Review and Feagin Mid term: 10/22 Feagin: prominent conflict theorist

Mid term Three part exam: 1. Multiple choice questions on reading. Like the quiz Covering ch. 1,2,3,4,5,9,Murray &Feagin 2. Short answer questions Often given concept or finding, you state theorist and give an example. 3. Essays Prepare 20-min answers to review questions me any requests for clarification by Sunday, 10/20 so I can answer to everyone.

Conflict and Functional Theory Both ch. 1 and ch. 2 focus on differences between functional and conflict theory. Interactionist theory often operates at a different (micro) level and is best seen as combining some elements of functional and conflict theory.

Schematic contrast Functional theory 1. Focus on norms and values 2. How is society held together and how are social needs met. 3. Emile Durkheim 4. Robt. K. Merton 5. Negative feedback: social control systems. Conflict theory 1. Focus on inequality 2. Who gets what, and How? 3. Karl marx 4. Joe Feagin 5. Positive feedback: games of Monopoly

Levels: Macro and micro: social structure as Chinese boxes: Individual actions are constrained by social position and social dynamics. Human beings are social animals. Therefore besides individual explanations of individual acts, there are social explanations of rates and structures: –E.g. Durkheim: social facts –Eg. The Chicago school investigations of neighborhood rates.

Chicago school Different neighborhoods had very differfent rates of social problems such as crime, juvenile delinquency and academic failure Even when all the people, or the whole ethnic composition of a a neighborhood changed, its rates often remained the same. Two main kinds of explanation: norms and rents.

Durkheim Suicide 1.Egoistic 2. Altruistic 3. Anomic 4.Fatalistic Crime and punishment –Negative feedback of social control Structural differentiation –Social development leads to specialized organizations, jobs and heterogeneity. Organic solidarity.

Statistical methods and causal analysis Main sources of data in sociology: – Experiments, observation, and surveys –Each have strengths and weaknesses for inferring causality. To demonstrate causality requires controls: –Experimental controls: treat the experimental group and the control group differently. –Statistical controls: analyze the data so that people do not differ with regard to the controlled variable.

Spurious association Without controls, an ob served association may give a misleading picture of the causal forces at work. E.g. –even if fire engines reduce fire damage, –one may observe a positive association between engines and damage, –due to the size of the fire. –Size of fire must be controlled.

Murray’s Libertarianism Libertarians are not liberals They argue that government policies – particularly the “welfare state:” public education, social security, unemployment compensation and labor laws – do more harm than good They suggest the “trendline test:” did things get better after public policies were enacted. Murray illustrates the argument with speed limits.

Problems of systemic relations Besides particular problems with Murray’s analysis, there is a general one. If and to the degree that government policies are a functional response to social problems, the association of gov’t policy and social problems should be positive, not negative, even if the policies reduce the problems.

Micro-theories 1. Roles Possibly informal jobs that need to be done Functionalist micro-theory 2. Networks Concrete sets of relationships. Often conflict micro-theory.

Functional analysis of roles Normatively regulated Functions that need to be done Failure to meet expectation will be sanctioned by role partners. Milgram’s Authority test shows the power of roles.

Networks: Each individual has something like 1,000 persons in his or her network Networks may be more open or closed Grannovetter showed that networks are a major source of job information. Milgram’s Small World Experiment showed that modern networks tend to be open Data on race illustrate ways that modern networks are far from entirely open.

Macro-theories Groups –Primary v. secondary –Ingroups v. outgroups: conflict and solidarity –Reference groups Organizations –Growth of bureaucratic structures –Characterized by specialization, hierarchy, rules, impersonality, and technical qualifications. Institutions –Large complexes of tasks such as government, the economy or religion.

Reference groups Newcomb’s study of Bennington students, and several follow-up studies after 25 and 50 years. Conservative students in a liberal college environment. How much did students change? Qualitatively. Who changed? Students who were more involved. How long did it last? Often their whole life. For whom did it last? For the students who developed a new reference group.

Feagin’s Presidential Address: Social Justice and Sociology: Agendas for the 21 st c. The best of times for some groups have been the worst of times for other groups. Feagin argues that the last two decades have been a period of unfettered markets. That led to good times for groups at the top and the worst of times for those at the bottom Feagin’s conflict perspective is diametrically opposed to Murray’s It is a conflict theory in that Feagin believes that the benefits of some have been purchased at the cost of the misery of others.

The Increase in inequality In the world The richest 200 people now control $1 trillion – $1million per day since birth of Christ, 2.while 59 countries showed actual declines. – In the U.S 1.Large increase in inequality 2.Reduction of government programs aimed at equal opportunity – Unrestained markets (capitalism) generate increased inequality.

What’s justice got to do with it? Feagin believes that if as citizens, we want peace, we need to think about social justice, And as social theorists, we cannot understand the limitations and breakdowns of social structures without considering social justice.

Spaceship earth** ** To attain a sustainable ecology, economy, community, social system or political system we need to get beyond self-interest. Soros and others suggest that it is possible to have a market economy, but not a market society or community. Pollutants, monoculture, high levels of inequality or high levels of group inequality may not be sustainable in a closed system. The society and the world is increasingly a closed system.

Inequality Consider inequality of pay, wealth, power, education, housing, health care, etc. between the elite and the bottom third. Is there an optimum level? Is there an intolerable level? PAYWEALTHPOWEREDHOUSINGHEALTH 1:1 to 1:9 1:10 to 1:99 1:100 to 1:999 1:1,000 to 1:9,999 1:10,000 or more

Inequality and Freedom: Freedom is a dominant value in the U.S. For some people, “freedom” either implies inequality, or is indifferent to it. For other people, large inequalities come into conflict with “freedom.” E.g. “In a free society, it is all right if a few people accumulate a lot of wealth and property, while many others live in poverty. 1. agree 2. Neither agree nor disagree 3. Disagree

An example of a research hypothesis: People who attend church less are more likely to agree. Richer people are more likely to agree. Men are more likely to agree. Caucasians are more likely to agree. Republicans are more likely to agree. …