Sociology Lectures PDF

Sociology What is Sociology? Sociology is the scientific study of society through the application of “logos”and the scientific method, not our wishful thinking - Sociology involved the study of: inequality, education, deviance, family - We have two meta-paradigms in sociology - So...

Sociology What is Sociology? Sociology is the scientific study of society through the application of “logos”and the scientific method, not our wishful thinking - Sociology involved the study of: inequality, education, deviance, family - We have two meta-paradigms in sociology - Social Structure (Pessimist): does not considered us to be free but rather shaped in our decision by the expectations and punishments of society - Agency (Positive): we are agents, we change and shape society constantly - Social Cohesion is given when members of a society share a set of values or cultural customs and therefore are more likely to interact and cooperate with one another Everybody is a Social Scientist - Pettigrew - Everybody seems to be able to give facts about social sciences plainly following “common sense”. But this conventional wisdom (aphorisms) does not always truly represent reality. - He believes social scientists should write more clearly (less neologisms) and a healthy skepticism should be held around social sciences - Relative deprivation - persons may feel deprived of some desirable thing comparing themselves relative to their own past or other reference groups - Distinguishes between: - Cross-sectional research - data is collected as a whole at a single point in time - Longitudinal research - data is collected from the same sample repeatedly over time - Five of the reasons why social studies are so complex: - Multiple Causation: social fenomena rarely depends on one only variable but on a variety of them. Therefore it is sometimes complicated to extract the causal relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. According to this we distinguish between: - Open systems: the key variables that are being tested are not the only ones operating - Closed systems: where “contaminating” variables external from what's being studied are isolated - Multilevel: we humans group ourselves in social arrangements that follow relatively persistent (lasting over time) patterns (not random) - Relational: comes back to the idea of open systems where we depend on our relationship with our environment as well as on our links within the social structure - Reactivity: humans react to their environment. That's something many experiments have to take into account in order not to commit a self-fulfilling prophecy (an economic forecast of bad times ahead, may scare investors and make them sell their stocks indeed producing a bad economic situation) - Measurement error: is always much more significant in social sciences than natural ones. - Variable error: random error than can be reduced by having more observations or subjects -> it influences reliability (consistency in measurement), which can be increased by repeating a one observation over time (test-retest) or by a major correlation between items of the same measure (internal consistency) - Constant error: non-random error that will be magnified by increasing the number of observation or subjects -> it influences validity (actually measuring what you intend to measure) in four stages: what it seems on the  face of it, whether the measure relates with others of the construct (convergent) or if on the contrary it fails to do so (divergent); as well as the relationship with other variables (criterion) Development of Sociological Thinking (Handbook) Auguste Compte - “Father” of sociology - French philosopher that invented the word sociology believed the scientific method could be used to study human behavior based on scientific evidence Herbert Spencer - Survival of the fittest - British philosopher that defended development as a result of individual achievements - “Survival of the fittest” -> in a way the State should not assist in improving the life chances of individual, to do so would interfere in the natural order Émile Durkheim - Functionalism - Went a step further than Compte arguing that sociology should study social facts (as things) scientifically. Example of social fact: social cohesion prevents suicide - The Division of Labor in Society (Durkheim): two ways by which a group of people can be told to be a society - Mechanic Solidarity: social integration of members of a society who have common values and beliefs (social cohesion). Common in fragile primitive societies with no mass technology. Durkheim believed people knew how to do almost everything (no specialization/division of labor) so everyone was disposable, if they died others could carry out their job. Members feel very close/attached to each other, a feeling of community (allegiance) and not of individuals. Much social control and commitment. - Organic solidarity: social integration that arises out of the need of individuals for one another’s services. Common in more complex but at the same time more resistant societies where there is advanced technology and a much more clear division of labor. It is as a complex living organism, people are together not because of a sense of community or allegiance but because they rely on each other for survival (interdependent). There is not that much social cohesion but more sense of freedom. - Social constraint: society limits our actions - He also made studies around suicide - anomie: situation where social norms lose their hold on an individual behavior, they feel out of control, unprotected and detached from society (lack of social cohesion) - Suicide is not the only way of manifesting anomie, there’s crime or depression too - Anomie is not found in primitive societies (with mechanic solidarity) because there everyone shares the same values, blames the same agent…  - Nomos: Plural nomoi. Provisional code of social and political behavior socially constructed and historically specific. It represents an order, valid and binding on those who fall under its jurisdiction; thus, it is a social construct with ethical dimensions. Marx - Held a materialist conception of history defending that social change is prompted by economic influences Weber - Opposed to the materialistic view of Marx, arguing values and ideas also influenced social change - Comparing Western and Oriental religious cultures he found out Christian beliefs had strongly influenced the rise of Capitalism - Bureaucracy: organization marked by a clear hierarchy of authority and written rule of procedure - Rationalization: process by which calculations and organization (bureaucracy, science, technology) come to dominate the social world Harriet Martineua - “first woman sociologist” that defended women’s rights and the abolition of slavery Modern Theoretical Approaches Theoretical approaches are a basic way of viewing society that guides thinking and research (as a road map): - Symbolic Interactionism (Mead, Goffman): emphasizes on the importance of language and symbols, which allow us to create ideas such as self-consciousness - Society as a product of the everyday interactions of individuals. Through speech we create reality and therefore behavior (witches) - Social Construct: an idea developed by a certain society that turns out not to be true. Exists not in objective reality, but as a result of human interaction. It exists because humans agree that it exists. - MICROSOCIOLOGY: study of everyday behavior in face-to-face interactions - Functionalism (Durkheim): defends that in order to study the function of a social activity we need to analyze its contribution to the continuation of society as a whole - The most important social functions (what society needs to do) are family, politics, economy, religion, education, science… - Uses the analogy of the human body. Society is a system; if one part of system does no work properly, the whole system is affected (parts are dependent on one another) - Defends social equilibrium, which they believe the normal state of society - Merton distinguishes in his rain dance example between: - Manifest functions: known an intended - Latent functions: underlying consequences of the intended activity of which participants are unaware - He also claims the existence of dysfunctional aspects that challenge order/equilibrium  - Blames symbolic interactionism for not being able to explain large-scale structures and processes - MACROSOCIOLOGY: operates with big variables to explain large scale social systems or long term processes of change - Conflict theories believe social order to be maintained by domination. Opposite to the functionalism branch, they do not defend equilibrium as a society's normal but rather social conflict. They believe the basis of these social conflicts is found on the economy (wealth and power) - Marxism: (sociological analysis and political reform) defends power involves the use of force and/or a dominant ideology. There’s a constant social conflict as the main interest of the ruling class is to exploit the working class while workers try to overcome this exploitation -> this conflict will end up in communal ownership and result in a more equal society - Feminist theory: claims gender inequalities and patterns are not natural but socially constructed, studying how to overcome them. Feminism refers to the advocacy of equal right for men and women in all spheres - Rational Choice: defends that an individual's behavior is purposive, it follows a purpose (usually self-interest / Game Theory). Though it fails to explain behaviors such as altruism or love. - Postmodernism: believes society is no longer governed by history or progress (no “grand narrative”). Postmodern society is pluralistic and diverse, greaterly shaped by media images rather than real persons or places which reverses the Marxist theorem (Baudrillard) Merton argued sociologists should not seek to create grand theoretical schemes but rather develop middle-range theories. No single theoretical approach can therefore explain the whole of sociology, which rescues us from dogma. GAME THEORY / Rational Choice Theory Derives from the concept of homo economicus - we always follow our own interests, having certain ordered preferences (rational behavior) - The prisoner's dilemma shows us the importance of trust among people - If we increase the punishments we change the game (mafia -> i will kill you; religion -> God will punish you). We therefore act irrationally but we end up better off. Public good: a good whose creation’s cost does not depend on the number of people who will benefit from it later. At the same time it's not possible to prevent people who have not contributed in its creation from enjoying it - Logic collective action - people would not contribute on the creation of a public good without the certainty that other people will do the same; even more if they might be able to enjoy those goods without necessarily contributing to their creation - A solution to this would be selective incentives - benefits are only given to those who contribute to the creation of goods Research Methods Positivist sociologists want to build a theory, their goal is to find an explanation by testing their hypotheses - what independent variables cause a certain dependent variable (cause and effect) - CORRELATION (regression line) IS NOT CAUSALITY - there are no “normal conditions” in sociology (no labs) - that's why it is comparative - Hawthorne effect - if subjects realize they’re being studied they modify their behavior - It is hard to measure social phenomenon (no universal indicators) - Variables - concept whose values can change over time - Measurement - procedure that determines a value (reliability and validity) Values encourage different perspectives on sociological research; however, we must be careful with them. - Value-free research: sociologists should be dispassionate and detached (Weber) - Replication: repetition of the research by other investigators According to the research questions we use: - Quantitative data - better generalizations and comparisons - Qualitative data - it is sometimes used first to get acquaintance with the research question - Interviews - unstructured / semi-structured / structured - Focus groups - recorded “interview” of 5/7 people of the same social condition, trying to avoid the emergence of opinion leaders - subjects reinforce their opinions though that might lead to radicalization - Inductive Logic: Specific observations —> generalization —> General Theory Deductive Logic: General Theory —> testing of hypothesis —> Specific Observations (Positivist Sociology) Ethnography (Fieldwork): firsthand studies of people using observations and/or interviews - Participant - researcher participates in the subjects´ actives - Non-participant observation - researcher merely observes - Advantages: more in depth information - Disadvantages: only small groups can be studied, generalizability might be difficult, research is non-replicable (less reliable) Surveys: method in which questionnaires are administered to the population being studied. We find two different types of questions: - standardized / fixed-choice questions - open-ended questions Either way, questions should be strategically ordered and clearly understood (repeated/reworded if needed). Most surveys are preceded by a pilot study or first trial run that reveals problems with the survey not anticipated by the investigator. In order to obtain a representative sample of the total population, random sampling must be carried out (all members have the same probability of being included). When analyzing date we must take into account several statistical terms: - Measures of central tendency - Mean: average - misleading when a few cases differ a lot from the majority - Mode: figure that occurs the most frequently - gives no indication of the overall distribution - Median: number that falls halfway in a range of numbers - gives no indication of the overall distribution - Standard deviation - Degree of dispersal - range - Correlation coefficients - Perfect positive correlation 1.0. - Perfect negative correlation -1.0. - No relationship 0.0. Perfect correlations are never found in social science, therefore correlations over 0.6. indicate a strong connection. - Advantages: easy to collect and compare (especially with standardized questions) data from large numbers of individuals - Disadvantages: high standardization might not take into account the differences between people’s answers - responses should not be taken at face value (spiral of silence, strategic lying, opinions do not necessarily translate into behavior) Experiments: research method by which variables can be analyzed in an artificial and controlled situation, being the best method for ascertaining causality. In an experiment we find: - Experimental group - Control group - Advantages: they are easier to repeat - Disadvantages: subject might act artificially being affected by the experimental situation Comparative Historical Research: compares one set of finding on different societies and time periods Conformity, Deviance and Crime (Handbook) Deviance: nonconformity to a set of informal norms that a significant number of people in a society accept. Crime: is that behavior that breaks formal written laws Although crime and deviance are usually related, many deviant behaviors are not criminal and vice versa. Deviance can drastically change across different cultures, deviance and criminal behavior are all relative. Deviant subcultures (Cloward and Ohlin) are formed when underprivileged individuals whose chances of achievement are low hold values that differ substantially from those of the majority. Sanctions include any reaction from others that is meant to ensure that person or group complies with a given norm. They might be classified as: - positive - rewards for conformity - negative - punishment for nonconformity As well as: - Formal sanctions: applied by a specific group or agency - laws would be norms established by political authority whose nonconformity implies crime - Informal sanctions: less organized reactions to nonconformity usually given by other regular members of the community that appeal to fear of ostracism (sarcasm, disapproving looks…) These sanctions are provided by agencies of social control to prevent deviance and crime: - Formal agencies of social control - police, judiciary - Informal agencies of social control - other regular members of the community (peers, family…) There are two type of explanations on the origin of crime and deviance: - Biological - Cesare Lombroso - Sociological - functionalism, marxism, interactionism, feminism Functionalist Theories on Crime - argue crime occurs when aspirations of individuals and groups do not coincide with available opportunities. One of its key assumptions is that deviance is a necessary part of social organization, it has a positive function. - Durkheim's concept of anomie also applies to deviance. He considered crime and deviance as inevitable in modern societies where there is more room for individual choice (there’s never a complete consensus). In fact, he believed deviance had two main functions: - Adaptive - introducing new ideas that lead to social change - Boundary maintenance between “good and bad”, strengthening our common values as a society (catharsis) HOWEVER: this functionalist perspective fails to explain why some people turn to deviant behavior and others don’t. - Merton reinterpreted anomie as the strain put on an individual's behavior when accepted norms conflict with social reality (the idea of material success through hard work and real economic inequalities). Based on their responses to this phenomena he classified people as: - Conformists - accept socially approved values and conventional means of realizing them - Innovators - accept socially approved values but use illegal means of realizing them (mafia) - Ritualists - conforms conventional means but have lost sight of their underlying values (devote themselves to boring jobs) - Retreatists - reject both socially approved values and conventional means, abandoning the competitive outlook (self-supporting commune) - Rebels - reject both socially approved values and conventional means but work to change and reconstruct the social system (radical political groups)  - Merton also introduced the term of relative deprivation - the one a person feels by comparing themselves to a group that's better than him - Subcultural explanations argue deviance behaviors are not given by individual response but through collective actions that derive from a lack of legitimate equal opportunities in certain subcultures. Interactionist Theories on Crime - focus on deviance as a socially constructed phenomena rejecting it as an inherent conduct. Thus, rather than concentrating on deviants factors, interactionists concentrate on the interactions between “non-deviants” and potential “deviants”. - Differential association (Sutherland) defends criminal behavior is learned through interactions with others who engage in crime. We become deviant when exposed to a higher level of deviant persons compared with conventional influences. - Labeling theory (Becker) defends people become deviant because certain labels are attached to them. Thus, holds that the very same system to correct deviant behavior (prisons and social agencies) reinforces a criminal self-view and a criminal behavior. Lemert introduced the concepts of: - Primary deviation takes place when others label one as deviant - Secondary deviations occurs when the individual accepts the label and sees himself as deviant finally leading to deviant behavior (self-fulfilling profecy) HOWEVER: this theory does not take into account the individual's background just as other factors which could motivate deviant behavior after a conviction Conflict Theories on Crime - argues deviance is deliberate and often political, individuals choose to engage in deviant behavior in response to the capitalist system’s inequalities, challenging the social order. Thus law enforcement is used by the powerful to maintain their privileged position. In the same way, people with little power are at high risk of being labeled deviant. HOWEVER higher privileged classes can also follow deviance behaviors as is the case of white-collar crimes Control Theories on Crime - defend humans are selfish beings who make calculated decisions whether to engage in criminal activity by weighing the benefits and risks. Four bonds that link people to society are established; the highest these bonds are, the less likely delinquency may result: - Attachment - emotional ties to people who accept conventional norms  - Commitment - rewards by participating in conventional activities - Involvement - one’s current participation in conventional activities (paid employment, school, community activities) - Beliefs - holding moral and values that are consistent with those of society These theorists therefore argue that the best way to prevent crime is not to change the criminal but to do things hard for him such as with community policing or house alarms (target-hardening techniques). Problems with measuring crime In order to know about crime we need to collect data from official statistics websites. However, these might not always be reliable as there are a lot of unreported crimes (e.g. sex abuse) that we need to estimate. Different social, economic and political contexts also make it hard to study crime and deviance around the globe: - Different definitions for specific crime types in different countries - what is considered sexual harassment in Spain in contrast with in Colombia? - Different levels of reporting in different countries according to the level of trust to the police by the population Other concepts on Deviance - Zimbardo’s theory on Broken Windows - the appearance of a broken window of a car encourages greater acts of vandalism on it - minor deviance leads to a spiral of crime and social decay - Chivalry thesis - female offenders are treated more leniently because male officers adopt a “chivalrous” attitude towards them - White-collar crime - criminal activities carried out by affluent people (tax fraud, antitrust violations, embezzlement…) - Corporate crime - offenses committed by large corporations including six types of violations: administrative, environmental, financial, labor, manufacturing and unfair trade practices - Cybercrime - criminal activities by means of electronic networks or information technologies - Alternatives to reduce crime: - community policing - shaming: - stigmatizing shaming - related to labeling theory and the idea that labeling and efforts to marginalize the individual reinforce the person’s criminal conduct - reintegrative shaming - people close to the criminal both condemn him and accept the responsibility for reintegrating him into the community Gender Inequality (Handbook) Some basic concepts in the study of gender inequality are: - Intersectionality: sociological perspective that holds our multiple group memberships affect our lives in ways that are distinct from single group memberships (race, social class, age…). The experience of a black female is different from that of a white female or black male. - Sex: biological and anatómica differences distinguishing females and males - Gender: social expectations about behavior regarded as appropriate for the members of each sex, stereotypes that change from culture to culture - Sexuality: sexual attraction, practices and identity - Cisgender: individual whose gender identity matches his or her biological sex - Transgender: a person who identifies as or expresses a gender identity that differs from their sex at birth - Intersex: an individual possessing both male and female genitalia or ambiguous genitalia - Bigender: could fit in both genders - Agender: fits in neither one of the two genders - Third gender is found is some certain cultures - Gender inequality: inequality between men and women in terms of wealth, income and status - Hegemonic masculinity: social norms dictating that men should be strong, self-reliant and unemotional - Gender Social Norms Index measures how social beliefs obstruct gender equality in different areas (politics, economics…) in different countries, based on the perception of participants. Nevertheless, gender bias may not be the only thing explaining gender inequality (careful with univariate analysis) -  - Gender Inequality Index - measures gender inequalities in three important aspects of human development: - reproductive health - empowerment - economic status When it comes to understanding the differences and influences of these concepts several approaches exist: - Biological essentialism: the view that differences between men and women are natural and inevitable consequences of their intrinsic biological natures. - Critics: social influences are usually neglected or minimized - Gender role socialization: the learning of gender roles through social factors such as schooling, the media and family. Children are guided in this process through positive and negative sanctions. - Critics: ignores the individual's ability to reject or modify the social expectations of surrounding sex roles - Social construction of gender (blank slate idea): the learning of gender roles through socialization and interaction with others. We learn how to “do” gender in our daily interactions with others - Margaret Mead's study on gender roles of three different tribes of New Guinea (not completely reliable): - Arapesh - men and women are cooperative and sensitive - Mundugumor- men and women are selfish and aggressive - Tchambuli - men are submissive, emotional and nurturing; while women are dominant and rational Functionalist Theories on Gender Inequality - argue that gender differences and specifically men’s and women’s specialization in different tasks (the ones for which they are biologically best suited) contribute to social stability and integration. Talcott Parsons believed that stable supportive families were the key to children’s successful socialization. - women carried out expressive roles (care, security, emotional support) - men carried out instrumental roles (breadwinners) John Bowlby argued that the mother is crucial to the primary socialization of children, providing them with close and continuous care. Liberal Feminism - posits that gender inequality is produced by unequal access to civil rights and certain social resources. Therefore it seeks solutions through changes in legislation that ensure the rights of individuals are protected. Critics: - have been unsuccessful in dealing with the root cause of gender inequality Radical Feminism - posits that gender inequality is the result of patriarchy (male domination in all aspects of social and economic life). It holds that women cannot be liberated from sexual oppression through legislative reforms or gradual attitudinal change, gender equality can only be attained by overthrowing the patriarchal order. Critics: - patriarchy as a universal phenomenon does not leave room for historical and cultural variations (risks biological reductionism) Social Feminism - like Marxist theory it argues that capitalist society is oppressive toward ethnic minorities. - it challenges liberal feminism - true equality through policy reforms is not possible in a society whose social and economic structures are fundamentally flawed - it challenges radical feminism - it recognizes the fundamental oppression of women in patriarchal societies but believes this to be only one of the several axes of oppression so men and women should work together to fight class oppression Black Feminism - rejects the idea of a single unified gender oppression that is experienced evenly by all women and argue that early feminist analysis reflected the specific concerns of white, middle-class women (Bell hooks). Transnational Feminism - highlights the way that global processes (colonialism, racism, imperialism…) shape gender relations and hierarchies. Strong human rights orientations seeing research as integral to social change. Postmodern Feminism - reject the claim that there is a grand theory that can explain the position of women in society (patriarchy, race, class = essentialist) as well as a universal essence or category of “woman” Opposition to feminism - Right wing populists: believes feminism is a threat to male status and privilege - Conservatives: go against some radical feminist discourses - Resistance to feminism is strongest among women with lower levels of education Gender inequality in the workplace - Gender typing - situation where women hold occupations of lower status and pay (secretarial, caretaking) while men hold jobs of higher status and pay (managerial, business). - Glass ceiling - promotion barrier that prevents women’s upward mobility within an organization, particularly problematic in male-dominated occupations - Glass escalator - process by which men who work in female-dominated professions enjoy a boost up the corporate ladder, facing invisible pressures to move up - The feminization of the global workforce has brought the increased exploitation of young uneducated women Gender pay gap - two different views: - Human capital theory (Gary Becker) - individuals make investments in their own human capital (school, training, work experience) and those whose invest more are considered more productive and consequently paid higher wages. So the gender pay gap could disappear if men and women received equal education and took equal responsibility for family commitments (work-life balance) - Feminism believes women are most of the time forced to choose a certain career, defending as well that women’s work is devalued. So in order to eliminate the gender pay gap a drastic change in gender ideology must occur. Global Inequality Globalisation - the increased economic, political and social interconnectedness of the world that has produced more global billionaires in the past quarter century than ever before, also resulting in growing inequalities. When it comes to inequality we must distinguish between: - Global inequality: systematic differences in wealth and power among countries. This is based on: - Wealth - Health - Hunger/Malnutrition - Education - Inequality within countries According to their gross national incomes (GNI) countries are classified as: - High income countries ($12,476 per person or more) - Upper middle income ($12,476 - $4,035) - Lower middle income ($4,035 - $1,025) - Low income ($1,025 or less) In 2016, nearly half of the world's population (49%) lived in low-income or lower-middle countries while fewer than 16% lived in high-income countries. GNI classification may be misleading as many people in low-income countries produce only for their own families or for barter, with noncash transactions. There is an inverse relationship between income level and population growth, the poorer the country the faster the growth in population. In poorer countries children can be an economic asset while in wealthy countries they are more likely to be an economic burden. Market-oriented theories - assume that the best possible economic consequences will result if individuals are free to make their own economic decisions, uninhibited by governmental constraint. - Modernization theory (W.W.Rostow) argues that low-income societies economically develop only if they give up their traditional ways and adopt modern economic institutions, technologies and cultural values. So they do not analyze why there are poor countries but what are the characteristics of rich countries. Rostow views economic growth as going through four different stages. i. Traditional stage - lack of strong work ethic, excessive large families, a view of hardship and suffering as unavoidable ii. Takeoff to economic growth - poor countries begin abandoning their traditional values and institutions, saving for the future iii. Drive to technological maturity - with the help of high-income countries, they improve technology adopting high-income institutions and values iv. High mass consumption - people can enjoy the fruits of their labor by achieving a high standard of living - Neoliberalism - believes that free-market forces, achieved by minimizing government restrictions on business, provide the only route to economic growth. It seeks an end to restrictions such as minimum wage, environmental legislations… PROBLEMS → Ignores ties between poor and wealthy countries as well as the ways the government can work with the private sector to spur economic development. Dependency theories - based on Marxist theories, they argue that the poverty of low-income countries stems directly from the exploitation by wealthy countries and their multinational corporations. They believe exploitation became a major force with colonialism but achieved its high point in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. - Dependent development (Fernando Henrique Cardoso) argues that poor countries can still develop economically but only in ways shaped by their reliance on the wealthier countries PROBLEMS → They cannot explain the occasional success of some formerly colonized and low-income countries or why some countries that were not colonized like Ethiopia, are poor. World-systems theory (Immanuel Wallerstein) - emphasizes the interconnections among countries based on the expansion of a capitalist world economy, not as a collection of independent countries engaged in relations with one another but rather as a system that must be understood as a single unit. Unlike market-oriented theories, world-systems argue that appropriate government policies do not interfere with economic development but rather promote it. This world system comprises four overlapping elements: 1. World market for goods and labor 2. Division of the population into different economic classes (capitalist and workers) 3. International system of formal and informal political relations and competition among powerful countries 4. Division of the world into three unequal economic zones: a. core - most advanced industrial countries taking profits from countries in the other two zones b. semiperiphery - semi-industrialized countries that extract profits from peripheral countries but in turn yield profits to the core countries c. periphery - largely agricultural countries that provide raw materials from the core receiving finished goods from it in turn PROBLEMS → Too much emphasis on economic and political forces at the expense of cultural ones, as well as of the role of nations when transnational corporations operate independently of national borders. Global commodity chains - worldwide networks of labor and production processes yielding a finished product where manufacturing becomes increasingly globalized. PROBLEMS → Emphasize the importance of business decisions over the roles of workers and governments. According to Korzeniewicz and Moran: - Inequality within countries can be explained through a vicious cycle of persistent levels of inequality promoted by discrimination on the bases of race, ethnicity and nationality that exclude people from economic and social opportunities - Inequality between countries has increased since the nineteenth century which suggests that the global system is trapped in a vicious cycle of self perpetuating inequality promoted by high-income countries' institutions that restrict the ability of people to immigrate. Its decline in the past decade could be explained by the economic rise of China Inequality today - Gini Index - used to measure the extent to which the distribution of income deviates from a perfectly equal distribution G = A/(A+B) (0=perfect quality; 1=extreme inequality) - Extreme poverty - defined by the World Bank as those living on less than $1.90 a day - Emerging economies - developing countries such as India and Singapore that over the past two or three decades have begun to develop a strong industrial base  - Globalization might end up in a negative scenario (world dominated by large corporations) or positive scenario (greater opportunities for everyone provided by technology) with respect to global inequality - Globalization might not be the reason why high-income countries are increasing their job loss rates. Technological advances are decreasing the need for human workforce in both high (USA) and low income countries (China) Inequality and social stratification Throughout history, inequality has existed in our society. It seems like some people have just always had more wealth, power and prestige than others. - Kuznets inequality curve - hypothesizes that industrializing nations experience a rise and subsequent decline in income inequality. Kuznets thought economic inequality would increase as rural labor migrated to the cities, keeping wages down as workers competed for jobs; but social mobility increased again once a certain level of income was reached as the welfare state took hold. This has resulted in social stratification, a process by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy made of strata or layers. These divisions lead to social inequality - the unequal distribution of resources and social rewards. Social stratification is based on four important principles: 1. Social stratification is a trait of society - not simply a reflection of individual differences. People born in a wealthy family have better chances of doing well in life just because they have more opportunities. 2. Social stratification persists over generations - most people remain at the same class as their parents although some can experience social mobility (either upwards or downwards) 3. Social stratification is universal but variable - it is found everywhere in the world but how unequal it is depends on the place 4. Social stratification involves not just inequality but beliefs as well - beliefs are the reasons why these differences emerge Social stratification might be considered as necessary (functionalism) as it provides incentives for individuals to move upward on the labour market and reach for prestigious jobs that societies need (doctors). Sociologist distinguish between: Closed systems - social stratification in which status is ascribed from birth and so there is little or no social mobility (slavery, caste system…) Open systems - social stratification in which status is achieved through merit or effort. In this meritocracy, social mobility is more likely (class system) and ideally the acquired status is what explains social positions. Social mobility is the movement between or within social classes. We distinguish between: - Horizontal mobility: movement within a social class: geographically, working for other firms… (you change from being a university teacher in Pamplona to being a university teacher in Granada, you change from being a banker at Bankia from being a banker at BBVA…) - Vertical mobility: movement between social classes. - Intragenerational mobility - changes within a one person’s lifetime - Intergenerational mobility - opportunity for children to move beyond their social origins and obtain a status not dictated by that of their parents In societies where social networks (“enchufismo") are important for the labor market, social mobility is harder. Slavery - a person who is forced to work against her/his will is owned or controlled by an exploiter or “employer”, he has limited freedom of movement and is deshumanised (treated as a commodity or bought and sold as property). Forced labour usually happens in the context of poverty, lack of sustainable jobs and education, as well as a weak rule of law. Estimate: around 40 million people in the world (i.e. 1 out of 200 people is a slave) - State-imposed forced labour: work imposed in prisons, by the state military or by rebel armed forces Slaves are usually… - more females than males - more children than adults - highest in Africa than in any other continent Caste system - closed stratification system where resources and social rewards are distributed based on ascribed lifelong statuses. - Prohibits exogamy - marriage outside the caste - Promotes endogamy - marriage within the caste In India caste rules are unconstitutional but still play a major role in society. Class system - “open” social stratification system based on both birth and individual achievements - ideally. Social classes result from the unequal distribution of: - Wealth = assets (value of everything a person owns) + income (money earned through salaries and other capital gains) - Power - ability to control the behavior of others with ot without their consent - Prestige - the respect, honor or recognition an individual receives - it changes throughout history (the military and the priests where the most prestigious jobs during Franco’s dictatorship) Measuring poverty - we distinguish between: 1. Absolute poverty - being unequal to subsist with your own resources, being below the monetary poverty line established by the Word Bank ($1.9 a day at PPP). 2. Relative poverty - is understood as the inability to reach a minimum accepted standard of living in a particular society (not the same in London as in Bamako). The decision of where to place the poverty line is therefore arbitrary although some usual definitions are: a. The poor = those below 50% of the national median (mediana) income b. The very poor= those below 40% of the national median income Social Exclusion is considered as material deprivation; if you comply with at least 4 of the 9 deprivation items established by the UE, you are considered to be under social exclusion (pay rent, keep home warm, eat meat or fish…) Child income poverty rate - the proportion of children (0-17 years old) with an equivalised disposable income of less than 40% of the national annual median disposable income. It is more common in single-mother households and it is considered especially important as early malnutrition could mean medical health problems all throughout the rest of a child's lifetime. As poverty is self-perpetuating, children of a poor start have a disadvantage relative to others and it is harder for them to achieve a better life. Families and Intimate Relationships Two different views on the nuclear family and its evolution: - David Popenoe - families have changed for the worse, divorce and nonmarital births have increased just as child poverty or juvenile crime. A father and a mother are suitable for child raising as they fulfill gender-differentiated parenting roles. - Judith Stacey - the traditional American family of the 1950s is now a dated and oppressive institution. It has been replaced by the postmodern family (singel mothers, cohabiting couples, same-sex partners…). Nontraditional family forms should not be blamed, but rather policy makers should try to mitigate the negative effects of divorce or single parenthood. Basic concepts for the understanding of families’ structures are: - Family: adult individuals related by “marriage” or other kin connections, who make an economic unit responsible for the upbringing of children. It is the most important agent of primary socialization. - Nuclear family: family group consisting of two adults and depending children - Extended family: family group consisting of more than two generations of relatives living either within the same household or very close to one another - Primary socialization - values learnt during this stage are difficult to get rid off in later stages of the life cycle (particularly prejudices). Personality traits and mental health issues are acquired as a child in a given family. - Kinship: relation that links individuals through blood ties, marriage or adoption; who have some obligations. - Marriage: socially acknowledged and approved sexual union between two individual adults - Families of orientation or families of origin: the families in which individuals are born - Families of procreation: families initiated through marriage, cohabitation or having children - Matrilocal: family system in which the couple lives near the bride’s parents - Patrilocal: family system in which the couple lives near the groom’s parents - Monogamy: a form of marriage in which each married partner is allowed only one spouse at any given time - Polygamy: a form of marriage in which a person may have two or more spouses simultaneously - Polygyny - a man can have two or more wives (disadvantageous to women) - Polyandry - a woman can have two or more husbands - Second shift: women's dual roles at work and at home - Cohabitation: two people living together in a sexual relationship without being married to one another - Consensual unions: relationships in which couples consider themselves married but are not legally married - Stepfamily: family in which at least one partner has children from a previous marriage living at home or just visiting Functionalist Theories on Families - Industrialization 19th c. → families become less important as a unit of economic production and more focused on bearing children - Talcott Parsons - believed the two main functions of families were: - Primary socialization - process by which children learn their society's cultural norms - Personality stabilization - assisting adult family members emotionally Parsons regarded the nuclear family (male-female with instrumental role for the husband and affective role for the wife) as best equipped to handle the demands of industrial society. Symbolic Interactionist Approach on Families - do not take power differentials for granted not necessarily assuming that men have more power than women or adults more power than children - Ernest Burgess - described family as a unity of interacting personalities in which the behavior of individual family members mutually shaped one another over time - Willard Waller - principle of least interest: the partner who is least committed to the romantic relationship has more power and might often exploit it Feminist Approaches on Families - challenge the vision of families as harmonious and protective, presenting them as unequal power relationships where some members benefit more than others - Betty Friedan (The Feminine Mystique) - the problem with no name: isolation and boredom of many suburban American housewives trapped in an endless cycle of childcare and housework Three main topics are covered from the feminist approach: 1. Division of labour - where women specialize in home chores while men specialize in breadwinning. Some see it as an outcome of industrial capitalism while others link it to patriarchy and thus see it as predating industrialization. When it comes to domestic tasks it is also proven that a symmetrical family is far from reached. Men are still less likely to do housework and they spend less time doing it; interestingly, in same-sex couples partners tend to share housework more equally than heterosexual couples do. 2. Unequal power relationships - family serves as an arena for gender oppression and physical abuse (e.g.: marital rape is less severely punished than nonmarital rage) 3. Caring activities - women invest significantly more time and emotional labor in caring activities, which indirectly contributes to their relative economic disadvantage Contemporary Perspectives on Families - draw on feminist perspectives but are not strictly informed by them. They focus on the formation and dissolution of families or the currently shifting gender roles within families. Lawrence Stone distinguished three phases in the development of the family: - Preindustrial (15th c - 17th c) → nuclear families were mostly considered an economic unit, they lived in small households with closed relations within the community and other kin. - Individual freedom of choice was subordinated to the interest of parents or the community - Sex, always within marriage, was not regarded as a source of pleasure but as a necessity to produce children - Nuclear families where short lived, which resulted in blended families - Marriage = property arrangement - Industrial (17th c - 18th c) → nuclear family became a more separate entity, distinct from other kin and the local community - Growing emphasis on marital and parental love, although the authoritarian power of fathers also increased (domesticated women) - Spouses were drawn together by ethnic/economic status - Marriage = raising children - Postmodern (18th c - 20th c) → family is a group tied by close emotional bonds, domestic privacy and child-rearing - affective individualism: belief in romantic attachment as a basis for contracting marriage ties - Much variety - cohabitation, same-sex parents, single parents, shifted gender roles... - Marriage = love and companionship The rosy glow cast on the traditional family fades when we delve into historical evidence about families in prior centuries: - Colonial family - high death rates meant that marriages were shorter and children usually saw the death of at least one parent. There was an over strict authority of parents over their children. - Victorian family 1850s - wives were forcibly confined to the home, wives and husbands had little to do with each other, children worked long and under dangerous conditions… - Ideal American family 1950s - many women felt trapped after losing the paid jobs they had held during WWII when men returned from the war. Husbands observed a sexual double standard: seeking sexual adventures for themselves but setting strict codes for their spouses. Families Today - Kin relationships are now less important, birth rates are declining, more sexual freedom... - The median age at first marriage in the US is increasing with respect to the 1950s (a generation that married at an unusually young age) → this is closely related with fertility rates, which are rapidly decreasing, especially in spain - The proportion of people living alone in the US has greatly increased - Nonmarital children have greatly increased, peaking in 2008 and declining since then. Some of the causes for this are: - New legal mechanisms alternative to marriage (uniones civiles) - Increase of child-support policies (women feel encouraged to have children by themselves) Still, the relatively wealthy parents are more likely to marry and have children, whereas low income women are more likely to have a child while single or cohabiting. - Single parenthood in the US is increasing (especially among blacks and women), being both a cause and consequence of poverty (usually related to divorce more than widows) → single parent families are not so common in Spain - Research done by Edin and Kefalas on the reasons why low income single mothers don't marry shows that many of them considered that marrying the father of their children would not help much - Family structures are both shaped by structural (shifts, economic prospects…) and cultural factors (race, religion, sexuality…)  - William Julius Wilson - shortage in “marriageable” black men: marriage opportunities for women are constrained if there are not enough men employed in the formal labor market so women may instead opt to have and raise a child on their own - When it comes to the differences between black and white extended to family relationships two possible arguments exist: - Cultural argument - different treatment depends on race (black doctor and white doctor) - Class argument - different treatment depends on social status (black doctor and black nurse) - Annette Lareau argues there are two different types of upbringing depending on the family economic status: - Middle class parents engage in “concerted cultivation” with many nonschool-based activities for their children (soccer mom - woman who spends a significant amount of her time transporting her school-age children to youth sporting events or other activities). Parents have a close supervision and a less authoritarian style; children are encouraged to reason and discuss, thus developing a sense of self-entitlement and value. - Low-income families rear the “accomplishment of natural growth” participating in few activities outside school and learning to occupy themselves by playing with more unstructured and unsupervised time. Children develop close kin ties. Parents give orders and don’t accept been challenged by their children → children are taught to be deferential to adults developing stronger ties with friends and relatives - Divorce rates have lately increased in the US; especially since “no-fault” divorce was approved. This is mainly because people do not feel as attached to social institutions. Some factors showing a positive likelihood with divorces are: parental divorce, premarital cohabitation, marriage at an early age… - When considering the consequences of divorce processes on children three main facts must be taken into account: - Almost all children experience an initial period of intense emotional upset after their parents separate. - Most resume normal development without serious problems within two years of the separation. - A minority of children experience some long-term problems as a result of the breakup that may persist into adulthood. - Girls experience more detrimental outcomes from step-family living, whereas boys demonstrate more negative outcomes from single-parent family living. - Inside of family violence we find: child abuse and IPV (Intimate Partner Violence) Groups, Networks and Organizations David Lipsky - made a study trying to understand how and why cadets at West Point would “subject themselves to intense discipline”. He discovered the academy emphasized conformity to group norms rather than threatening cadets by scaring or shaming them. Some basic concepts for this unit would be: - Social group: collection of people who have a common identity and who regularly interact with one another on the basis of shared expectations concerning behavior. It is NOT a category or a multitude.  - Primary groups: small groups characterized by intimacy and a strong sense of commitment. People usually belong to them because membership is fulfilling - family, friends - The group is an end itself - Reciprocity norm - no evaluation of costs and benefits (unconditional) - Emotional commitment - More resilient in time - Person to person relations - More extensive in its demands - Secondary groups: large impersonal groups characterized by seldom involving intense emotional ties or a feeling of unity/commitment. People usually belong to them in order to achieve a specific goal - businesses - The group is an instrument for a specific goal - Reciprocity norm - evaluation of costs and benefits - NO emotional commitment - Short term history - Role to role relations - Less extensive in demands - Social aggregate: a collection of people who happen to be together in a particular place but do not significantly interact or identify with one another - people waiting at a bus stop - Social category: people who share a common characteristic such as gender or occupation, but do not necessarily interact or identify with one another - shoemakers Cooley - nowadays most of our waking hours are spent with secondary groups. This rather than a loss of intimacy, has meant an increasing tolerance of individual differences Group Conformity Solomon Asch - made an experiment asking subjects to decide which of three lines most closely matched the length of a fourth one. He discovered subjects were moved by group pressure to give the same answer as others in the group, even if it was wrong Stanley Milgram - experiment about the extent of obedience as a kind of conformity, wishing to shed some light on what had happened in Nazi Germany (...) Organizations - groups with a definite set of authority and an identifiable membership that engage in concerted collective actions to achieve common purposes. They tend to be large secondary groups that follow bureaucratic tendencies Formal organization - a group that is rationally designed to achieve its objectives often by means of explicit rules, regulations and procedures. Today formal organizations are the dominant form of organizations Networks - direct and indirect connections that link a person to a group with other people or groups. Social groups are an important source for acquiring networks but not all networks are social groups. Social networks are a social structure made up of individuals/organizations who have contact with or some knowledge of each other. They might affect political mobilization, socialization, consumer patterns, career paths… Networks include people you know both: - directly - family, friends - indirectly - your friends’ friends The sense of belonging that characterized social groups is sometimes strengthened by scorning other groups, that’s why racist groups promote their identity as superior by hating supposed inferior ethnic groups (Combat 18 group). We therefore distinguish between: - In-groups: groups toward which one feels loyalty and respect - the groups we belong to - Out-groups: groups toward which one feels antagonism and contempt - those people, them Cooley - looking-glass self - we often judge ourselves by how we think we appear to others Merton - reference group - a group that provides a standard for judging one’s attitudes or behaviors. You could belong to your reference group or not - reference groups can be primary/secondary or even fictional. Georg Simmel - studied the effects of size on both the quality of interaction in the group and the effectiveness of the group in accomplishing certain tasks. We distinguish different types of groups according to their size: - Dyads: a group consisting of 2 people - they involve both intimacy and conflict, they are likely to be simultaneously intense and unstable (if one person withdraws from the dyad it vanishes) - Triads: a group consisting of 3 people - they tend to be more stable than dyads because the third member can play the role of a mediator if two of the members have a disagreement. On the other hand, coalitions may form be formed between two members of the triad, destabilizing the group - Larger groups - usually as groups grow in size, their intensity decreases (they have less intense interactions simply because there is a greater number of members) while their stability and exclusivity increase (they can survive the withdrawal of new members). Beyond certain size groups may start to develop a formal structure Theories of Organization Weber - emphasized that the development of organizations depends on the control of information and stressed the central importance of writing in this process. He saw organizations as strongly hierarchical with power tending to concentrate at the top. Bureaucracy is the rule of officials - a type of organization marked by a clear hierarchy of authority and the existence of written rules of procedure, they are staffed by full-time, salaried officials The term of bureaucracy can either be associated with: - red tape, inefficiency and wastefulness - model of carefulness, precision and effective administration Weber’s view of bureaucracy steered between these two, he constructed an ideal type of bureaucracy according to five main principles: 1. Clear-cut hierarchy of authority - bureaucracy looks like a pyramid with positions of highest authority at the top and a chain of command 2. Written rules govern the conduct of officials at all levels - even if a variety of cases and certain flexibility should be included 3. Officials work full time and have a fix salary - promotion is possible on the basis of capability and/or seniority 4. Separation between work tasks and life outside - home life and workplace are physically separated 5. Workers do not own their necessary means of production Formal relations - relations that exist in groups and organizations as laid down by the norms of the official system of authority Informal relations - Peter Blau - relations that exist in groups and organizations developed on the basis of personal connections, they depart from formally recognized models of procedure John Meyer and Brian Rowan - formal rules and procedures are usually quite distant from the practices organization members’ usually adopt. The flexibility that systems resembling Weber's ideal lack, ends up being achieved by unofficial tinkering with formal rules. Michel Foucault - showed that the architecture or physical characteristics of an organization are directly involved with its system of authority (the more elevated one’s position, the nearer to the top of the building one’s office is) - this is especially true for systems relying heavily on informal relations as the formation of primary groups becomes easier This also determines visibility and thus the level of surveillance that subordinates are subjected to. This surveillance, which is usually higher for lower ranks, may take two forms: - directive supervision of the work of subordinates by superiors - keeping files, records and case histories about people's work lives In business firms, people are expected to work regular hours following detailed timetables - means by which organizations regularize activities across time and space Mark Granovet - demonstrated that there can be enormous strength in “weak ties” particularly among higher socioeconomic groups (people are likely to hear about new jobs through distant relative acquaintances). Most people depend on social networks to gain advantages but not everyone has equal access to powerful networks, whites and men have more advantageous social networks. George Ritzer - The McDonaldization of Society - the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate the world according to four guiding principles: efficiency, calculability, uniformity and control through automation. Many aspects of our daily lives are now handled by automated systems or computers instead of human beings. This rationalization may have harmful effects on the human spirit and creativity, making social life more homogeneous and less personal. Personal taste - Salganik, Dodds and Watts - conducted an experiment to test the effects of the influence of group conformity/social networking on musical choices and found out the “intrinsic” quality of the music mattered less than the number of people who listened to each song. Cumulative advantage effect - if one object happens to be slightly more popular than another at just the right point, it will tend to become more popular still - similar to the butterfly effect Obesity rates in the United States have been growing steadily over the last few years. Several reasons are attributed to this: - Food deserts - poor inner-city neighborhoods that tend to have fewer healthy grocery stores and more fast-food restaurant than wealthier neighborhoods do - Christakis and Fowler - discovered after a research that if one person becomes obese, persons closely connected to them have greater chance of also becoming obese. As they were able to analyze a great amount of data, they were able to assert that a similar lifestyle and distance between friends were not relevant factors. However, both researchers admitted overweight people could also be positively influenced by a healthy-weighted friend. Internet as a social network - the Internet has increased our opportunities to belong or access social networks. People now get together electronically on the basis of shared interest rather than other factors such as wealth, rare or gender. However, although the digital divide has narrowed in recent years, not everyone has the same Internet access; there still remains a gap by levels of education and especially between young and older adults. Democracy and Bureaucratic organizations - Weber was greatly worried by the dismissing of democracy with the advance of modern forms of organization. Bureaucracies are necessarily specialized and hierarchical, so those at the bottom of the organization inevitably have no power over what they do, this power resides at the top. Robert Michels - iron law of oligarchy (“rule by the few”) - large organizations tend toward centralization of power, making democracy difficult Late-Modern organizations are reinventing - they are overhauling themselves to become less hierarchical, turning to horizontal collaborative models to become more responsive to fluctuating markets. Their physical boundaries are more blurred today. - Information and communication technology - have allowed companies to reengineer their organizational structures - Rise in telecommuting or teleworking Manuel Castells - argued that network enterprises is the organizational form best suited to a global informational economy, it is becoming impossible for organizations to survive if they are not part of a network Stanley Davis - business firms and other organizations come to be networks, they go through a process of decentralization by which power and responsibility are devolved downward through the organization rather than remaining concentrated at the top. Groups, Networks and Organizations (PPW) Roles are performed or enacted, they require some rituals in order to show plausibility and credibility (Goffman). Strategies of self-presentation and audience control are needed in order to satisfy social expectations about the definition of that role - a doctor needs to wear a white hospital gown Status are held. They can be acquired (those you’ve worked to achieve) or ascribed (those you are born with). - Dominant Status - a reference status that especially defines a person between all the different status they hold - dominant status for the teacher = profession; dominant status for Yaiza = geographical origin (Parla) There might be different roles under the same status - House wife status includes the roles of spouse, mother, friend Society of primary groups → Society of secondary groups → Society of organizations Organizations are large secondary groups with goals (that cannot be fulfilled by members of the organization individually) and formal structure (there is a hierarchy system and communication between members of the organization are structured/determined). Roles and tasks are clearly defined. - Isomorphism - usually organizations that share the same goal have similar structures, sometimes because they imitate each other - a French bank is really similar to a Scottish bank Third sector organizations - range of organizations that are neither public sector nor private sector - charities, associations, self-help groups… GOALS Ideally there is a hierarchical structure of goals (some goals are more important than others). The main challenge is to identify “original goals”, those that people could truly not accomplish through informal means. We distinguish several phenomena when talking about goals: - Goal change - the main goal of the organization changes without dissolving the organization- this usually happens after the main goal succession - March dimes - Goal displacement - the organization is no longer trying to achieve its main goal but only to keep the organization alive - the organizations becomes an end itself - SPD - Goal inversion - the organization ends up doing exactly the opposite to what its main goal was when it was creating - Carlist party Sometimes organizations do not have a clear goal structure or a single clear main goal. When organizations have conflicting goals they might: - Prioritize some goals over others - penal institutions might decide to prioritize inmates’ reintegration rather than their punishment - staying inside jail - Sequence goals, doing one goal at some moment in time and other goals at other point in time - political parties become more democratic when elections are close STRUCTURE When informal structures show up inside an organization, they imply a distortion of the decision-making rules established by the organization’s formal structure, although this is not necessarily bad. Organization might be classified according to their entry and exit processes: - Open organizations - University - Entry → voluntary - Exit → voluntary - Closed organization - ONCE - Entry → acribed (you were born with a certain characteristic that you did not choose) - Exit → difficult - the organization monopolizes a certain goal the individual needs - Total organization - Prison - Entry → non-voluntary - Exit → non-voluntary Types of Societies Pre-modern Societies - Group - decisions about who produces what and how products are distributed are made by groups - Identity is fixed or ascribed - Closed social stratification Modern Societies - Organizations have absorbed many of the tasks of groups - Identity is acquired or achieved, not ascriptive - Loyalty inside groups or organizations is expected (if your parents were republicans you will also be republican) - Open social stratification (ideally) Postmodern Societies - Organizations and Groups - there is not much loyalty when it comes to voting, labor sphere or marriage - Plastic Identities - they change, they are variable and changeable. People are more eager to experiment in terms of occupation, marriage, ideology… - Individuation - Liquid open society, consumers in search for a self Traditional VS. Secular-rational values - Traditional values: religion, parent-child ties, defense to authority and traditional family values. High levels of national pride and a nationalistic outlook - Secular-rational values: opposite preferences to the traditional values Survival VS. Self-expression values - Survival values place emphasis on economic and physical security. It is linked with a relatively ethnocentric outlook and low levels of trust and tolerance - Self-expression values give high priority to environmental protection, growing tolerance of foreigners, homosexuals and gender equality. Values are highly correlated with the wealth or development of a country: - Secular-rational values can be observed especially in countries with a long history of social democratic or socialistic policy; or countries where a large portion of the population have a university degree - Survival values are characterized for ex-communist and relatively underdeveloped countries Individuation - expressed in employment (people change jobs), political affiliation (electoral volatility), divorce, gender/sexual preferences Sign Language and the Deaf Community - Colin Baker There has been an ethnic awakening among the Death community no less than among other ethnic minority groups, that can be explained by regarding three major issues: - the Deaf community is very varied and includes different types of Deaf people - different views of deafness starting by that of the 1970s - different elements of the ethnic awakening amoun Deaf people * Deaf with capital D → Deaf community or someone who culturally identifies as a Deaf person * deaf with a lowercase d → audio logical no hearing condition Hagemeyer suggests that there are nine sub populations among Deaf people in the US: 1. Those with sign language as their primary language (ASL - American Sign Language) 2. Those who can communicate in both ASL and English 3. Those who communicate primarily through speech 4. Adult who were not born deaf but became deaf later in life 5. Elderly who became deaf as the result of aging 6. Those who do not know ASL or English but communicate through gestures, mime… 7. Those who have residual hearing → “hard of hearing” 8. Those who are both deaf and blind 9. Those who have normal hearing but are fully conversant with Deaf culture signing because of someone in their community Deaf people may be considered as a minority not merely because of their number but because they have much less power and prestige on lower recognition and leverage than majority groups in society. However, whereas most ethnic minorities live in geographically defined areas; Deaf people are scattered. Sign language is growingly understood as the major marker in defining Deaf community membership mainly because it has allowed Deaf people to match the communication abilities of hearing people, creating their own sense of “normality”. Gesturing ≠ Sign Language → very extensive structurally complex, rule-bound, complete means of communication. It includes a variety of sign systems (American Sign Language, British Sign Language, Chinese Sign Language…) Stating that lipreading would be preferable to sign language is a pre-ethnic revival view. Lipreading is difficult and it assumes a knowledge of spoken language; it assumes that the hearing community is the one to which Deaf people should adapt to. Deaf people have historically been portrayed as retarded, incapable, disadvantaged, incomplete… Their portrayal in jokes is often negative or discriminatory; in addition, there now is an extended view of the world of Deaf people as lifeless and hollow. However, the lack of sound is not an issue for Deaf people unless they are told by hearing people that it is a problem. Children that grow up among deaf friends and family often do not know they are deaf, it is only when other people's constructions of their deafness are relayed to them that deafness becomes a perceived problem. Deaf community does not center upon its lack of hearing as its main characteristic, but rather upon attitude toward one’s deafness. Identification with the Deaf community is therefore about self-perception rather than physical characteristics. Martha’s Vineyard Island -people in this island community never referred to themselves or others as Deaf people. To them, being deaf was not perceived as a problem and thus not worthy of any attention. Deaf people do not always belong to Deaf communities, Deafness is often regarded as a necessary but not a sufficient condition for membership in the Deaf community. Higgins suggest that membership in a Deaf community is achieved through three overlapping criteria: - identification with the Deaf world - shared meaning and experiences that come from being a Deaf person - participation in Deaf community’s activities Although Deaf people often feel most comfortable with other Deaf people with whom they have a sense of belonging and identity; some Deaf people feel stigmatized as members of Deaf communities and therefore prefer to mix with hearing groups. And so Deaf communities face a perpetual dilemma: the extent to which they either strive for separation from mainstream hearing society or prefer integration. Diglossia - occurs when two languages exist together in a society in a relatively stable arrangement by attaching different uses to each language. Since sign language does not have a written literary form, Deaf people are usually bilingual, using sign language for conversation while being fully literate in the language of the region. This is a form of diglossia, where the uses of two languages have distinct and separate uses. However, a minority language without a written form presents a greater danger of a perceived difference in status; just as colonists often insisted on indigenous people using the invaders language for literary purposes and a shift to the colonial language in both written and oral form usually occurred. Gallaudet University - was a research center for Deaf and hard hearing people that provided several facilities for the community; communication throughout the university was by signing. In 1988 a hearing person was selected as the president of Gallaudet University and students mounted a protest movement called Deaf President Now, declaring that this appointment carried an apparent message about the lower status and capability of Deaf people. Two days later the first deaf president of Gallaudet University was selected. There is no unanimous agreement on bilingual education for the Deaf community and current approaches range from minimal help to specially design programs: - Oralism - traditional approach that was dominant in North America and Europe until the 1970s. It seeks to develop any residual hearing to develop speech reading skills and speech production among Deaf people - Total communication - approach developed in the 1970s by which all models of communication are regarded as appropriate for those who are deaf or partially hearing. Simultaneous communication may be used combining auditory and visual information. This approach attempts to embrace both integrationist and separatists. - Special schools - children are first taught sign language given a full curriculum and finally develop written (and sometimes oral) communication skills in the majority spoken language. It is clear that Deaf children cannot acquire spoken language easily and transmitting the curriculum in spoken language is expecting that they learn the content using a level of language not yet acquired. When the acquisition of sign language begins as early as birth, children arrive in school ready to cope with the curriculum and able to socialize with others. Therefore, it is important that hearing parents receive adequate support from sign language teachers. Banal Nationalism - Michael Billig It is usually assumed as a way of conventional wisdom that nations comprising different linguistic groups are fragile, taking language as the center pillar of ethnic identity. However, some social scientist such as Hobsbawm argue that historians of nationalism should distance themselves from this nationalistic myths. Our common sense about nations and what we consider to be natural or age-old facts should be bracketed. We cannot rest content that is actually “natural” that those who speak the same language will wish to form national grouping. Ideologies are patterns of belief and practice, which make existing social arrangements appear natural or inevitable. Ideology operates to make people forget that their world has been historically constructed. Thus, nationalism is the ideology by which the world of nations has come to seem the natural world. Nationalism is often restricted to addressing extremists who are impelled by a violent emotional psychology seeking irrational ends. When talking about the beliefs that hold “our” nations together we prefer to use the terms patriotism, loyalty… However, these terms overlook the object to which loyalty is being shown: the nation-state. Banal nationalism is a broader concept of nationalism that covers the ways that established nation-states are routinely reproduced; in contrast with the often fiercely nationalism of those who battle to form new nations. Social scientists have usually ignored this banal nationalism, using the term of nationalism in two types of theorizing: - Projecting theories of nationalism - tend to define nationalism in a restricted way as an extreme phenomenon. Authors of such theories are not partisans of nationalist movements and distance themselves from nationalism claiming that it is impelled by irrational emotions  - Naturalizing theories of nationalism - tend to depict contemporary loyalties to nation-states as instances of something which is psychologically general to the human condition. Such theories make existing conditions of consciousness appear natural, taking for granted the world of nations Some authors do both simultaneously: “our” patriotism is made to appear natural while nationalism is seen as a property of others. Bakhtin argued that objective psychology must be grounded in the study of ideology - many of the psychological phenomena that psychologists have assumed to exist internally within the person are socially and discursively created (national loyalty, xenophobia…) Gellner asserts that nationalism is primarily a political principle which holds that the political and the national unit should be congruent. Therefore, it emerges only when the existence of the state is already very much taken for granted. Giddens defined nation-states as a set of institutional forms of governance maintaining an administrative monopoly over a territory with demarcated boundaries, its rule being sanctioned by law and direct control of the means of internal and external violence. Nation-states do therefore not exist in isolation but in a complex of other nation states. Medieval maps, contrary to the modern map of nations, represent a world unobsessed with boundaries. No single power agency controlled a clear-cut territory and territories kept changing shapes. The modern state now claims direct and total loyalty of its citizenry. When it comes to war, the rulers of the state do not depend upon the cooperation of feudal barons but have raised professional armies with people who are urged to fight for their nation. Medieval monarchs' sovereignty was claimed to be derived from God; Modern rulers today justify their sovereignty as an expression of their nation’s will. There is few consensus on how and why these nation-states emerged. Nevertheless, if nationalism is the ideology which maintains these nation-states as nation-states, then it is clear that nationalism is the most successful ideology in human history. Whereas Liberalism and Marxism have been territorial limited, nationalism is an international ideology. Furthermore, Marxism failed in its attempt at ending with national division. However, there is no model of ideal size for the nation-state; the concept includes huge entities such as the Republic of China or small islands such as Tuvalu. Nor does the hotchpotch reflect some underlying logic of language or religion. There are monoglot states and there are polyglot states, sometimes religious groups have nationalist struggles and sometimes the same groups do not. I so called objective variables such as those of language, religion or geography cannot predict where the State boundaries are to be drawn; one might presume that subjective or psychological variables are decisive ones. National identities are forms of social life rather than internal psychological states, they are ideological creations caught up in the historical processes of nationhood. The term nation carries two interrelated meaning: - nation as the nation-state - nation as the people living within the state The linkage of the two meanings reflects the general ideology of nationalism, where any nation-as-people should have their nation-as-state. In this regard nationalism combines particular and universal features, raising the question of which comes first: the nation-as-people or the nation-as-state? Nation-states are usually created out of older loyalties; however their creation usually involves conflict and violence through which a particular form of identity has to be imposed over others. The struggle to create the nation-state is a struggle for the monopoly of the means of violence. The triumph of a particular nationalism is seldom achieved without the defeat of alternative nationalism. Sometimes, metonymically the name of the part comes to stand for the nation as a whole - e.g. The French Revolution Few nations are so homogenous that they do not contain sub-sections or ethnies - a group which maintains a sense of its own historic uniqueness and origins. To consider language as a prime determinant of nationalist identity raises the problem of defining languages as such. Not all speakers of a language speak in the same way; the notion of dialect becomes crucial to maintain the idea of separate languages. Not even if we considered variants of a single language as mutually intelligible and that of different languages as unintelligible would the problem be solved, as in our present world this is not the distinction in many cases. E.g.: The Sardinian nationalist movement avoided language as a symbol of Sardinian identity, since there are different varieties of Sard. Another factor to consider would be the power of writing down a way of speaking, as it provides material evidence for the claim that a separate language exists. Groups, Networks and Organizations (PPW) The Janus-like character of language includes: 1. Technology of communication - Language should not arouse strong emotional responses - I might have a sentimental attachment to my mother language or feel more comfortable speaking it but that´s all - The best we can do is to improve this technology - philosophical languages of the 17th century - more precise language will help us find truth - artificial language of the 19th century - Esperanto, Ido… - spelling reform movements - if you make your spelling simple there will be no big differences between high education and low education brought ups 2. Identity maker - speech has traditionally helped to identify the place or social position of people - romantic view of language - the genius (volksgeist) of a people is encapsulated in its language - Fichte: “Whether a particular language is found, there exists also a particular nation which has the right to run its own affairs” There are three main components of the Romantic language ideology: 1. Languages, which evolve naturally, precede or give way to states and nationalist movements But quite often it is the other way around, first we have the nation or nationalism movement which then “creates” the language 2. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis - languages not only encapsulate different views of the world but they also have the power to make us see the world differently Proven false by McWorther at the “The Language Hoax” 3. A natural/fair political partition of the world should be based on language  Civic Nationalists (France) Ethnic Nationalists (Serbia) Law Common roots (“blood”) Choice Inheritance Rational attachment Emotional attachment United by consent United by adscription Democratic pluralism Ethnic majority rules Liberty Fraternity Individuals create the nation Nation creates individuals Identity You are what you have become You are what your language/ancestors determine It has many dimensions - multiple, inclusive, It tends to be one-dimensional - discrete continuous exclusive Language Common language - Feel attached to it, but it is National language - language is a building rock also a technology of communication that sustain that defines the identity of the people, who both the democratic procedures and equality belongs and who doesn't and the content of their rights According to linguistic policies, there are two main principles to democratically accommodate linguistic rights: - Personality principle - individuals should enjoy the same set of official language rights wherever they decide to live in the country with the proviso of a minimum level of demand - more oriented towards individual rights - a Quebecois that goes to Toronto has the right to speak in french at the police station, their linguistic rights move with them - Territoriality principle - linguistic rights vary from region to region, depending on their linguistic demography - more oriented towards collective right or the rights of language groups (right to linguistic maintenance/survival) - it makes a territorial distribution about different languages in different regions and people living there have the right to choose whether they want it to be the official language or not (Spain) In Spain: - The problem → speakers of other languages besides from Spanish, feel their language and identity are threatened - The debate → the problem of maintenance and promotion of these other languages When it comes to linguistic rights, we distinguish three main approaches: 1. Will Kymlicka - every individual has the right to have a “context of choice” → this context of choice depends on the existence of a societal culture that provides a full range of options in all areas of life  a. Only applicable when talking about monolinguals - bilinguals already have a context of choice b. Only applicable if the societal culture is vulnerable (likely to disappear in the foreseeing future c. Measures that protect a language can only be temporary, not permanent - in order to make the social culture robust/strong again d. Measures taken must be consistent with individual rights - you cannot create language “hostage” (other-language speakers forced to support those measures) 2. Bio-diversity approach - all languages have an equal right to flourish - linguistic diversity = biodiversity → it is necessary that the is not deprived from the different world views that languages carry in order to maximize the survival of human kind Problems: - languages do not have rights - it is the culture and not the language that carry different views of the world → those values can be expressed in any language 3. Redress past injustices - may carry two different arguments: 1- “my national identity has suffered and I deserve redress” But from a liberal point of view this is not a valid argument - the State cannot promote equally all identities 2- “my societal culture has shrunk and it has to be strengthened in order to give me and my co-speakers a “context of choice” Problems: - Did societal culture shrink because of repressive measures or because of choice? - Problem of implementation → who is going to pay for that? Social Capital and Institutional Success - Putnam Failure to cooperate for mutual benefits has been studied by game theorists according to several guises: - Tragedy of the commons - individual users, who have open access to a resource unhampered by shared social structures or formal rules, act independently according to their own self-interest and contrary to the common good of all users, cause depletion of the resource through their uncoordinated action - Public good - such as clean air or safe neighborhoods - can be enjoyed by everyone regardless of whether they contribute to its provisions. Therefore, under ordinary circumstances no one has an incentive to contribute to providing the public good and little is produced, causing all to suffer - Logic of collective action - every worker would benefit if all struck simultaneously, but whoever raises the strike banner risks betrayal by a well-rewarded scab, so everyone waits, hoping to benefit from someone else’s foolhardiness - Prisoner’s dilemma - situation where defection is a stable equilibrium (one in which no player has an incentive to alter his behavior) however unfortunate the consequences for all concerned In all these situations every party would be better off if they could cooperate. In the absence of a credible mutual commitment however, each individually has an incentive to defect and become a free rider. No guarantee against reneging can be established in the absence of enforceable commitments and accurate information; as it is necessary not only to trust others before acting cooperatively but also to believe that one is trusted by others. Hobbes offered the solution of a third party enforcement in which both parties concede to the Leviathan (government) the power to enforce comity between them, enabling subjects to trust one another. Sadly, as Douglas North argues, the solution is not that simple. Third party enforcement would involve a neutral party with the ability to measure contributions and enforce agreements costlessly, which are conditions seldom met in real life. Part of the difficulty is that coercive enforcement is expensive and for it to work the third party should also be trustworthy, which makes it a common good itself. However, uncooperative action does not emerge as often as game theory predicts: - Folk Theorem - cooperation should be easier when players engage in indefinitely repeated games, so that a defector faces punishment in successive rounds - Other conditions that could favor cooperation would be a limited number of players, abundant info