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and Environment Society Class notes Days Missed: 1 Grades Total Points (10/400) Quiz 1: 10/10 Quiz 4: Quiz 2: Quiz 5: Quiz 3: Final Exam: Position Letter: Midterm: Short Paper 1: Short Paper 2: 1/16/08 What is sociology? - the systematic study of human social behavior interaction and organization - "society" : a group of people who share a common culture or a number of attributes of it and think of themselves as a group and that occupy a certain "place" - this study occurs through the use of theory and research methodology Why does sociology matter? - helps us explain our lives and social phenomena in a way different from "common sense" - helps us avoid strictly "individualistic" explanations of behavior o social roles are embodied in people - clarifies the rules by which we live our life- social life is not "chaos", but is organized and systematic - it informs policy decisions Sociological Imagination - coined by C. Wright Mills - describes the ability for us to comprehend our personal experiences as linked to social context - What does it help us do? o Place our personal biographies in historical context o Cross levels (individual behavior is linked to macro influences) Shopping o Cross Contexts Sociology explains - how our actions influence and are influenced by the groups within which we interact o friendships, families, status groups, teams, states, "nations", and ethnicities o often occurs within institutions (sets of rules based on relatively stable values) Comte and early Sociology -attempted to justify it as its own science through emulating ,,hard science by use of the scientific method -problems known can be fixed (social engineering) Quantitative -generally explanatory or predictive Qualitative -generally descriptive, seeks to understand meaning Science and Social Scientific Concerns -Testing of theory with evidence, using scientific method...formulating a research problems Concerns -Operationalizing (way you measure something) -Generalizing and representativeness: quantitative vs qualitative -Validity -Causality - Bias Sociological Paradigms and theorists Functionalist- (Spencer, Durkheim) - what role do particular institutions play in perpetuation the social body? - What purpose does marriage serve? - What purpose does commuting serve? Conflict- (Marx) -what is the basic idea here? -people competing for money, prestige, class etc... -What is ,,critical theory? - Who benefits and Why? 1/18/08 Interactionst- (Mead, Blumer, Goffman) -the "generalized other" and the regulation of behavior - internal set of rules/ guidelines within ones self Postmodern/ post-structural- (Foucault, Baudrillard, haraway) - are modern/ traditional ways of thinking still valid? Our world has fundamentally changed -The Myths of Liberation and Truth - What rules should we live by now? Is our world really knowable? Broad Implcations - what theories and methods we use matter... they determine the answer to our questions - we can understand ourselves better by understanding social phenomena - we can understand the actions of others better - there are many ways to understand our world- sociologys perspectives are only some of many Interaction -Basic Assumptions of symbolic interactionism (Blumer) - Humans act towards things on the basis of meaning individuals have for them - Meaning is created through interaction between people -Meanings are modified through an interpretive process Cooleys looking glass self -we imagine how we appear to others - we imagine their judgment - self-feelings, conception develop, based on this judgment Meads self - *the ,,me is the set of expected attitudes in different situations o result of the generalized other - the ,,mind rehearses - *the ,,I is the reaction to the ,,me in the situation Blumer- "Symbolic Interactionism" (1969) -advocated a sociology rooted in everyday life: it is the most relevant this way: grand theory is worthless Goffman- "The presentation of self in everyday life" (Dramaturgy) - as social actors, we ,,perform roles on stage (the proper setting) and manage the impression we give off o frontstage/backstage (waiter/cook) (ex: waiting heinous bitch) o if stage does not support role, performance will be less convincing Socialization and its locations -Socialization: "those interactions instilling or changing in individuals the basic components of personality that are necessary for their participation in society" or other group - these locations are places where people manifest the culture they learned and internalized - motives- desire to fulfill social roles -socialization teaches us the meaning of the symbols Important Points - there are some biological/physiological forces that help shape socialization - interaction that is: early, from important groups/people, and longlived is most powerful in socializing - internalization of values and roles o Stanford prison experiment Fake roles of guards and prisoners Subjects acted out roles quickly and overpoweringly - Personality/ self and social structure maintain each other o Conformity and deviance Agents of Socialization -individuals -groups -organizations -categories -media -community and surroundings -institutions Milgrams Obedience experiments -teacher/ learner shock experiments Culture- those systems of symbols that humans create and use to guide behavior, interaction, and patterns of social organization Constituents and elements of culture: -ideas -values, norms, beliefs -materials - physical manifestations of social interactions Two cultural elements: - Symbolic (descriptive): what does it represent - Normative (evaluative): how good/bad is it 1/25/2008 (book: high and mighty) Social Structure - the relatively stable set of rules and institutions, relationships and practices that generally govern and describe the direction of a society collective action - ex: govt, weddings, What is Environmental Sociology -describes the various social relations on the environment - social constructions of the environment affect how we act towards relevant symbols of it - generally these constructions are dominant ways of conceptualizing our relationship to the natural -these change through time so the way we think about communicate about and interact with the environment and changes based on these constructions 1/28/08 (know thesis, evidence and conclusions from articles) Sierra Club periphery: Emerson: (1837) Transcendentalism -Thoreau: "In wilderness is the preservation of the world" 1/30/08 Power, social Construction and the Environment All seven constructions are probably still valid but does one predominate (fear, domination, resource, spiritual sanctuary, recreation, waste repository or living space) What does constuctionism imply? We can change things, these rules, social social facts can be changed by changing action Power- influence over collective action - is at its most effective when it is least observable - is it action or capacity to act - gives people differential access to powerful definers of social reality Dimensions of Power -producing or inhibiting an action -factory polluting a neighborhood - excluding alternative voices: -not allowing neighborhood residents access to mean to stop pollution -meaning/ symbol management (ideology) -convincing neighborhood that there is no pollution or what constitutes pollution Weber - power is influence over a collective action)ie voting), a means to an end: exercised through o class o status o party: here lies focused, deliberate exercise of power - bureaucracy is a power instrument of the first order o bureaucracy dictates social norms (speed limit etc) Mann: Four sources of social power -(IEMP): ideological, economic, military, political -general emphasis on organizational power -people do not organize because they are organizationally outflanked 2/1/08 Power Cont. Domhoff and the perpetuating the elite Cohesiveness: 3 processes on which the elite have influence and exercise their power -special interest -policy making -candidate selection 3 Factors that underlie power in SCs: 1) defining what constitutes information - what kind of procedures are relevant for climate change 2) controlling the nature of this formation 3) Using constructions for symbolic mobilization of support Ideologies of Environmental Domination Contributing Knowledge sets -Protestantism Capitalism (Consumerism) - Individualism - Patriarchy Protestant ethic: facilitated growth of capitalism - asceticism - hard work o you get what you deserve - rationalization - hard work = salvation Individualism - concern for the individual over the collective - Bahktins ideas on the body and individualism o Carnivalesque and classical bodies Patriarchy - we say that a social system is patriarchal if it is run primarily by men or by rules designed by or in the interest of men - in terms of history gender relations these kinds of social systems have generally been the norm - discursive connections between women and nature: creating false dichotomies 2/4/08 Ideology of Environmental Concern - Carsons effect on environmental though as a ,,springboard for Bells "natural conscience" in to popular culture - Contributing knowledge sets: o Taoism and Transcendentalism The Tao (the way) and the rejection of the material complication Emerson and Thoreau A connection to nature is essential to the true development or realization of human spirit So nature has intrinsic value, with effects specific to individuals o Utilitarianism and socialism Utilitarianism: ,,greates good for the greatest number proposed by Bentham, Mill, and Mill This idea is sometimes extended to aniumals and environmental issues Is generally oppositional to doctrine of individualism Some use utilitarian ideas to promote political socialism - Some ways to explain the rise of this as an ideology o Postmaterialism thesis: We have ,,rediscovered moral value of nature- our values have evolved o Paradigm Shift: Increased pollution and degradation have made environmental issues more salient-specifically the human place within the environment o Ecological modernization Increased manifestation of environmental concern in institutions- ecological rationality o "Green" Christianity has offered alternative interpretation of biblical teachings regarding humanity and the environment Capitalism and the Environment Elements of economy - Capital: something we can exchange for something we want - Labor: - Technology: driver of social ,,evolution - Bureaucracies and mental organization: Post-industrial ecnomies - losing production - more services and info - market expansion - differentiation o availability of information - rationality o hyperrational the more rational you become (the more rules you make) the more irrational society becomes The U.S. economy -market capitalization: oligopolies and monopolies -multinationalizing -labor power loss -shrinking profit margins -Disputing the governments role -regulation and taxation -Increasing Inequality - exacerbates and extends existing inequality in other realms - capital concentration and individualism -Benefit decrease 2/8/08 Video clips: - Charlie the chimp - Howard dean pres campaign speech Globalization McDonaldizaton -Four aspects: an "iron cage" Weber - efficiency: completeing goal w/o waste - calculability: emphasis on quantity, speed (vs. quality) - predictability: same product across plane (loyalty) - control: over employees and customers 2/11/08 what characterizes post-industrial economies, and the U.S. economy? -private property, class, competition, benefits, problems, ideology, and inequality -treadmill of production - how do the ideology of consumerism and the odeology of capitalism relate to each other? Accumulation, etc 2/13/08 The Leisure Class: Veblen - class that sets consumptive standards o has changed through time - conspicuous consumption, leisure and waste as display of social power o difficult to obtain these things b/c of price. Availability - as ,,above nature, labor, struggle, etc conspicuous environmental consumption - houses made from recycled goods - money is used for wind power, solar power etc, all things most ppl cannot afford to become environmentally friendly reactions to consumerism - situationist International Affluenza The Propaganda Model - allows govt and big business to get their Policy Making Decisions Different views: - Hamilton: responsible experts held in check by democratic ideals - Block, Dahl: Pluralism--competition holds domination in check - Schattschneider: ,,elite pluralism- "the flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upperclass ascent" - Domhoff: Power elite; class based - State autonomy theory: skocpol (there are no special interest 3/31/08 rational choice: "the individual is a purposeful, calculating actor, seeking to maximize his/her interests" (Bell) interests vs. choice knowledge/ power influence choices/interests culture as influence -individual vs. society - voluntary v. involuntary risk (knowledge/information/power can influence voluntary v. involuntary risks) Beck: our modern world haas created dangers, rooted in technology - from perception of these, raises the comprehension of risk; fear, squabbling a theory of western society- it is now a conflict over the distribution of bads solution?- collectivize debate regarding modernity and technology: reflexivity -bureaucracy is a power instrument of the first order b/c it is so difficult to dientrench: the "iron cage" of rationality

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