Site Search and Site Map   

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

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)

US Income Inequality Stats:

Related Articles: