Theories in sociology are abstract, general ideas that help organize and make sense of the social world Epistemology Philosophical Roots of Classical Sociological Theory Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) Suggested that people are responsible for creating the social world around them, and thus society could be changed through conscious reflection Was one of the first theorists to…
Coined by Auguste Comte (1798-1857), meaning the study of society- socius (being with others) ology (the study of) Henslin et al: “simply put, sociology is the discipline study of human social behaviour, especially the investigation of the origins, classifications, institutions, and development of human society on a global level” “the systematic study of social behaviour…
Many people today are puzzled over whether a god truly exists or not. There are three approaches to the belief of an ultimate being one can classify as: atheist, agnostic, or theist. The related article for this paper on Anselm argues from the view point of a theist. A theist is one who believes in…
The history of our species is rife with violence, from ancient wars to random, vicious assaults, violence seems to pervade it. It also seems to be a big part of our present society, everyday we hear of some new person who has been brutally gunned down for no reason, another soldier who has been shot…
Death is inevitable. We live our lives as best we can and then, just as we were brought into this world, we are removed from it. People attempt to live their lives to the fullest, and succeed. However, more commonly, we fall short of these expectations. Our lives are somehow derailed, no longer allowing this…
Men often feel their private lives are a series of traps The more aware they may become, the more trapped they may feel Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both Information often dominates attention and overwhelms their capacities to assimilate it Sociological Imagination The…
Key Ideas Many types of feminism (listed by Trimble) Key concepts: “sex”, “gender”, “masculine” and “feminine” Sex: biological, physiological, Gender: social construction of roles humans sexed male and female “Determine a person’s social, economic, cultural, and political status” Constructed discursively & materially One gender is valued or superior More than 2 genders (more than 2…
Key Ideas Many ideologies linked together by similar ideas drawn mainly from Karl Marx’s critique of capitalism Marxism Social Democracy Socialism Marxist-Leninism Anarchism Syndicalism Stalinism Maoism Feminism Reform liberalism *Note: there is no communist ideology, economy, etc.! Oppose capitalism because it is neither free nor just Capitalism is an unjust, exploitative economic system, thus generating…
Why study Ideologies? All concepts in political science are “essentially contested concepts”: a notion around which there will never be agreement Ideology is an essentially contested concept Ideology results in all other concepts being essentially contested concepts Questions about “us”: How do I make sense of my world? What are the bases of my political…
Background Info – Plato Citizen of Athens (5th c.b.c.e) Rich, baking family Name means “broad shoulder one” Subject to the rule of the 30 tyrants Political life was corrupt To lead people back to eudaimonia → happiness or human flourishing Logon didonai – give account to what you say and do Dialogues – have a…
Self Affects (affectivity, emotions) Own (property) Perceptions Knowledge Centre (ego, “I”) Aristotle’s Thesis: There is no modern sense of self; rather there is a soul that perceives, thinks, and nourishes. Background to Aristotle (384 – 322 BCE) Macedonia Tutor of Alexander the Great Life separated into three phases: Travels with Alexander Return to Athens which…
Phonetics – the study and classification of speech sound Phonology – deals with systems of sounds Morphology – the study of the forms of things, in particular o Linguistics the study of the forms of words. Syntax – the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language Semantics – the branch…
Name Timeline Love Marriage Children Employment Extra notes Tony Walker Working/ Lower Class 7 – wanted to be a jockey 14– wants a baby son when he grows up 21– “on the knowledge” 28– owned his own cab -Taking acting lessons to make $ – married Debbie 35– made a movie about his life (wasn’t…
Anyone who is biologically capable and who can find another biologically capable person can become a parent. Parenthood is a state that has no special conditions, and one must pass no qualifying exam to enter it. Since the word parent encompasses such a large number of people, it is easy to understand why there are…
Theory Who? Main Concepts Relationships Related Theoretical Perspective Natural Selection Evolutionary psychologists -women prefer to mate with men who would be good fathers and who would stay around to be good providers -men preferred to mate with women who could bear healthy babies who could feed their children -could apply to any given relationship;…
Urie Bronfenbrenner founded the Ecological Systems Theory to understand the complex relationship between the infant, the family, and society and how they impact child development. The Ecological Systems Theory influenced the way psychologists and other social scientists approached the study of human beings in their environment. Before Bronfenbrenner, child psychologists studied the child, sociologists examined…
Prior to the early twentieth century, scientific observations of children were not common. Arnold Gesell was one of the first psychologists to systematically describe children’s physical, social, and emotional achievements through a quantitative study of human development from birth through adolescence. He focused his research on the extensive study of a small number of children.…
§ Maria Montessori pioneered the Montessori educational method which is a child-centered, alternative education method based on her theories of child development. § The method is primarily applied in preschool and elementary school settings, and it emphasizes self-directed activity on the part of the child, and observation on the part of the teacher. § The…
Lev Vygotsky (1896 – 1934) Vygotsky’s basic premise was that social interaction plays an important role in intellectual development The child’s development appears twice – first on the social level, then on an individual level He believed skills develop to a higher level with adult guidance or peer collaboration (social interaction) His theory attempts to…
Canadian, born in northern Alberta Behaviourism theory of the time stated that one’s environment causes one’s behaviour Bandura agreed that environment causes behaviour, but he also believed that behaviour causes environment – he labelled this “reciprocal determinism” – that the world and a person’s behaviour cause each other He studied personality as it interacted with…