Social Structures: From Tribal Societies to Nascent States
In these societies, a tribal chief is responsible for collecting and storing food and goods to meet the population’s needs during shortages. This allows the chief and their subordinates to live according to their rank. Hierarchy can also include a war chief, leading military campaigns and incorporating conquered villages into the tax system. Specialized social groups may emerge, including military, religious, administrative, and craft-based groups.
Emergence of Nascent States
The conditions that facilitated
Read MoreRace, Ethnicity, Power, and Social Structures
Core Concepts in Race and Ethnicity
- Like gender, race and ethnicity are key anchors for people’s social- and self-identities.
- Why do some categories (like gender, race, ethnicity) get attached to inequality and even violence while others (e.g., height, hair color) do not?
- Ethnicity = cultural values and norms that distinguish the members of a given group from others.
- Common modes of distinction: language, dress, shared history, religion, ancestry.
Concepts in Race and Ethnicity
- Race (differences in
Sociological Perspectives: Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism
The functionalist perspective is largely based on the works of Herbert Spencer and Émile Durkheim. According to functionalism, society is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole. For example, each of the social institutions contributes important functions for society: Family provides a context for reproducing, nurturing, and socializing children; education offers a way to transmit a society’s skills, knowledge,
Read MoreSocial Class Theories: Functionalist and Marxist Views
Theories of Social Class
Society is stratified; we are not all equal.
Functionalist Theory of Social Class and Inequality
The functionalist perspective assumes that society operates as a working whole. This perspective assumes that each stratum of society has an important function, and this explains its development and continued existence. Society operates using a system of rewards and negative sanctions based on value consensus. Strata in society are formed and developed through value consensus, where
Read MoreUnderstanding Groups, Sexuality, Deviance, and Stratification
Chapter 5: Groups and Organizations
Difference Between Group and Crowd
People in groups interact constantly, whereas in a crowd, they might not necessarily interact.
Difference Between Primary and Secondary Groups
A primary group is a close-knit group, such as family. A secondary group is a larger, more impersonal group, such as co-workers.
Instrumental and Expressive Leadership Roles
- Instrumental: Task-oriented
- Expressive: People-oriented
Authoritarian, Democratic, and Laissez-Faire Leadership Styles
- Authoritarian:
Race: Social Construct vs. Biological Determinant
Is the Biological Understanding of Race Still Relevant?
Race as a biological category has not completely disappeared, even though the science behind it has been debunked. Some Trump supporters and elements in the far-right spectrum of politics still believe some races are inherently predisposed to commit violent and criminal acts. Also, some organizations and so-called philosophers push pseudo-theories to justify racial disparities when it comes to economic well-being.