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Introducing Sociology (Some key introductory ideas (Social class, social…

- - - - Culture is socially transmitted (passed on through socialisation) from one generation to the next.
        
        Culture - The language, beliefs, values and norms, customs, dress, diet, roles, knowledge and skills which makes up the way of life of any society.
      - Carried out by agencies of socialisation
        
        Family.
        
        Peers.
        
        Religion.
        
        CJS.
        
        Education.
        
        Work.
        
        Media.
    - - Might identify ourselves as gay, black, Muslim, Welsh, English, a women, as student or a mother.
        
        Lifelong socialisation plays an important role in forming our identities.
        However, individuals also have the free will to carve out their own personal identities and influence how others see them rather than being passive victims of the socialisation process.
        Have choices in the consumption goods we buy, the clothes we wear, and the leisure activities we choose to pursue.
        Through these choices - Can influence how others see us and the image of ourselves we project to them.
  - - - Positive sanctions - Rewards of various kinds.
      - Negative sanctions - Various types of punishment.
  - - - Upper class - Consists of those who are the main owners of society's wealth.
      - Middle class - Consists of those working in non-manual work - jobs that are usually performed in offices and involve paper or computer work.
      - Working class - Consists of those working in manual jobs, such as factory or labouring work.
      - Underclass - The social group right at the bottom of the social class hierarchy, consisting of those who are in some ways cut off or excluded from the rest of society.
        Long term unemployed, homeless, etc.
    - - Ascribed status - Status given by birth or family background, which in general cannot be changed by individuals.
      - Achieved status - Status achieved by an individual's own efforts or talents.
- - - - Family is an institution which is concerned with arrangements for marriage, such as what age people can marry, whom they can marry and how many partners they can have and the upbringing of children.
        
        Make up a society's social structure - the social institutions and social relationships that form the building blocks of society. # # # # #
        
        Sociology tries to understand how these social institutions operate, and how they relate to each other.
        For example, the way in which the family might influence how well children perform in the education system.
        Also concerned with describing and explaining the patterns of inequality, deprivation and conflict which are a feature of nearly all societies.
      - Education system establishes ways of passing on attitudes. knowledge and skills from one generation to the next.
      - Work and the economic system organise the way the production of goods will be carried out.
      - Religious institutions concerned with people's relations with the supernatural.
      - Law is concerned with controlling and regulating the behaviour of society.
- - - - Differs from common sense in three ways:
        
        Sociologists use a sociological imagination - Looking at familiar routines of daily life in unfamiliar ways or from different angles.
        Look at past, how they've changed, how they differ between societies and how they might change in the future
        
        Sociologists look at evidence on issues before making up their minds.
        Explanations and conclusions of sociologists are based on precise evidence which has been collected through painstaking research using established research procedures.
        
        Sociologists strive to maintain objectivity and value freedom in their work.
        This involved keeping an open mind, considering all the evidence, allowing others to scrutinise research findings and keeping personal beliefs out of the research process.
        
        Objectivity - Sociologists should approach their research with an open mind and a willingness to consider all the evidence and to have their work available for scrutiny and criticism by other researchers.
        
        Value freedom - Sociologists should try not to let their prejudices and beliefs influence the way they carry out their research and interpret evidence.