25 Random Things about Sociology (part 1)

This list is inspired by a current phenomenon on Facebook, the "25 Random Things" request. I wrote about seven of these. The Discussion Section instructors helped with the rest. If you're enrolled in Elements of Sociology this semester, (most of) this list could help you on the first exam.

1. Sociologists balance ideas and evidence. Sociologists have ideas about society that they test with numerical data, observation, and other forms of evidence. Our theories about the social world inform our data analysis, and our data sharpens our theories.
2. Both Durkheim and Marx argue that societies go through different stages of evolution. For Durkheim, societies evolve from primitive (mechanical solidarity; low division of labor) to modern (organic solidarity; high division of labor). For Marx, societies evolve from feudalism, to capitalism, to the final stages of socialism/communism.
3. Like all natural disasters, the Chicago heat wave of 1995 wasn’t simply about bad weather. It affected some Chicagoans and not others. Sociologists want to know why.
4. William Julius Wilson has published a series of influential books about urban poverty, including The Declining Significance of Race, The Truly Disadvantaged, When Work Disappears, and The Bridge Over the Racial Divide.
5. According to Durkheim, the phenomenon of suicide is shaped by social forces: how connected one is to groups (social integration) and the level of structure in one’s life (social regulation).
6. Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu presents a powerful critique and analysis of snobbery.
7. Rebecca Moore points out that the people of Jonestown were not just being paranoid; government agencies, journalists, and the Concerned Relatives posed a legitimate threat to their settlement. This emphasis on the normality of the people at Jonestown places Moore within the 2^nd wave of discourse on Jonestown.
8. One experiences “anomie” if they’re disconnected from social bonds.
9. A community might have mechanical solidarity when everyone performs the same job, while they would have organic solidarity when everyone relied on each other to perform a different role in society.
10. Sociologists critique common sense, or doxa, to see whether commonly held theories about how society works are based in evidence.
11. Most sociologists work within the conflict perspective, meaning that they focus on how different groups in society compete for resources and how inequality is reproduced.
12. Eric Klinenberg used multiple research methods (statistical analysis, ethnographic observation, and document analysis) in his study of the 1995 Chicago heat wave.
13. Mitchell Dunier illustrates how informal economies can rise in the inner city and give meaning to people's lives. Further, it is a classic example of how large structural forces outside of most people’s control strongly affect the way people navigate the world.
14. The problem of urban poverty illustrates the incredibly complicated way that class and race intertwine. Sociology gives the most comprehensive account of urban poverty because it takes race, class and other inequalities into account.
15. Durkheim and Marx can be used to examine the same phenomenon in different ways. Social theories are tools that allow us to look at things through different lenses. There is no official sociology narrative. Rather, we have competing and complimenting theories that attempt to explain the world in various ways.
16. For Durkheim, crime is productive because it reinforces the collective conscience of the social group, reminding the group of its rules, values, and norms.
17. Marx's theory of history is that class conflict is the driving engine of history. Other scholars would also include race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and religion (among others) as categories of conflict that have been historically important.
18. Sociology doesn't study suicide out of sheer morbid curiosity. Rather, it is a clear example of a social phenomenon that has largely been characterized as a psychological problem.
19. Sidewalk is endorsed by Spike Lee, perhaps making it the coolest sociology book you will ever read.
20. You can use sociology to understand social problems and (hopefully) how to fix them.
21. Consensus perspective views society held together by common productive experiences, beliefs, and values
22. Bourdieu would say that when it comes to making distinctions, or displaying "taste," what matters is who is making the distinction rather than what the object (art, music, wine, etc.) of distinction is. Those with symbolic power define the dominant cultural code.
23. If a person has agency, they have the ability to make changes in their lives.
24. Sociologists often scrutinize common sense, or doxa, to see whether commonly held ideas about how society fits the evidence about how society works.
25. Most sociologists work within the conflict perspective, meaning that they focus on how different groups in society compete for resources and how inequality is reproduced.