Margin Notes
Up Sociology Basics Discipline and Methodology Culture Stratification &  Differentiation Social Institutions

 

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Margin Notes covering basic sociological concepts are on the Concepts page linked above and listed below.

The brief items on the other four pages are examples to add to your knowledge of the basic concepts. While the items are in the order of the concepts covered in your course, many items could apply to more than one concept. As you read through the brief items, try to make as many connections to course concepts as you can.

Under almost every brief item you'll find an Optional Resources section with links to sites, videos and etc that are relevant to that item. Those links are not required but I encourage you to explore at least those links relevant to items you found interesting. They'll add to both your understanding and your enjoyment ... and that will make the material easier to learn.

You should also check out the resources listed at the bottom of this page.

 

 

Introductory Sociology Margin Notes

Page #1   Sociological Basics

DISCIPLINE & METHODOLOGY CONCEPTS

What Is Sociology?

The Discipline of Sociology

Occupational and Personal Uses of Sociology

Academic Sociologists

The Development of Sociology in Europe

The Development of Sociology in America

Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology

Comparing Theoretical Perspectives

Applying Theories

Methodology

Is Sociology a Science?

The Components of Scientific Theory

Standards of Scientific Inquiry

Types of Sociological Research

Sociological Research Methods

The Research Process

 

CULTURE CONCEPTS

Culture

Elements of Culture

Interpreting Culture: Our Own and Others

The World Values Survey

Cultural Complexity and Diversity

10 Ideas That Are Changing Your Life

Structure and Groups

Social Status

Social Roles

Social Groups

Types of Social Groups

Formal Organizations

Bureaucracy

Voluntary Associations

Socialization and Interaction

What Is Socialization?

Is Human Interaction Necessary?

Symbolic Interaction

Symbolic Interactionism

Agents of Socialization

Socialization of Gender Roles

Socialization in Adulthood

Socialization at Work

Deviance and Control

What Is Deviance?

Traditional Views of Deviance and Deviants

The Relative Nature of Deviance

Theories Explaining Deviance

Sociological Theories Explaining Deviance

The Social Consequences of Deviance

Deviance and Social Control

 

STRATIFICATION & DIFFERENTIATION CONCEPTS

Stratification & Differentiation

Social Stratification

Types of Societies and Social Differentiation

Types of Stratification

Sources of Power

Theories of Social Stratification

Inequality in the United States

Inequality and Life Chances

Social Mobility in the United States

Race and Ethnicity

Racial, Ethnic and Minority Groups

Attitudes and Their Influence

Racism

Patterns of Group Interaction

Major Racial, Ethnic and Other Minority Groups in the United States

The Future

Gender

Sex and Gender Differentiation

Theories of Gender Differentiation

Gender Differentiation and the Workplace

The Women’s Movement

The Consequences of Inequality

The Future of Gender Inequality

 

SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS CONCEPTS

Family

What is a Family?

Variations in Kinship and Family Organization

A Functionalist Perspective on the Family

A Conflict Perspective on the Family

Other Perspectives on the Family

The American Family System

Nontraditional Marital and Family Lifestyles

Religion

A Sociological Approach to Religion

World Religions Ranked by Number of Adherents

Theories of Religion

Religions of the World

Religion in the United States

Education

Structural-Functional Theory of Education

Conflict Theory of Education

Historical Perspectives on Education

Who Rules the Schools?

Page #1   Sociological Basics (con't)

Education (continued)

Stratification in the School System

American Private Schools

The Failure of American Schools

Why Students Do Not Learn

Improving the Schools

Contest and Sponsored Mobility

The British System

Is All This Education Necessary?

Politics

Types of Power

The Development of Political Systems

Political Structures in Modern Societies

The Political System in the United States

The Role of the Individual

Economics

Types of Economic Systems

Theories of Economic Development

The American Economic System

The Changing Nature of Work

Politics and the Distribution of Wealth

The Chinese System: An Example of Socialism

Page #2   Brief Items Relevant to Discipline and Methodology

Sociological Imagination: Night as Frontier

WEB Du Bois: The Sociologist

Sociologists and Their Theoretical Preferences

Useful Statistics

Unobtrusive Measures: Monitoring CB Prostitutes

Content Analysis of Coverage of the Rodney King Beating

Interactionist View of Sidewalk Behavior

Interactionist Approach to Reducing Social Conflict: Robber’s Cave Experiment

Page #3   Brief Items Relevant to Culture

Cultural Diffusion: Baseball in Japan

India's Sacred Cow: A Functionalist View

Conflicting Cultures

Value Conflicts

Nature versus Nurture

Social Networks in the US

Social Infrastructure

Profile: Little People of America

China and People with Disabilities

The Skinhead Counterculture

Pathology of Imprisonment

Deviance or Sport

Being a Hit Man

The Gentleman Bandit

George Murdock's 70 Cultural Universals

Page #4   Brief Items Relevant to Stratification & Differentiation

Comparison of Perspectives on Stratification

Status Inconsistency: Janitors and Tenants

Cultural Bubbles

Super Zips

US Poverty Stats

Is There a Culture of Poverty?

The Hunger Crisis in American Universities

The New American Demographics

Racial and Ethnic Identity: 10 Things Everyone Should Know About Race

Opinions on Welfare Linked to Racial Views

The Complexity of Racial and Ethnic Identity (and ancestry.com)

Multicultural Groups

The New Immigrants

What Part of Legal Immigration Don't You Understand?

Sexism in Languages: English and Japanese

Sexism in Healthcare: It's All in Your Head

Feminization of the Banking Industry

Gendered Spaces

Young Women Are Losing Ground

Fetal Personhood: Old Idea, New Weapon

The Wage Gap by Gender and Race

An Aging World

10 Hotspots for Human Longevity

Page #5   Brief Items Relevant to Social Institutions

The Tradition of the Bride Price

Child Marriage

Market Exchange: The Wedding Reception

Marital Power

Housework within Lesbian and Gay Households

Tibetan Family Life

Hutterites Coming of Age

Stages of Divorce

Inheriting Divorce

Single Mothers and Society

Is Single Parenthood the Problem?

The Halévy Thesis: Religion as a Stabilizer

Goal Multiplication and Religious Organizations

The Ghost Dance of the Sioux

The Decline of American Christianity

School Desegregation and the Hmong Community

Inequality in Education

Both Boys and Girls Have Reason to Feel Disadvantaged in School

Online Education

Theories of the Current Polarization of America

In the first majority-Muslim US city, residents tense about its future.

The Future of Cities

Work and Alienation: Marx’s View

The New American Pocketbook

Mommy Track

Reverse Socialization and Gender Roles

 


STACK OF SOCIOLOGY BOOKS

 

Need Help with Your Course? Try These Resources!

Sociological Images website is designed to encourage all kinds of people to exercise and develop their sociological imagination by presenting brief sociological discussions of compelling and timely imagery that spans the breadth of sociological inquiry.

How Biased Are You: Hidden Prejudices (06:14)

Poverty in America (03:03)

Stereotyping and Discrimination (03:24)

Culture (03:13)

Doing Sociological Research: Subjective and Objective Knowledge (02:32)

Understanding Theories (01:34)

Making Sense of Social Life (01:20)

Weber on Protestantism and Capitalism (online video, 51 min)

Weber on Traditional Authority (online video, 50 min)

Weber on Charismatic Authority (online video, 49 min)

Weber on Legal-Rational Authority (online video, 48 min)

Weber's Theory of Class (online video, 45 min)

Durkheim's Theory of Anomie (online video, 46 min)

The Southern Culture of Honor (online video, 1 hour) ... Please ignore the occasional curse word.

The Society Pages

Graphic Sociology

Institutions, Geography and Growth (online video, 57 min)

Three billion people on earth live on less than two dollars a day. A relative handful of us fare astronomically better. How do economists account for global “haves” and “have-nots”?

Poverty and Population (audio podcasts, varying lengths)

Globally one million more births than deaths occur every 112 hours, 90% in the poorest countries. Between 1960 and 1980, considerable attention was focused on rapid population growth. Afterwards, the attention has faded and investment in family planning evaporated. Family size among some of the poorest women is increasing. This course seeks to provide an understanding of the relationships between population growth, poverty, women's autonomy and health. It explores the political "fashions" underlying changing paradigms among demographers, economists and development specialists.

China: Traditions and Transformations (online videos, varying lengths)

Modern China presents a dual image: a society transforming itself through economic development and social revolution; and the world’s largest and oldest bureaucratic state, coping with longstanding problems of economic and political management. Both images bear the indelible imprint of China’s historical experience, of its patterns of philosophy and religion, and of its social and political thought. Harvard's China Studies video lectures cover these themes in order to understand China in the modern world and as a great world civilization that developed along lines different from those of the Mediterranean.

Economics, Politics and International Change (MP3 audio downloads, varying lengths)

This UCSD course examines the domestic and international sources of economic and political change. Topics include the rise of the nation-state, comparative economic development, authoritarian and democratic regimes, international and civil conflict, globalization and its domestic and international implications.

Global Politics of Food (MP3 audio downloads, varying lengths)

The global economy is changing the way we think about food, from the kinds of things we eat, to the way food is grown and harvested. This special report from American RadioWorks includes three stories – Engineering Crops in a Needy World, A Bean of a Different Color and The Campaign to Humanize the Coffee Trade.

How Much Will Trade Liberalization in Rich Countries Help Africa? (MP3 audio download, 83 min)

As trade liberalization talks get under way in Hong Kong, many of the world's media outlets continue to focus on protectionism in the developed world and its negative effect on poor countries. But trade liberalization in rich countries as a cure for world poverty is often overemphasized. Based on his new study, Marian Tupy will demonstrate that the main causes of African impoverishment are internal; namely, political instability, high trade tariffs and a general lack of economic freedom.

Introduction to Development (MP3 audio downloads, varying lengths)

This Berkeley YouTube course provides an introduction to comparative development. The course assumes that students know little about life in Third World countries and are unfamiliar with the relevant theory in political economy of development and underdevelopment. The first part of the course covers the historical patterns of incorporation into an expanding world system and the different theories associated with these processes. The second part deals with a variety of micro and macro phenomena organized around land, labor and work.

Islam and the State (online video, 59 min)

UC Political Scientist Vali Nasr joins host Harry Kreisler for a discussion of the role of Islam in politics.

New Insights on Poverty and Life Around the World (online video, 19 min)

Researcher Hans Rosling uses his cool data tools to show how countries are pulling themselves out of poverty. He demos Dollar Street, comparing households of varying income levels worldwide. Then he does something really amazing.

Charlie Rose: An Hour on Race and Society: Conversations with Ta-Nehisi Coates and Bryan Stevenson (09/03/15)  (online video, 54 min)

Global Sociology (online videos, varying lengths)

Berkeley's YouTube Global Sociology course seeks to transcend national boundaries, studying the world as a unit unto itself, populated by organizations, networks and movements. Global sociology cannot be constructed by sociologists from a single country, but must be a collaborative effort from different parts of the planet. The course looks at globalization through a sociological lens by asking distinguished sociologists from around the world to discuss such contemporary issues as immigration, terrorism, disasters, etc.

Tribal Leadership (online video, 16 min)

USC Professor David Logan talks about the five kinds of tribes that humans naturally form – in schools, workplaces, even the driver's license bureau. By understanding our shared tribal tendencies, we can help lead each other to become better individuals.

East vs. West: The Myths That Mystify (online video, 18 min)

Devdutt Pattanaik takes an eye-opening look at the myths of India and of the West ... and shows how these two fundamentally different sets of beliefs about God, death and heaven help us consistently misunderstand one another.

Global Problems of Population Growth (MP3 audio downloads, varying lengths)

This Yale survey course introduces students to the important and basic material on human fertility, population growth, the demographic transition and population policy. Topics include: the human and environmental dimensions of population pressure, demographic history, economic and cultural causes of demographic change, environmental carrying capacity and sustainability. Political, religious and ethical issues surrounding fertility are also addressed. The lectures and readings attempt to balance theoretical and demographic scale analyzes with studies of individual humans and communities. The perspective is global with both developed and developing countries included.

The Tribes We Lead (online video, 18 min)

Seth Godin argues the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change.

Downtown: Its Rise and Fall, 1880-1950 (online video, 67 min)

"Downtown" is the first history of what was once viewed as the heart of the American city. It tells the fascinating story of how downtown – and the way Americans thought about downtown – changed over time. By showing how business and property owners worked to promote the well-being of downtown, even at the expense of other parts of the city, this book gives a riveting account of spatial politics in urban America.

Foundations of Modern Social Theory  (MP3 audio downloads, varying lengths)

This Yale course provides an overview of major works of social thought from the beginning of the modern era through the 1920s. Attention is paid to social and intellectual contexts, conceptual frameworks and methods, and contributions to contemporary social analysis. Writers include Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, Marx, Weber and Durkheim.

How Our Social Networks Shape Our Lives (online video, 55 min)

Harvard professor of sociology and health care policy Nicholas Christakis and fellow scientist James Fowler discuss the power of social networks, the role social networks play in our lives, how they form, how they are maintained and how far-reaching their effects can be. They theorize that our world is governed by the three degrees rule – we influence and are influenced by people up to three degrees removed from us, most of whom we do not even know. For example, your friend's friend's friend has more impact on your happiness than $5,000 in your pocket. Our social networks underlie financial scams, eating disorders, substance abuse and suicide clusters, but also voter turnout, innovation, altruism and random acts of kindness.

Why We Drive the Way We Do (online video, 54 min)

After exhaustive research and interviews with driving experts and traffic officials around the globe, Tom Vanderbilt uncovers the surprisingly complex web of physical, psychological and technical factors that explain how traffic works, why we drive the way we do and what our driving says about us. Vanderbilt examines the perceptual limits and cognitive underpinnings that make us worse drivers than we think we are. He demonstrates why plans to protect pedestrians from cars often lead to more accidents. He shows how roundabouts, which can feel dangerous and chaotic, actually make roads safer — and reduce traffic in the bargain. He uncovers who is more likely to honk at whom and why. He explains why traffic jams form, outlines the unintended consequences of our quest for safety and even identifies the most common mistake drivers make in parking lots.

Population Geography: World Population Distribution, Growth and Change (online PPT, 49 slides)

An excellent slide presentation covering some of the major topics in demography. Scroll down below the comments section to see the presentation transcript that accompanies the slides.

Median US Household Income by State

Check out Kiri Davis’ 7-minute You Tube video, A Girl Like Me, about young African American women and racial identity. It’s an excellent video and includes a "re-do" of the famous Clark doll study.

More Americans Expect to Retire in Their 80s

Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America (13:58)

What it’s like to live on $2 a day in the United States (PDF)

LINK TO THE BOUNDARIES QUIZ

 

 

Social Inequality Resources:

US states ranked from most to least income inequality

This visualization re-imagines US Census data as a neighborhood of 100 homes and groups the households by income, 2020.

Median US household income per county, 2021

How wealth is divided in the US, 2022

US states ranked from most to least income inequality, 2018

This visualization re-imagines US Census data as a neighborhood of 100 homes and groups the households by income, 2020.

Median US household income by county 2021

How wealth is divided in the US, 2022

 

 

Gender inequality Resources:

State of the World's Mothers:

the best and worst countries to be a mother

Men, Women and Work:

The shrinking middle class isn’t just a class issue. It’s becoming a gender issue, too.

The Best and Worst Places to Raise a Family

State of the World's Mothers

MEN, WOMEN & WORK

The Best and Worst Places to Raise a Family

Ten Thousand Years of Patriarchy!

Happy Equal Pay Day? Here are 6 charts showing why it’s not much of a celebration.

Why Parents Struggle So Much in the World’s Richest Country

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Copyright © 1996 Amy S Glenn
Last updated:   03/06/2024 2100

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