Wanted to make Sociology a science. • Concerned with what held society together • Associated with the Functionalist Perspective Integration into Society • Social institutions help integrate people into society. • Some institutions are better than others. – Durkheim used the example of religion to explain Suicide. • Catholics committed suicide less than Protestants because the Protestants had greater freedom in their religion. Functionalist Perspective • Assumes the natural state is order or equilibrium. • Attempts to understand the role of various social institutions and practices to maintain that order. • Institutions and practices that disturb the order are considered deviant. – But even deviance plays a role in society! Functionalist Perspective • People who follow the Functionalist Perspective attempt to demonstrate how different social institutions provide a function for society or resolve deviations from order. – Genocide in Rwanda in 1994 • 800,000+ killings stretch courts. • What other mechanisms can be • used to deal with the crimes? – Fundamental Question: • What social institutions can • reestablish order? Sociological Perspectives • Conflict (Marx) – Society changes as a result of struggles of various groups against each other as a result of inequality. • Interactionist (Weber) – The world is socially constructed - meaning that we interpret the world around us and act based on those interpretations. • Functionalist (Durkheim) – The elements of society are understood by their role (function) in maintaining society.