A. Institutional Stability

Social structure includes social institutions, organizations, groups, statuses and role, values, and norms that add order and predictability to our private lives.

Institutions- are fairly stable clusters of morns, values, statuses and roles centered around fulfilling some social need.

1) Institutions make up subsets of social structure, subsets that focus on certain functions of exist within other social parameters.(Economy, family, education, religion)

2) Differs from organizations, which is thought of more as an administrative structure.

Social Change- when norms, values, statuses and roles associated with a a particular institution are altered in some way (evolutionary)

B. Democracy and critical theory approach to society

Critical theory- rejected separation of fact and values

• By what standard should organizations be judged?
• Searched for contradictions between social appearances and the deeper levels of social reality (objectively)
• Purpose is to evaluate what is “just” using the subjects own values (put yourself if their shoes)

Human Agency- quality of individuals to exercise control over their social position with in the broader social setting ex.

• Important when discussing social institutions because often times the mechanisms that sociologists uncover seem as though they control individuals completely
• Freeing the unconsciousness of social actors from ideological illusions is an important form of political practice. It contributes to the expansion of human agency

Immanent critique- to judge social organizations by their own internal values and self espoused ideological claims ex. Pre-civil rights south- talk about freedom and democracy being valued but they weren’t even so because of the fact that many couldn’t vote, not good schools etc.

Iron cage stuff…defined later

Life World- Fundamental levels of consciousness; culture, the private sphere

System- system of interrelated macro-level institutions in a modern society; the structure of economy and politics; the public sphere

Role of Home in the colonization of the life world (Hochchild)-airplane example where in the business relations on the plane, flight attendants have to treat customers as in they were serving their own home guests

Alienation of capitalistic labor (Marx)

• Mechanisms of alienation-you is expressed through your work(objectification of labor)…there exists an intimacy of your final work
• You work on an object and then you are alienated from it by capitalistic system

1. objectification of labor
2. have relationship with object
3. owner has ownership of product even though worker has put heart into object
4. commodification of labor through alienation…make money

C. Structures of Habitat: Media and Sport

1) Sports and games demonstrate the role of adhering to common values in everyday life.

2) The mass media provides uniformity of images and shapes public discourse

a. What does the media do: a functional approach.

I. Supports the social order by providing unifying symbols for the collectivity.

II. The production of a mass culture is essential to forging a common set of values in a heterogeneous society. Media play a role in this society by using common symbols.

b. Constructing common images

I. Popular culture is not spontaneous outpouring of mass creativity.

II. Influences on the production of media.(Show’s settings only in NYC or LA)

III. This is also true of news media

D. What kind of groups and organizations exist in our society?

Primary group- interaction among members who share close ties…close family friends

Secondary- interaction among members in formal associations

A group is a social system involving:

1) Regular interaction among members guided by shared expectations of one another’s’ behavior.

2) A sense of common group identity.

Public: a collection of people who are interested in a particular issue.

Importance of groups:

1) Social identity

2) Socialization

3) Social conformity

Conformity: the practice of obeying the prominent norms in a particular group setting.

1) Typically, the level of conformity is large in small groups due to monitoring and sanction distribution.

2) But large groups like the crowd at a football game, produces behavior that individuals might not normally do.

· “Group Think”-(Asch, Janis) boundary maintenance

Boundaries: the group identity serves to delineate members from non-members, “in-groups” from “out-group”. (Ultimately builds cohesion)

Intimacy and stability: dyads vs. triads

Dyads- two people characteristics: more intimate, less stable

Triad- 3 people characteristic: more stable, less intimate…third wheel

Ex. 2 on date creates more intimacy; when chaperone involved…more stable

Formal Organizations- large social groups that are rationally designed to achieve specific objectives. (McDonald’s, UT)

1) Voluntary: a group with a purpose designed by its members and whose members may join and leave relatively freely. Ex. Community service organizations

2) Coercive: organizations wherein member participation is mandatory. Ex. Prison

3) Utilitarian: groups that offer a rational benefit from joining. EX. Churches

Trends in formal organizations.

1) Michel’s Iron Law of Oligarchy (1940): in organizations, no matter how democratic will always boil down to an oligarchic system over time.

E. Structures of Thought and Practice: Medicine and Bureaucracy

Sick Role- is the set or socially defined rights and responsibilities held by a person who is designated as sick.

Parson’s Sick Role 

1. The sick person is exempt from “normal” social roles.
2. The sick person is not responsible for his or her condition
3. The sick person should try to get well.
4. The sick person should seek technically competent help and cooperate with the physician

Approaches to medical knowledge 

Experimentation and the medical model (scientific method)

1. “Normal science” is interested in puzzle solving.

1. Innovation occurs at a small scale.
2. It occurs within a shared Paradigm- shared set of concepts, methods and assumptions about the discipline’s subject matter Ex: reject metaphysical cures

2. Radical innovation- discoveries that occur outside of the dominant scientific paradigms are often treated with suspicion until proven through scientific methods.
3. Implications:
1. Social forces influence science.
2. Reification- the process by which social relations seem to be beyond human control because they become socially defined as fixed qualities—as if features of the natural world.

i. Reify (to make thing like) essentially, certain definitions of a particular social setting are the only ones that can be evoked so we give objects meaning that they don’t naturally hold in a non-social setting (money: we assign value to a dollar; )

Characteristics of Ideal Type Bureaucracy

1. Clear cut division of labor ex. Student/teacher
2. Hierarchy of Authority
3. Clearly defined roles of behavior/procedures with respect to their tasks ex. Parking pass
4. Generally impersonal treatment of people (both employees and customers) ex. Big classes
5. Specialized management and documentation ex. UTEID
6. career’s in advancing positions in the hierarchy

Weber’s term Cage- as capitalism continues to mature, society becomes more bureaucratic; people have defined roles; limits creativity

F. Structures of Power: Politics and Economics

Elite Theory- Elites have a lot of authority and sway ex. President

1. Mills’ three centers of power: the military, politics and economics- web of interaction…work together…causes benefit to elites and self-policing

Types of Elite Networks

Disunified: ex. Former colonies

• Emerge from unstable network regimes. (elites of one sector trying to take power from another sector; govt controlling the media)
• Historically, disunified elite networks can be found by looking at countries that have political structures highly susceptible to seizures by force.
• Usually results from violent state formation. (no straight lines on the map of Europe, map of Africa: straight lines

Consensual unified: ex. US

• Characterized by an unspoken acceptance of rules
• Found in stable representative regimes, ones that are not subject to periodic revolutions and the politics are thought to be representative.
• Results from one of two processes: settlement (settling down; elites work out a system that is generally agreeable to everyone) of colonial tutelage (US got basic structures from Europe).

Ideological unified ex. China

• Occurs when an elite leadership group forms around a strong ideological position (china: new elites come in and rework the structures).
• Characterized by stable unrepresentative regimes, ones that are not subject to overthrows but no attempt is made to be representative).
• Usually the result of revolution or struggle for liberation.

Ecomomic Democracy and Cooperative Business

Discussions about democracy often speak of political democracy, but other forms of democracy have also been commonplace throughout modern history.

A. Economic democracy:

• Attempts to create economic democracy have often highlighted governmental attempts at socialism or communism.
• Free-market attempts to foster economic democracy have also occurred in the form of cooperative business ---> the people who use the org. are part owners of the org. (books at co-op)

B. Characteristics of Co-ops

1. Open, voluntary membership (not coerced to join and is not an exclusive club)
2. Democratic control
3. Limited return, if any, on equity capital
4. Net surplus belongs to the user-owners (10% return to the students)
5. Education
6. Cooperation among cooperatives
7. Concern for the community

Authority and Legitimacy

1. Meyer in “Electrocute a Stranger? Probably!-knowledge that you have right to have authority and because of this authority, people are willing to do anything…ie execute a stranger

1) Authority- Involves the possession of some status of quality that compels others to obey ones’ directives of commands.

2) Types of Authority

a. Traditional authority involves a longstanding and often uncodified sense that those with authority have legitimate claims to their position based on social traditions. (inheritance in medieval times)

b. Charismatic authority results when an individual is perceived to hold extraordinary personal characteristics of abilities. (Martin Luther King)

c. Legal-rational authority is based on statuses and norms that emerge from the structure of a formal organization and are typically codified in written form. (CEO of organization, have power to make certain decisions and apply them)

How does Change Occur Within Society

1. Macro level- the realm of institutions- social change- occurs over a very long time- evolutionary change as opposed to revolutionary change

2. Micro- Individual- collective behavior- like unexpected crowd behavior- very brief

3. Meso level- social movements- the purpose is to create some sort of social change and they rely on collective behavior

A. Social Change

A. Social change- when norms, values, statuses and roles associated with a particular institution are altered in some way ex. Chage is eminent everywhere in our culture and institutions…family

1. Speed of Social Change-traditional societys slow moving, post industrial society are fast moving

2. Causes of Social Change-

a. Environmental and Population Pressures

b. Cultural Innovation-technological improvement

c. Diffusion of Technological and Cultural Practices

3. “How will the Internet change Society-creating unique norms rituals and values

B. The Family and Religion

1. The Family Structure

a. “The Myth and Reality of the Traditional Family” Coontz-no such thing as traditional family because the women in 1950 gave up so much to atchieve such status

2. The Ego and Democracy

· Herbert Marcuse (if we look at Freud’s work it is very historically situated):

1. Declining role of the father (media and peer groups bring in other influences)…no one stands up for ideas so democracy declines
2. Impact on the ego: in order to create strong ego, child must engage in series of crisis with father…peer group-collective ego as oppsed to individual ego.
3. Result for democratic participation

3. Secularization theory

1. The belief that as modernization increases, religiosity declines.
1. Inherent to this theory is the idea that belief and sacrifice are flawed.

4. Free Rider Problem- a few pay for the benefit of all ex. People give lots of money to church but some do not but get benefit of spiritual guidance

5. The protestant ethnic and the spirit of capitalism:

• Weber was interested in where capitalism came from
• Major revolution that occurred in Europe but that did not occur in china- he says that the change in religion brought about the change into capitalism
• Protestantism

1. predestination: there is some kind of worry about if you - focus on successes because if you were a chosen one God would give you gifts now- so people focused on financial success
2. calling- opportunities that god gives you- you have a duty to fulfill certain functions
3. asceticism: “other worldliness”- direct relationship with god- engaged in worldly pleasures- you would distract your attention from god- banned you from spending your money on yourself- all the other money you would invest it in business

-these three things line up together and that defines capitalism because capital is making more capital 

6. Features of religion in the US

1. Disestablished from government
2. Pluralistic across sub-groups (several dominations)
3. Structurally adaptable (secularized operation, not content…our religion evolves within our society)
4. Empowering (for social change)….movements rely on “religion”

C. Collective Behavior

1. Institutions and Social Change
2. Components of Collective Behavior-Micro

A. Definition

i. Collective behavior- involves those forms of social behavior in which the usual conventions cease to guide social action and people collectively bypass established institutional patterns and structures.

ii. What does this look like? (anytime that there is alcohol)

1. Extraordinary crowd or public behavior.

2. Occurs spontaneously at unexpected times and places.

B. Kinds of crowds and collectivities

i. Compact collectivities (limited geographical space; same focus-f-ball games referred to as crowds) vs. diffuse collectivities-wide spread, public, masses, aggregates ex. UT pop.(not same goal)

ii. Acting crowds (trying to change something external to the group) vs. expressive crowds (gather not to change things, but to share emotions: people who gathered outside of the castles to mourn Diana’s death).

iii. Individualistic crowds (no common purpose; no sence of allegance) vs. solidaritistic crowds (sense of unity and common purpose).

1. characteristics of solidaristic crowds.

a. Unifying and empowering symbols

b. Sense of righteousness (it is their duty to achieve a particular goal, they are justified in their actions)

c. Division of labor

d. Leadership

e. Keynoting- providing suggestions that aim to resolve feelings of ambiguity and apathy among crowd members.(Jessie Jackson coming to campus to tell the crowd why they should be upset)

	Individualistic	Solidaristic
Active	-looting -easter egg hunt riots	Anti-abortion rallies KKK rallys
Expressive	Diana’s Funeral	9-11 Memorials JFK Shot

C. Theories of Collective Behavior

1. Basic Theories of crowd behavior

ii. Convergence- is the simultaneous release predispositions which a number of people share as a latent tendency. (when people snap together)

iii. Contagion- is the diffusion of emotion which acts to unify a crowd. (when a fight breaks out, people behind people trigger more people to stand around the fight)

D. Emergent Norm Theory (Blumer): how it is that new expected behaviors emerge (steps:)

i. Uncertainty over norms, expectations, etc.

ii. A sense of urgency.

iii. Communication of mood and imagery (that confirms the mood of the crowd)

iv. Overcoming constraint.

v. Selective individuals suggestibility

vi. Selective permissiveness.

E. Smelser’s value added Theory of collective behavior (six stages that build on the previous one except for the first two)

i. Structural conduciveness

ii. Structural strain

iii. Generalized belief about the structural strain

iv. Precipitating event. (if this doesn’t happen then we don’t have collective behavior)

v. Mobilization for action

vi. Action of social control agents

D. Social Movements

1. Definition: Meso-when people organize and extend their activities beyond the immediate confines of the group-concern with social chage: the desire to enact it, stop it, or engage in it
1. Collectivity of persons unified over a common issue.
2. Continuity exists due to the sustained activity over time.
3. The purpose is to promote social chance
4. Movement boundaries are not precise, and leadership is informal.
5. Organizations are involved.

2. Countermovement- groups designed to prevent or reverse the changes sought or accomplished by an earlier movement

3. Reform VS Revolutionalry Movement-alter vs. replace

A. Reform Movement- attempts to change limited aspects of a society but does not seek to alter or replace major institutions ex. US civil rights movement because they worked toward changing the aspect of society of unequal rights but did not attempt to replace the government

B. Revolutionary Movement- attempt to overthrow the entire system itself, whether it be the government or the existing class structure, in order to replace it with another ex. American revolution-overthrew total English government and started over

IV. Social Movement- Institutions?

SM	Sectors
SM	Industries
SM	Organizations

V. Development of Social Movement

2. Social Strain: the failure of the part of the social order to work in harmony.
1. Values
2. Norms
3. Organization of motivation (incentive structure)
4. Structural facilities: the tools, skills and knowledge of the environment that people have at their disposal.

Smelster’s Graph of Impact of Social Strain

	Values	Norms	Organizational Movement	Structural Facilities (resources)
Macro
Meso
Micro

VI. Stages in the development of a social movement- “On the Origins of Social Movement” Freeman

1. Emergence of a structural strain

2. Development of a grievance

3. arousal of indignation of evil

4. mobilization of the movement

5. response by social control agents

1. Development of Grievance

ii. Discovery of a new perspective.

iii. Appreciation of the new perspective.

iv. Arousal and intensifications of indignation through dramatization of evil. (oil spill and dead birds that aroused a anger in people who had already had this intellectual knowledge about the danger of transferring oil).

2. Mobilization

. A variety of resources must be mobilized, both internal to the mov’t (movement participants) and external.

i. Maintenance of leverage (allows a power-poor group the upper hand through collective behavior)

3. Response by social control agents (the police coming out and stopping the group)

. Authorities attempt to control the mov’t

i. Incorporation into the social structure: co-optation. (agreement between leaders of protest & elected leaders…makes argument watered down and people leave the protest)

ii. Creation of counter-movement.

No more E!

F. Mutable Self

Zurcher’s “Twenty Question Test” 

• Institutions play an important role in how individuals construct their identities (religion, or political identification…we locate ourselves with reference to macro-level inst.)

• Institutional change, particularly rapid forms of change, can cause individuals’ identities to alter.  

Coping with change

• Louis Zurcher develops the concept of “mutable self,” a self-concept that is built on the premise that change is constant.
1. People typically approach their identity in one of four modes:
• A is physical self, “microself” (I am female)
• B is social, institutionalized statues (identify with institutional roles: professor, student)
• C is reflective, situation-free.
• D is “oceanic,” having no particular context and removed from interactive commitment.
2. Coping with change

· Typically, a crisis in B mode roles leads to the reflective C mode

· But C mode is unstable and marked by perpetual anxiety, so the self must shift to A, B, or D

3. Mutable Self

a. Develop a new notion of self that is based on a balance so we will be prepared for change

b. Provide tolerance for conflicts in their many aspects of life (role strain)

c. Help society from “falling” by developed structures of flexibility