Sociology

1. Sociology The Scientific Study of Societies, Social Groups and Social interactions

2. Sociological Imagination • Teaching yourself to think about how societal institutions and social interactions are shaped by the social context. • For instance: Will you get married and why? • Your image of love and marriage and the image of most of the world are vastly different because of your culture. • Ideas about love and marriage are socially constructed. If you had to marry, without every meeting the person you were to marry, someone of your parent’s choice, would it work?

3. Use your Sociological Imagination • Why the Olympics? • Why do people love/hate Obama? • Why did George Zimmerman shoot Trayvon Martin? • Explain 911 attack from Al Qaeda’s perspective and/or our response from our’s? • Why do all cultures have religion? • What’s happening in Syria and why? Which theory explains it best? • Why are you here, right now, in this room? • Why did you choose that outfit? • Should they shut Strasburg down?

4. From a cultural perspective

5. Points of View: not mutually exclusive, different points of view • Functionalism: views social activity and institutions as evolved to facilitates the smooth operating of societies. • Conflict Theory: views societal institutions as conservative, in which power elites conflict with oppressed groups to maintain power. Social movement form to “fight the power.”(Think American Revolution, Protestant reformation, Al Qaeda, Civil Rights Movement.) • Society is dynamic, constantly evolving.

6. Points of View • Feminist Theory: looks at the ways society treats women. • Symbolic Interactions: Looks at social interactions at the micro level. Language and symbols are interpreted to facilitate interactions. (What do your clothes/language tell others about you?) • Rational Choice Theory: People always act in their own self-interest and try to do what’s best for them.

7. Symbolic interaction

8. Change?

9. Ethnic stuff. • Ethnic group/ethnicity: • shared cultural values and norms that separate one group from another. • Shared, distinct awareness of of common cultural identity. Mormons? • Ethnocentric: being centered around one’s own ethnic group, not liking others.

10. Race in society • Race: socially constructed belief that biological difference in skin color, hair and facial structure proved a difference in other more complex polygenetic qualities. • Doesn’t mean there aren’t differences, only that those differences are caused socially, not biologically. • Eugenics: the pseudoscience that supported above. • Self-fulfilling prophecy: when a belief creates the predicted behaviors of a group. Labeling a group “angry” makes them angry. • Stereotype threat: when a group that has a belief held about them then internalizes that belief themselves, then perform differently on tests when made aware of their of status. VERY significant results. • Just World Phenomenon: tendency to believe world is rational, bad things happen to bad people, makes us feel safe.

11. How? • Experiments: • Cause and Effect: • Butt patting • Surveys: • Correlations: • poverty and low performance; • Alabama and being Democrat; • Woman and voting for Obama or being Pro Choice. • Ethnographies: actually living among social groups, recording complex social patterns. • Not generalizable to others. • Sewar Children.

12. What is Culture? • The Values, Norms and Artifacts of a society. • Values: abstract beliefs of the importance of different constructs: family, caring for others, the nation-state, religion, yourself. • Norms: are unwritten rules a society about behaviors in specific social situations, reinforced overtly or subtly. • Artifacts: material goods created by societies. Iphones, chariots, sports stadia. What do they tell you about the society? • Memes:Bits of culture that are passed on virally through observation and imitation. • “that’s a clown question, bro” • Knuckle bump • Hat on backward • Baggie jeans/skinny jeans/mom jeans • “da bomb”

13. How do you get your culture? • Through a process called Socialization. • Socialization occurs through socialization agents: family, friends, school, nation, religion, etc. • Socialization occurs as agents reward or punish you for “acting right.” May be overt or subtle. • “Look how nicely you share” • “What were you thinking?” • A sideway glance.

14. Social Capital: The social knowledge and connections that enable people to accomplish their goals and extend their influence. • This what you get from your family and community that you use to succeed in your culture. • Money • Education • Cultural values • Good looks • Ability to get on with people • Social norms that have been socialized.

15. Power • Power is the ability to force others to do what you want. • Authority: the permission from society to exert power. • Traditional societies • Loosely defined borders • Multiple ethnicities: often semi-autonomous (tributes) • Nation States • Well-defined, defended borders • All nations today • More homogenous • Central government controls all of civil life.

16. Failed States • Often in regions that HAD traditional states (Kingdoms, Empires) but are now Nation-states. • Often many ethnicities within Borders drawn for them by exiting imperialists.

17. Word Trend: Democracy • 119 of 192 countries deemed democracies. • 2.3 Billion still live in countries considered “not free.” • Most Western Nations are “liberal democracies”: • Multiparty elections • Free market, competitive capitalism • If winners, then losers?

18. U.S. Government • The U.S. is a representative democracy: elected officials represent the general cultural values of the voters who elect them. • Voters with similar cultures tend to cluster in the same areas, developing cultural sub-nations. • Arlington ALWAYS votes Democratic.

19. Competing Interests • U.S. system is one of competing interests: • Businesses, Unions, Single issue groups: Abortion, Women’s rights, farm workers, NRA • Left out: those without money. • Internet is widening the Net and reducing the power of money

20. Today’s Democracies either have a Multiparty of Two-Party system • Parliamentary Systems. • Members of Parliament elect the Prime Minister. • Have many political parties that form coalitions to select the Prime Minister • Multiparty systems creates a wide variety of political thought within legislature, compromised required.

21. Compare the Two based on Influence from Interest GroupsA Billion Spent of Presidential PACs • Our’s • Britain’s

22. United States: Two party system • More likely to develop wide schisms between political parties. • Compromise required for actions. The Wider the schism, the less likelihood for action. • House of Reps (435): a simple majority of 218 required to pass anything • In Senate (100): a Super Majority of 60 Required these days. (filibuster) • To override Presidential veto:2/3 of each. Party of the President MATTERS.

23. So, Is the U.S. less democratic than Parliamentary systems? • Probably not, its system is just different. • There are many competing interests. • Unions, Interest Groups like Unions and the NRA, Lobbyists, and PACs all vie with CASH and influence to influence the elections and electorate in local, state and federal offices. • Those without money and who don’t vote are left out: poor, homeless, young etc. • The United States has tens of thousands of elected offices and the combination provides lots of representations.

24. U.S. Democracy: Voting Patterns • Increasing distrust of government and whether or not your vote matters, reducing vote. • U.S. has an awful turnout: 38th in world • U.S. 48% • Europe 74 • Asia 70 • S. America 62 • Mexico 60 • Africa 55

25. In 2008 • Women Obama 54% McCain 46 • Men Obama 43 McCain 57 • 18-49 Obama 2 to 1 • Women vote in larger numbers 55% to 45% • This year Republicans having been working hard to limit voting of constituencies that traditionaly vote Democratic. (Immigrants, poor Blacks) • Republicans have been more successful at electing local politicians and judges.

26. Women in the Power Elite? • U. S. ranks 71st in World in women in power positions. • Tied with Turkmenistan and Rwanda • Not offered by two parties as candidates. • Traditional power elites have been White, Protestant, Wealthy, Males. • Felt a responsibility of that status. • Very unrepresentative of population. • Today: as independents have increased, more economic diversity in candidates.

27. Does Money Buy Elections?

29. Citizens United vs. Federal Election Board • In a Supreme Court decision it was ruled that corporations have the same right of free speech as individuals. • Money=Speech. Therefore, corporations can give as much money as they want to PACs, that fund many election campaigns. • Obama/Alito

30. The Big Sort • In the U.S., people tend to move into regions and neighborhoods with similar thinking people: • For instance, “the People’s Republic of Arlington barely even nominates Republicans for office. • Gerrymandering even makes the ‘regional cultures” more pronounced.

31. The Supreme Court • One of the biggest results of this years election is the possible replacement of 3 judges on the Court having significant influence on law for the next 20-30 years. Could be significant in Roe v. Wade. • Scalia: very conservative: 76 • Ginsberg: very liberal; 79 • Kennedy: moderately conservative, swing vote in recent years. 76

32. Psychological concepts to Note • Group Polarization: Psychological concept that the more you are with groups of people with a specific value, the more like the group you will become. • Immigrants to a community will become more like the culture than they were before. • The culture changes the people more than the people change the culture. • In Group Out Group Bias: Once established as an out group, in groups form negative stereotypes about the outgroup, confirming biases and scapegoating • Belief Bias: twist logic to make ideas fit you existing belief. • Confirmation Bias: seek information that confirms, ignore contrary.

33. Electoral College • The President is elected by the electoral college, which is filled by electors that come from all the states. • Each state gets its number of electors based on its representatives (population) and Senators (2 each regardless of population) • This system gives states with small population more weight than they deserve (based on pop.) because each state gets credit for their two senators. Wyoming 3 Electors for 568,000 people; Kansas get 6 for a population of 3 million 6 x more people, 2x the electors. So Sometimes(3), Presidents are elected with a minority of votes: George W. Bush, for instance. Gore: 48.33% Bush 47.8% Nader 2.75%

34. Real Debate • Republicans: Private • Free Market/Limited government: • let markets determine rights and privileges. • Minimal Regulation on Business activities. • Small Taxes, Small Benefits, small government • Limited protections for poor, unemployed. • Social conservative: no Gay marriage, no abortion (rape/incest). • Limited control of business uses of the environment. • Strong military • Democrats: Public • Welfare/Socialist State • Not communist: Social protections. • Government actively involved in helping communities/people: Public/Private Partnerships. • “We built it” • Regulate business to stop abuses. • Higher taxes for Bigger benefits, more protection for poor, elderly, unemployed. • Retirement • Health care • Unemployment • Help the poor • Socially Progressive: Pro Gay marriage; Pro Choice; • Environmental protections

35. Electoral College • It requires 270 Electoral votes to be elected President. • Real Clear Politics (mid August): About 237 votes will probably go to Obama (California and New York always vote Democratic.) • About 191 will go to the Romney: (Since the 60s, Republicans usually get the solid South.) • There are about 110 swing state votes left. • Romney needs to sweep most to win. (79 out of 100) • Obama can win with Florida only. Or several combinations of smaller states.

36. These Swing States Will determine the 2012 President

37. Fla 29 Ohio 18 North Car 15 Virginia 13 Colorado 9 Wisconsin 10 (Ryan) Iowa 6 NH 4 Nevada 6 Total 110 Obama Needs 33 Romney needs 79 Electoral Votes in Swing Will determine Presidency Obama needs 23 to Win, Romney 79

38. America’s Cultural Nations: Colin Woodward suggests America is made up of 11 cultural nations with widely different cultural beliefs established by their histories. These cultural differences explain why we are so divided politically. (and always have been)

39. American Nations: Colin Woodward

40. Remember • These are Broad cultural trends. They say NOTHING about and individual. Woodward attempts to explain regional values and voting patterns based on the cultures of these regions.

41. Yankeedom: New England, Upper Midwest: Mich, N Ohio, Wisc. N.Ind Utopian: City on the Hill. • Collectivists: • planned community • Egalitarian: no elites • Predestined • Education Imp., literacy for Bible reading, business; Ivy league schools • Progressive use of government to help community

42. Belief in Science, evolution and global warming Public Protestants Hoped God would favor community; Chosen People: needs to be reflected by policies. Allegorical biblical interpretation Became more religiously tolerant over time (UU) Women’s vote, Abolitionists, Gay Marriage movement all started here. Yankeedom: New England

43. New England: Progressive • American Revolution Began here • Abolition began here. • American higher education began here • Transcendentalists movement began here. • Utopian Movements began here. • Women’s Suffrage movement began here • Universal health care began here • Gay Marriage first legalized here.

44. Established by German Protestant refugees: Pacifists. Quakers Amish Mennonites Very tolerant of others. Strong community values. Valued education Ben Franklin First Library Many newspapers Public Protestants Progressive, Unions. Midlanders: Pa, Del, Md, Northern Va; some midwest, Iowa, Missouri

45. New Netherlands: New York city and environs • The business district, whatever is good for business. • Welcomed all; think New York City • Always been multiethnic (first to welcome Jewish people) • Supports established Federal power: likes stability and control. Good for business. • Financed and built most of early nations infrastructure: Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan. • Home of the Industrial revolution (at least the financing) • Progressive Movement Started here and Yankeedom as a response to Industrial abuse.

46. The Left Coast: coastal area of California, Oregon and Washington • Very similar to Yankeedom, settled by New Englanders (Progressive) and Borderlanders (fierce independents) • Proud trendsetters • Progressive in Politics • Think: U. Berkley, Portland, Seattle. • Education very important • Environmentalist, Hollywood limousine liberals

47. Tidewater: Coastal Va. No. Carolina • Old Virginny • Hierarchal status: like English nobility. • Hierarchy: • White tobacco farmers. • freed indentured, poor whites; • African-Americans. • Education for Aristocrats only (UVA, Private colleges): not much spending on public education. • No federal involvement: Thomas Jefferson/antifederalists. • Little spending on infrastructure well into the 1960s

48. Borderlanders: Greater Appalachia: W.Va, West Va. W. Carolina, W. Ga, Ozarks, Kentucky, So Ohio, S. Indiana, Tenn • Scots Irish: escaping English abuse. • Highly Clannish • Belief Local Control by elders. • Warrior Class, VERY INDEPENDENT • Education less imp. Know your letters. • Frontiersman: cities not planned, random, no schools • Think: Guns, God and Nascar

49. Borderlanders: Appalachia, W. Ga. Kentucky, Tennesee, Arkansas, S. Missouri. • Fought as much against Tidewater elite in Revolution as British. • Used Whiskey as currency: Whisky Rebellion, Bootleggers. • NOT slave owners, generally. Fought equally North and South in CW. • Area ecology raped by New York Industrialists need for timber, then coal, fueled anti Yankee sentiments. (and Civil War, reconstruction) • Been impoverished since the beginning.

50. Private Protestant, Personal redemption; Emotional, Literal interpretation of Bible Belief in rapture, return to Jerusalem for 2nd coming. Question scientific theories like evolution and global warming Social conservatives: Guns, Gods and NASCAR, anti Gay Marriage, Pro Life; State’s Rights. Resent interference from “carbetbaggers” Creation Museum Petersburg, Ky. Borderlanders: Greater Appalachia