1. Types of Knowledge--Ways of Knowing (Epistemology-the study of knowledge acquisition; how do we know what we know?) Experience--empirical knowledge gained through the senses and verified through personal experience; Faith--a strong belief in "truths" that can be verified only by personal experience; Tradition--knowledge, often based on faith, that has been passed down from one generation to the next; Authority--knowledge gained by listening to people who are recognized as experts in their fields; Science--knowledge based on empirical evidence gained through direct, systematic observation; Requires verification; Is objective; Goals of science--The systematic and objective observation, measurement, and interpretation of data; To explain cause and effect
2. Sociology as a Science--Fritz Machlup's seven criteria for comparing social (soft) sciences to natural (hard) sciences; Invariability of observations ns; Objectivity of observations and explanations; Verifiability of hypotheses; Exactness of findings; Measurability of phenomena; Constancy of numerical relationships; Predictability of future events; Machlup's Conclusion--the social sciences are not inferior to the natural sciences but they are different
3. The Scientific Method--a systematic, organized series of steps that ensures maximum objectivity and consistency in researching a problem--Five Basic Steps--Defining the problem; Reviewing the literature; Formulating the hypothesis; Selecting the research design; Collecting and analyzing data; Developing the conclusion
1. Defining the Problem--stating as clearly as possible what you hope to investigate; Concept--an abstract idea or general thought; Conceptual definition--defining a concept through the use of other concepts; Operational Definition--an explanation of an abstract concept that is specific enough to allow a researcher to measure the concept
2. Reviewing the Literature--reviewing the relevant scholarly studies and information in order to refine the problem under study, clarify possible techniques (methods) and eliminate or reduce the number of avoidable mistakes
3. Formulating the Hypothesis; A hypothesis is a speculative statement about the relationship between two or more factors (variables)--Tells us what we are looking for in our research; Must be testable--must be capable of being evaluated; Research Objectives--outline of the specific goals or purposes for the research project; Variable--a measurable trait of a characteristic that is subject to change under different conditions; Independent Variable (IV)--causes a change; Dependent Variable (DV)--the thing that is changed; Causal Logic--involves the relationship between a condition or variable and a particular consequence, with one event leading directly to the other; Correlation--a change in one variable coincides with a change in another variable; MAY INDICATE causality; NEVER, NEVER, NEVER proves causality
4. Collecting and Analyzing Data--Selecting the Sample--deciding who is going to be in your study; Sampling--who will be chosen for a research study and the method used to make those choices; Population--the entire body of people to which the sociologist would like to generalize her/his research findings; Representative sample--a selection from a larger population that is statistically found to be typical of that population; The part of the population used in a research study; Must be of sufficient size in order for the results to be meaningful (more than 40 subjects are required) ; Random sample--every member of the entire population being studied has the same chance of being selected--each member of the target population has an equal chance of being chosen as a research subject ; Stratified Random Sample--a proportionate number of the random sample; Polls are often unscientific; Polls may be biased; Availability Sampling--using whoever is readily available (such as college students)--Also called a Convenience Sample
1. Creating Scales and Indices--Scales and Indices are indicators of attitudes, behavior, and characteristics of people or organizations--Likert-type scales; General Social Survey--NORC
2. Validity and Reliability; Validity--the degree to which a measure or scale truly reflects the phenomenon under study--Measuring what is supposed to be measured; IQ tests; Reliability--the extent to which a measure provides consistent results--Always getting the same results; A measure may be reliable without being valid; Measuring with a broken or inappropriate device; People generally think that attractive people are also intelligent, but, using these opinions does not accurately measure intelligence; Opinion polls; Developing the Conclusion--terminates a specific phase of the investigation and generates ideas for future study; Supporting Hypotheses; Studies are sometimes supported; Studies are sometimes refuted; May call for a change in methods; May be caused by--spurious variables--an apparent relationship which is meaningless; intervening variables--variables that might come between the the IV and the DV; confounding variables--variables that are unanticipated, often overlooked, and that can seriously compromise the results of an experiment; The Hawthorne Effect; Control Variable--a factor held constant to test the relative impact of the IV
5. Research Design--a detailed plan or method for obtaining data scientifically
1. Two Major Types; Quantitative--relies on statistics; Qualitative--relies on observation; Are usually combined
6. Quantitative Research Designs--emphasizes the use of numbers and statistics to analyze and explain social events and human behavior
1. Secondary Analysis--makes use of existing data and is often used in comparative/historical studies--Census Bureau; Departments of Labor and Justice; General Social Survey; Experimental designs--attempt to discover a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables; Surveys--using questionnaires or interviews to obtain data--difficult to design well; questionnaire--a series of statements or questions to which an individual is asked to respond; Closed-Ended Questions--Uses standardized responses; Offers very few choices to the respondent; Easiest to analyze; Open-Ended Questions--Requires the respond to create an answer; Most difficult to analyze
7. Qualitative Research Designs--the use of systematic observation focusing on the meanings people give to their social actions; Subjective interpretation; Use research objectives rather than rigorous scientific hypotheses; Ethnographic interviews--learning from people; writing about a people; a technique where the researcher talks with people in an effort to learn as much as possible about them and their behavior; Focus on particular cultures or sub-cultures; Sometimes rely on informants--a member of a group who is willing to share her/his experiences with the researcher; Participant observation--a researcher systematically observes the people being studied while participating with them in their activities--William Foote Whyte Street Corner Society; Limited participation--the researcher's participation with the group is restricted--Johnathan Kozol Amazing Grace; Case studies--the intensive observation of a particular person, group, or event--Permits detailed data to be gathered; Data does not always generalize; Content analysis--examines and analyzes communications and focuses on words, themes, or patterns
8. Ethical Issues in Research; Milgram (Yale) and Zimbardo (Stanford) studies in obedience and role embracement (pp. 151-153)
1. All universities have Human Subjects Committees; Review all proposed research; Approve or deny proposed research; Social scientific research is often used and misused for political purposes
9. Let's create a study--Spring Break in New Orleans

Chapter 3--Culture

1. Culture--the totality of learned, socially transmitted behavior; Defines our Weltanschauung; Determines everything about us; Includes ideas, values, customs, and artifacts
1. William F. Ogburn--types of culture; Material Culture--the physical or technological aspects of our daily lives; Food, houses, factories, raw materials, etc.; Non-Material Culture--ways of using material objects; Customs, beliefs, philosophies, governments, and patterns of communication
2. Three Types of Culture--Cognitive Culture--what we think and believe; Normative Culture--what we do and how we behave; Material Culture--what we make and how we use the natural world
3. Society--Sharing a similar material and nonmaterial culture; A fairly large number of people living in the same geographical territory who are relatively independent of people outside their area and who participate in a common culture; Members of society generally share a common language; Language is a major, possibly primary, element of culture
4. Language--a complex system of symbols with conventional meanings, used by members of a society for communication; Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis--Language precedes thought; Language is culturally determined; Language, by focusing our attention on different phenomenon leads to different cultural interpretations of events; Noam Chomsky--Language Acquisition Device; Human beings are pre-wired and hard-wired for language; All humans have the ability to learn any human language
5. Verbal symbols--spoken words and sounds; There are 3,000 to 5,000 languages in the world; Some languages are subsets or dialects of other languages; Most languages use 15 to 60 distinct sounds; English uses 44 distinct sounds; Nonverbal symbols--"body language," clothing or fashion styles, hair styles and color, body adornment, gestures; Culturally defined, culturally understood, and culturally specific
6. Language, thought, and culture are interrelated; Language enables people to store culture by storing meanings; Conquerors, in the past, have attempted to prevent indigenous people from speaking their own language, thereby destroying the culture of the conquered people; Language is dynamic--"And eek men shal nat make ernest of game"; Language shapes reality
2. A Brief History of Humankind
3. Cultural Universals--general practices found in EVERY culture--Adaptations to meet essential human needs--Expressed differently from culture to culture and from society to society; The expressions are adaptable and change over time.
4. Cultural Innovation--introducing an idea or object that is new to a culture; Invention--existing cultural items are combined in a form that did not exist before; Cultural Diffusion--the process by which a cultural item is spread from group to group or society to society; Ogburn's Cultural Lag Hypothesis--a period of maladjustment during which the nonmaterial culture is still adapting to new material conditions
5. Elements of Culture--Language, Norms, Values
6. Language--Encourages cultural solidarity; Encourages cultural stereotypes; Definitions of black and white; Gendered language
7. Norms--established standards of behavior maintained by society--Widely shared and understood
1. Types of Norms--Formal Norms--generally written down and involve strict rules for punishment of violators; Law--the body of rules, made by government for society, interpreted by the courts, and backed by the power of the state; Informal Norms--generally understood but not precisely recorded standards of behavior
8. Three Types of Norms--Folkways, Mores, Laws
1. Folkways--informal rules and expectations that guide people's everyday behavior-- Etiquette, manners, proper attire for a given situation, self-control; Folkways may differ depending on SES, Master Status, and situation; Violations are not severely sanctioned; Sanctions are informal; Loosely defined and loosely applied by individuals; Violations are not generally seen as threats to the social order; Persistent violation is usually seen as deviance;
2. Mores--the norms that people consider essential to the proper working of society--Mores have moral and (sometimes) religious significance; They define what the culture or society deems to be right and wrong, good and bad; Mores do not necessarily apply equally to all members of society and may be dependent on SES and Master Status; Sanctions are formal, clearly defined rewards or punishments administered by authorized social agents; Conformity is ensured by internalization as well as by negative sanctions
3. Laws--formal rules enacted and enforced by the power of the state, which apply to every member of a society--Codified mores; Sometimes dependent on SES or Master Status; Formal negative sanctions apply to violations; Severity of sanctions is often dependent upon the severity of the violation
9. Values--the collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable, and proper or bad, undesirable, and improper in a culture--Indications of what people find important and moral; May be specific or very general; Influence behavior and serve as a criteria for evaluating the actions of others; Relatively stable and enduring over time; American Core Values--Individualism and freedom; What does this do to group solidarity?; What are the political ramifications of this value?--Equality--Of opportunity only, not of outcomes--Achievement--Anyone can get ahead if she/he tries hard enough; Sets up a competitive, zero-sum-game mentality --Efficiency and practicality--; M^cDonaldization; Progress and technology; Is progress always good? New technologies always create social upheaval--Material comfort and consumerism--We are measured by our "stuff"; Cornel West argues that consumerism is responsible for social pathologies brought on by feelings of relative deprivation; I don't have what they have, so I think I'll steal it--Work and leisure--Shop 'til you drop; Value conflicts
1. Social values are determined by the larger society or culture but they are also determined by SES and Master Statuses; SES (Socioeconomic status=education+ occupation+ income); Master Statuses; Class--largely dependent upon SES, Race/Ethnicity, Gender, Age
10. Cultural Integration--the bringing together of conflicting cultural elements resulting in a harmonious and cohesive whole--Diffusion, Invention, Innovation; May be top down or bottom up
11. Cultural Variation--the unique character and cultural adaptations of any given society; Diversity; Subculture--a segment of society which shares a distinctive pattern of mores, folkways, and values which differs from the pattern of the larger society--A culture within a larger culture; Characteristic of large-scale, complex societies; Argot--a specialized language which is distinguished from the wider society; "Insider" language; Countercultures--a subculture that rejects societal norms and values and seeks alternative lifestyles--Often considered deviant; Often engage in illegal activity
12. Culture Shock--disorientation, uncertainty, fearfulness, and a feeling of being out of place when immersed in an unfamiliar culture; Ethnocentrism--the tendency to assume that one's own culture and way of life are superior to all others--Necessary for social cohesion; Creates conflict between different or diverse cultures
13. Cultural Relativism--views people's behavior from the perspective of their own culture. It places a priority on UNDERSTANDING other cultures rather than dismissing them as "strange" or "exotic"--First proposed by anthropologist Franz Boas; Can raise difficult questions and difficult social issues
14. Xenocentrism--the belief that the products, styles, or ideas of one's society are inferior to those that originate elsewhere
15. Xenophobia--extreme, usually irrational, fear and hatred of other sociocultural groups; Based on extreme ethnocentrism; Complete disregard for cultural relativism
16. Multiculturalism--an insistence that school and college curricula should be revised to give greater emphasis to the contributions and experiences of non-whites, women, and non-western peoples; Changes how we view our world; May cause conflict between or among groups

The following material ("Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" and "The Sacred Rac") will be used for a class discussion following the chapter on Culture:

"Body Ritual among the Nacirema"

Horace Miner [1 - footnotes are at the end of this document] Reprinted by permission of the American Anthropological Association from American Anthropologist 58:3, June 1956. Not for sale or further reproduction.Most cultures exhibit a particular configuration or style. A single value or pattern of perceiving the world often leaves its stamp on several institutions in the society. Examples are "machismo" in Spanish-influenced cultures, "face" in Japanese culture, and "pollution by females" in some highland New Guinea cultures. Here Horace Miner demonstrates that "attitudes about the body" have a pervasive influence on many institutions in Nacireman society.
The anthropologist has become so familiar with the diversity of ways in which different people behave in similar situations that he is not apt to be surprised by even the most exotic customs. In fact, if all of the logically possible combinations of behavior have not been found somewhere in the world, he is apt to suspect that they must be present in some yet undescribed tribe. The point has, in fact, been expressed with respect to clan organization by Murdock.[2] In this light, the magical beliefs and practices of the Nacirema present such unusual aspects that it seems desirable to describe them as an example of the extremes to which human behavior can go.
Professor Linton [3] first brought the ritual of the Nacirema to the attention of anthropologists twenty years ago, but the culture of this people is still very poorly understood. They are a North American group living in the territory between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles. Little is known of their origin, although tradition states that they came from the east....
Nacirema culture is characterized by a highly developed market economy which has evolved in a rich natural habitat. While much of the people's time is devoted to economic pursuits, a large part of the fruits of these labors and a considerable portion of the day are spent in ritual activity. The focus of this activity is the human body, the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant concern in the ethos of the people. While such a concern is certainly not unusual, its ceremonial aspects and associated philosophy are unique.
The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease. Incarcerated in such a body, man's only hope is to avert these characteristics through the use of ritual and ceremony. Every household has one or more shrines devoted to this purpose. The more powerful individuals in the society have several shrines in their houses and, in fact, the opulence of a house is often referred to in terms of the number of such ritual centers it possesses. Most houses are of wattle and daub construction, but the shrine rooms of the more wealthy are walled with stone. Poorer families imitate the rich by applying pottery plaques to their shrine walls.
While each family has at least one such shrine, the rituals associated with it are not family ceremonies but are private and secret. The rites are normally only discussed with children, and then only during the period when they are being initiated into these mysteries. I was able, however, to establish sufficient rapport with the natives to examine these shrines and to have the rituals described to me.
The focal point of the shrine is a box or chest which is built in to the wall. In this chest are kept the many charms and magical potions without which no native believes he could live. These preparations are secured from a variety of specialized practitioners. The most powerful of these are the medicine men, whose assistance must be rewarded with substantial gifts. However, the medicine men do not provide the curative potions for their clients, but decide what the ingredients should be and then write them down in an ancient and secret language. This writing is understood only by the medicine men and by the herbalists who, for another gift, provide the required charm.
The charm is not disposed of after it has served its purpose, but is placed in the charmbox of the household shrine. As these magical materials are specific for certain ills, and the real or imagined maladies of the people are many, the charm-box is usually full to overflowing. The magical packets are so numerous that people forget what their purposes were and fear to use them again. While the natives are very vague on this point, we can only assume that the idea in retaining all the old magical materials is that their presence in the charm-box, before which the body rituals are conducted, will in some way protect the

worshiper.
Beneath the charm-box is a small font. Each day every member of the family, in succession, enters the shrine room, bows his head before the charm-box, mingles different sorts of holy water in the font, and proceeds with a brief rite of ablution.[4] The holy waters are secured from the Water Temple of the community, where the priests conduct elaborate ceremonies to make the liquid ritually pure.
In the hierarchy of magical practitioners, and below the medicine men in prestige, are specialists whose designation is best translated as "holy-mouth-men." The Nacirema have an almost pathological horror of and fascination with the mouth, the condition of which is believed to have a supernatural influence on all social relationships. Were it not for the rituals of the mouth, they believe that their teeth would fall out, their gums bleed, their jaws shrink, their friends desert them, and their lovers reject them. They also believe that a strong relationship exists between oral and moral characteristics. For example, there is a ritual ablution of the mouth for children which is supposed to improve their moral fiber.
The daily body ritual performed by everyone includes a mouth-rite. Despite the fact that these people are so punctilious [5] about care of the mouth, this rite involves a practice which strikes the uninitiated stranger as revolting. It was reported to me that the ritual consists of inserting a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures.[6]
In addition to the private mouth-rite, the people seek out a holy-mouth-man once or twice a year. These practitioners have an impressive set of paraphernalia, consisting of a variety of augers, awls, probes, and prods. The use of these items in the exorcism of the evils of the mouth involves almost unbelievable ritual torture of the client. The holy-mouth-man opens the client's mouth and, using the above mentioned tools, enlarges any holes which decay may have created in the teeth. Magical materials are put into these holes. If there are no naturally occurring holes in the teeth, large sections of one or more teeth are gouged out so that the supernatural substance can be applied. In the client's view, the purpose of these ministrations [7] is to arrest decay and to draw friends. The extremely sacred and traditional character of the rite is evident in the fact that the natives return to the holy-mouth-men year after year, despite the fact that their teeth continue to decay.
It is to be hoped that, when a thorough study of the Nacirema is made, there will be careful inquiry in to the personality structure of these people. One has but to watch the gleam in the eye of a holy-mouth-man, as he jabs an awl into an exposed nerve, to suspect that a certain amount of sadism is involved. If this can be established, a very interesting pattern emerges, for most of the population shows definite masochistic tendencies. It was to these that Professor Linton referred in discussing a distinctive part of the daily body ritual which is performed only by men. This part of the rite includes scraping and lacerating the surface of the face with a sharp instrument. Special women's rites are performed only four times during each lunar month, but what they lack in frequency is made up in barbarity. As part of this ceremony, women bake their heads in small ovens for about an hour. The theoretically interesting point is that what seems to be a preponderantly masochistic people have developed sadistic specialists.
The medicine men have an imposing temple, or latipso, in every community of any size. The more elaborate ceremonies required to treat very sick patients can only be performed at this temple. These ceremonies involve not only the thaumaturge [8] but a permanent group of vestal maidens who move sedately about the temple chambers in distinctive costume and headdress.
The latipso ceremonies are so harsh that it is phenomenal that a fair proportion of the really sick natives who enter the temple ever recover. Small children whose indoctrination is still incomplete have been known to resist attempts to take them to the temple because "that is where you go to die." Despite this fact, sick adults are not only willing but eager to undergo the protracted ritual purification, if they can afford to do so. No matter how ill the supplicant or how grave the emergency, the guardians of many temples will not admit a client if he cannot give a rich gift to the custodian. Even after one has gained and survived the ceremonies, the guardians will not permit the neophyte to leave until he makes still another gift.
The supplicant entering the temple is first stripped of all his or her clothes. In everyday life the Nacirema avoids exposure of his body and its natural functions. Bathing and excretory acts are performed only in the secrecy of the household shrine, where they are ritualized as part of the body-rites. Psychological shock results from the fact that body secrecy is suddenly lost upon entry into the latipso. A man, whose own wife has never seen him in an excretory act, suddenly finds himself naked and assisted by a vestal maiden while he performs his natural functions into a sacred vessel. This sort of ceremonial treatment is necessitated by the fact that the excreta are used by a diviner to ascertain the course and nature of the client's sickness. Female clients, on the other hand, find their naked bodies are subjected to the scrutiny, manipulation and prodding of the medicine men.
Few supplicants in the temple are well enough to do anything but lie on their hard beds. The daily ceremonies, like the rites of the holy-mouth-men, involve discomfort and torture. With ritual precision, the vestals awaken their miserable charges each dawn and roll them about on their beds of pain while performing ablutions, in the formal movements of which the maidens are highly trained. At other times they insert magic wands in the supplicant's mouth or force him to eat substances which are supposed to be healing. From time to time the medicine men come to their clients and jab magically treated needles into their flesh. The fact that these temple ceremonies may not cure, and may even kill the neophyte, in no way decreases the people's faith in the medicine men.
There remains one other kind of practitioner, known as a "listener." This witchdoctor has the power to exorcise the devils that lodge in the heads of people who have been bewitched. The Nacirema believe that parents bewitch their own children. Mothers are particularly suspected of putting a curse on children while teaching them the secret body rituals. The counter-magic of the witchdoctor is unusual in its lack of ritual. The patient simply tells the "listener" all his troubles and fears, beginning with the earliest difficulties he can remember. The memory displayed by the Nacirema in these exorcism sessions is truly remarkable. It is not uncommon for the patient to bemoan the rejection he felt upon being weaned as a babe, and a few individuals even see their troubles going back to the traumatic effects of their own birth.
In conclusion, mention must be made of certain practices which have their base in native esthetics but which depend upon the pervasive aversion to the natural body and its functions. There are ritual fasts to make fat people thin and ceremonial feasts to make thin people fat. Still other rites are used to make women's breasts larger if they are small, and smaller if they are large. General dissatisfaction with breast shape is symbolized in the fact that the ideal form is virtually outside the range of human variation. A few women afflicted with almost inhuman hyper-mammary development are so idolized that they make a handsome living by simply going from village to village and permitting the natives to stare at them for a fee.
Reference has already been made to the fact that excretory functions are ritualized, routinized, and relegated to secrecy. Natural reproductive functions are similarly distorted. Intercourse is taboo as a topic and scheduled as an act. Efforts are made to avoid pregnancy by the use of magical materials or by limiting intercourse to certain phases of the moon. Conception is actually very infrequent. When pregnant, women dress so as to hide their condition. Parturition takes place in secret, without friends or relatives to assist, and the majority of women do not nurse their infants.
Our review of the ritual life of the Nacirema has certainly shown them to be a magic-ridden people. It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist so long under the burdens which they have imposed upon themselves. But even such exotic customs as these take on real meaning when they are viewed with the insight provided by Malinowski [9] when he wrote: Looking from far and above, from our high places of safety in the developed civilization, it is easy to see all the crudity and irrelevance of magic. But without its power and guidance early man could not have mastered his practical difficulties as he has done, nor could man have advanced to the higher stages of civilization.[10]

The Sacred Rac

From: Frank Marcia

An Indian anthropologist, Chandra Thapar, made a study of foreign culture which had customs similar to those of his native land. One culture in particular fascinated him because it reveres one animal as sacred, much as the people in India revere the cow.

The tribe Dr. Thapar studied is called the Asu and is found on the American continent north of the Tarahumara of Mexico. Though it seems to be a highly developed society of its type, it has an overwhelming preoccupation with the care and feeding of the rac -- an animal much like a bull in size, strength and temperament. In the Asu tribe, it is almost a social obligation to own at least one if not more racs. Anyone not possessing at least one is held in low esteem by the community because he is too poor to maintain one of these beasts properly. Some members of the tribe, to display their wealth and social prestige, even own herds of racs.

Unfortunately the rac breed is not very healthy and usually does not live more than five to seven years, for it has a tendency to throw its shoes often. There are rac specialists in each community, perhaps more than one if the community is particularly wealthy. These specialists however, due to the long period of ritual training they must undergo and to the difficulty of obtaining the right selection of charms to treat the rac, demand costly offerings whenever a tribesman must treat his ailing rac.

At the age of sixteen in many Asu communities, many youths undergo a puberty rite in which the rac figures prominently. The youth must petition a high priest in a grand temple. He is then initiated into the ceremonies that surround the care of the rac and is permitted to keep a rac.

Although the rac may be used as a beast of burden, it has many habits which would be considered by other cultures as harmful to the life of the society. In the first place the rac breed is increasing at a very rapid rate and the Asu tribesmen have given no thought to limiting the rac population. As a consequence the Asu must build more and more paths for the rac to travel on since its delicate health and its love of racing other racs at high speeds necessitates that special areas be set aside for its use. The cost of smoothing the earth is too costly for any one individual to undertake; so it has become a community project and each tribesman must pay an annual tax to build new paths and maintain the old. There are so many paths needed that some people move their homes because the rac paths must be as straight as possible to keep the animal from injuring itself. Dr. Thapar also noted that unlike the cow, which many people in his country hold sacred, the excrement of the rac cannot be used as either fuel or fertilizer. On the contrary, its excrement is exceptionally foul and totally useless. Worst of all, the rac is prone to stampedes in which it runs down anything in its path, much like stampeding cattle. Estimates are that the rac kills thousands of the Asu in a year.

Despite the high cost of its upkeep, the damage it does to the land, and its habit of destructive stampedes, the Asu still regard it as being essential to the survival of their culture. Some questions concerning this article: Is the rac essential to the survival of the Asu society? Do people in your society revere something as much as the Asu revere the rac? What is that thing?

Chapter 4--Socialization

1. Socialization--the process whereby people learn the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture--The process of becoming human; Affects the overall cultural practices of a society and shapes self-images; Shapes the "personality"--A person's typical patterns of attitudes, needs, characteristics, and behavior
2. Socialization is a reciprocal process--as we are changed by institutions, we in turn change those institutions
3. Nature vs Nurture (Heredity vs Environment)--Most social scientists today acknowledge that the INTERACTION between heredity and environment shapes human development; Biology versus Personal Circumstances; Heredity versus Environment; Genes versus Family Background; Physiological versus Social Influences; What We're Born with versus What We Learn after We Are Born
4. Social Isolates and Feral Children--Genie; The "Wild Boy of Avignon"; Romanian orphans; Harlow's Theory of Attachment
5. The Self--the sum total of people's conscious perception of their own identity as distinct from others. It is not a static phenomenon, but continues to develop and change throughout our lives
1. Cooley--The Looking Glass Self--The self is a product of our social interactions with other people; Three phases--Imagining how we present ourselves to others; Imagining how others evaluate us; Our self image results from our interpretation of these impressions Impressions and the resultant self-image are dependent upon interpreting the attitudes of others
2. George Herbert Mead--developed a stage theory of the development of the self--the self cannot exist without society; Preparatory (Imitative) Stage--children imitate those around them, especially family members; Play Stage--children begin using and manipulating the symbols (gestures, objects, and language which forms the basis of human communication) of their culture; Role Taking--the process of mentally assuming the perspective of another thereby enabling one to respond from that imagined viewpoint; Game Stage--the child begins to consider several tasks and relationships simultaneously; Children grasp not only their own social positions, but also those of others around them; Generalized Others--the child's awareness of the attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of society as a whole; We tend to act based on how we think others will respond; Two Components of the Self--the I and the Me--these two components are in constant interaction; Self--a person's conscious recognition that he or she is a distinct individual who is part of a larger society; Emerges through experiencing other people; The I--the self as subject; The creative, spontaneous, uninhibited aspect of the self; The ME--the self as object; The socialized self that recognizes it is part of a society; Represents the traditional, normative, inhibited, reactive aspect of the self; Based on HOW OTHERS WILL RESPOND; The I and the ME are the basis of thought; Allow us to act, react, and interact while taking others into account ; Significant Others--those individuals who are most important in the development of the self
3. Goffman--many of our daily activities involve attempts to convey impressions of who we are--consciously creating images of ourselves for others--Impression Management--altering of the presentation of the self; Dramaturgical Approach--people can be seen as resembling performers in action; Actors and roles; Face Work--situation-dependent deception of the self and others; Rationalizing in order to overcome or prevent negative self images
6. Psychological Approaches to the Self--most, if not all, psychological theories of personality development acknowledge that, even though 20%-40% of the personality is formed before birth, the individual does not develop in a vacuum and is, indeed, a part of a larger, wider society
7. Anticipatory Socialization--the processes of socialization in which a person "rehearses" for future positions, occupations, and social relationships--Aids the smooth and efficient functioning of a culture; Members of a society become acquainted with the norms, values, and behavior associated with a social position before actually assuming that status; Playing house, internships, work-study programs. Rites of Passage--rituals, ceremonies, and informal recognition of a person's change in status; Culturally defined; Often based on changes in age, education, occupation, marital status
8. Resocialization--the process of discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one's life--typically involves considerable stress for the individual; Resocialization In and Out; Total Institutions--institutions which regulate all aspects of a person's life under a single authority--Residents are cut off from mainstream society; the institution provides for ALL of the needs of ALL of its residents; Often represents a society in microcosm; Creates its own culture; Goffman--4 Characteristics of Total Institutions--All aspects of life are conducted in the same place and are under the control of a single authority; Any activities withing the institution are conducted in the company of others in the same circumstances; The authorities devise rules and schedule activities without consulting the participants; All aspects of life are designed to fulfill the purpose of the organization--Loss of the individual is the goal of some total institutions
1. Degradation Ceremony--a process by which an individual suffers some kind of humiliation before entrance into a total institution
9. Agents of Socialization
1. Family-- Habit Training--the imposition of schedules for eating, sleeping, social interaction; Gender Roles--the expectations regarding the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females; Learning what constitutes masculinity and femininity
2. Religion--Develops a life theme; Creates a Weltanschauung; Provides a sense of purpose; Establishes a system of morality
3. School--Habit training and gender role expectations are reinforced; "Good citizen" roles are taught; Anticipatory socialization for later employment is imparted; Manifest and Latent Functions
4. Peer Groups--friendship cliques, youth gangs, and special-interest clubs --Peer groups differ from other agents of socialization in that the relationships are among equals; Provide for anticipatory socialization into new roles; Assist in the transition to adult responsibilities
5. Mass Media--Between the ages of 6 and 18 the average young person spends more time watching TV than doing homework; 15,000-16,000 hours vs 13,000 hours; By age 16 the average TV viewer has seen:; 200,000 acts of violence; 33,000 fictional murders; 56% of all American-made TV shows portray actual or threatened violence; Ageism, sexism, and racism are reinforced

Chapter 5--Society and Social Interaction (the Social Structure)

1. Social Interaction--the ways in which people respond to one another; need not be face-to-face
1. Blumer--the distinctive characteristic of social interaction is that "human beings interpret or 'define' each other's actions instead of merely reacting to each other's actions"; Reality is shaped by our perceptions, evaluations, and definitions; Symbolic Interactionism focuses on social interaction and the ways in which humans act, interpret, react in relationship to and with others
2. Negotiated Order--the attempt to reach agreement with other concerning some objective; Bargaining, compromising, trading off, mediating, exchanging, "wheeling and dealing," collusion; It is through negotiation as a form of social interaction that society creates its social structure; A social structure derives its existence from the social interactions through which people constantly define and redefine its character
3. Social Interaction--the mutual and reciprocal influence by two or more people on each other's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; The building block of the social order

1. Three Paradigms of Social Structure--the ordered relationships and patterned expectations that guide social interaction. The way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships
1. Conflict Paradigm--the social structure is objective, external to the individual, and coercive (Durkheim's social facts); it emphasizes that roles, statuses, groups, and institutions exist for the protection and maintenance of the elite. The social structure is based on relations of exploitation often based on master status. There is no consensus; there is only conflict. The social structure is objective, concrete, and exploitative.
2. Functionalist Paradigm--the social structure is objective, external to the individual, and coercive (Durkheim's social facts); it argues that each and every component or element exists in order to create a stable and enduring society. A society must have a relatively rigid, yet interactive structure in order to exist. Externality and objectivity are necessary to the social structure. The structure itself creates consensus. The social structure is objective, concrete, and stable.
3. Symbolic Interactionist Paradigm--The social structure is subjective, accepted or rejected by the individual throughout the socialization process, and based on negotiated order. The social structure is continuously created and recreated through micro-level interactions among individuals and small groups. The social structure is based on social interaction, statuses, roles, groups, social networks, social institutions, and societies. Small groups and individuals create consensus. The social structure is subjective, abstract, and constantly changing.
2. Two Types of Social Interaction-- Individual Acts--private, personal, solitary; Social Acts--behaviors influenced by and shaped by the presence of others
3. Patterns of Behavior--the social interactions of a structured society--All societies have structure; Some structures are more rigid than others; The structure differs depending on the culture; Social Interaction and Social Structure shape and are shaped by our Weltanschauung
4. The Four Basic Elements of Social Structure--Statuses, Social Roles, Groups, and Social Institutions
5. Statuses--from Max Weber--any of the full range of socially defined positions within a large group or society--from the lowest to highest position--A hierarchical ranking of people and positions based on various characteristics; Positions tend to be ranked the same universally; An individual may hold more than one status at a time; We occupy statuses and play roles
6. Ascribed Status--a status that is assigned to a person by society without regard for the person's unique talents or characteristics; Assigned at birth; Race, sex, age, hair texture, eye shape, social ranking of parents
7. Achieved Status--a status attained by a person largely through her or his own effort; Requires that a person DO something; Master Status--a status that dominates others and thereby determines a person's general position in society; Generally based on race/ethnicity, sex or gender, age, SES, and sometimes religion; May be defined by others based on ascribed or achieved characteristics; May be self defined based on ascribed or achieved characteristics
8. Social Roles--a set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status--Roles contribute to society's stability by enabling members to anticipate the behavior of others and to pattern their own actions accordingly
1. Role Conflict--two or more incompatible expectations arise from two or more social positions held by the same person; May require making ethical choices
2. Role Exit--the process of disengagement from a role that is central to one's self-identity; Leaving a convent--Helen Rose Ebaugh (Associate Professor of Sociology-U of H Central)--Four Stages--Doubt; Search for Alternative; Departure; Creation of a New Identity
9. Groups--any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who regularly and consciously interact
1. Primary group--a small number of people who interact on a face-to-face basis, have close personal ties, and are emotionally committed to the relationship; Family, peers, close neighbors
2. Secondary groups--includes two or more people who interact on a formal and impersonal basis to accomplish a specific objective (goal)
10. Social networks--the total web of an individual's relationships and group memberships--a series of social relationships that link a person to directly to others and therefore indirectly to more people--Family, friends, neighbors, peers, co-workers, club members, team members; No clear boundaries or common goals; Characterized by two kinds of relationships: Strong ties--characterized by a relationship that is intimate, enduring, and defined by those involved as being of special importance; Weak ties--characterized by tenuous and impersonal relationships that provide contacts beyond family and friends
11. Social Institutions--organized patterns of beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs. Social Institutions--relatively enduring clusters of values, norms, social statuses, roles, and groups that address fundamental social needs; Are socially created, create their own system of logic, are highly resistant to change; Durkheim's Social Facts; Functionalists--institutions are society's method of caring for basic human needs and solving basic problems; Conflict theorists--institutions represent oppressive relationship that disproportionately benefit the elites; Symbolic interactionists--institutions, which do change and are in a constant state of flux, are representative of human interactions
12. Ferdinand Tönnies--Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (Community and Society) written in 1887
1. Gemeinschaft--Community; Similar to Durkheim's Mechanical Solidarity; Characterized by small-scale communities in which there is a similarity of experiences, values, norms; Kin-group and kin-group-like social bonds; Mutual interest dominates; Social control is maintained through informal means such as moral persuasion, gossip; Deviance is not tolerated; Social change is VERY slow; May be VERY confining
2. Gesellschaft--Society; Similar to Durkheim's Organic Solidarity; Characterized by modern urban life, large-scale communities where most people are strangers, there is little commonality, values and norms may differ widely; Self interest dominates; Social control is formal and maintained by force of law; Deviance is tolerated; Social change is VERY fast; May be VERY lonely
13. Six Types of Societies; Society--people who live in a specific geographical territory, interact with one another, and share some elements of a common culture; Typologies are based on technology, subsistence strategies, and social organization; Hunter-Gatherers--a society in which people make their living by some combination of hunting, foraging for wild foods, and fishing with simple technologies; Pastoralists--a society that depends for its livelihood on domestic animals; Horticulturalists--a society in which hand tools are used to grow domesticated crops; Agrarianists--a society that depends for its subsistence on crops raised with the help of plows, draft animals, and intensive agricultural methods; Industrial Societies--a society that relies on machines and advanced technology to produce and distribute food, information, goods, and services; Postindustrialism--(Daniel Bell)--a society which is economically dependent on service industries as well as on the manufacture of information and knowledge. Mass media are linked to all other institutions.

1. Merton's Deviant Responses to Anomie--Conformity--non-deviant; normative societal goals are accepted; normative means of achieving goals are practiced; delayed gratification; acceptance of structural limitations on one's ability to achieve--Innovation--normative societal goals are accepted ;rejection of normative means of achieving goals; bank robbers, embezzlers, drug dealers, white collar criminals; instant gratification; rejection of structural limitations on one's ability to achieve--Ritualism--rejection of societal goals; rejection of normative means of achieving goals ;goes through the motions ;ends are more important than goals; the bureaucratic personality; petty tyrant; rule-bound; tries to maintain his/her position in a company by withholding critical information--Retreatism--rejection of societal goals; rejection of normative means of achieving goals; drops out of society; hippies in the sixties; heaven's gate cult; cloistered members of religious orders; hell's angels--Rebellion--rejection of societal goals; rejection of normative means of achieving goals; attempts to change the social structure by deviant means; Berrigan Brothers; Cesar Chavez; Fidel Castro; The Unabomber
2. Explaining Deviance--Social Learning Theories--All Behavior Must Be Learned Through Social Interaction; The Socialization Process Is Responsible for Teaching Deviance
3. Differential Association Theory--Sutherland; Deviance Is Learned Through Association with Other Deviants; Deviance Is Viewed as Acceptable by Primary Agents of Socialization; Makes Me Wanna Holler by Nathan McCall
4. Differential Reinforcement Theory--Akers; Agents of Socialization Differentially Reinforce Behavior; Deviant Behavior Is Positively Reinforced; Positive Reinforcement Increases the Likelihood That a Socially Acceptable Behavior Will Be Repeated; Normative Behavior Is Negatively Reinforced; Positive Reinforcement Increases the Likelihood That a Socially Non-Acceptable Behavior Will Be Repeated; Differential Reinforcement Is a Method of Social Control
5. Explaining Deviance--Social Control Theories--Deviance is Normal and Conformity Must Be Explained; Hobbes' Leviathan--Rejected "Natural Man" Concept of Rousseau--"Man is born free, yet everywhere we see him in chains"--Hobbes--People Require a Strong, Centralized Government, with Powerful Laws; Life without social control is "nasty, brutish, and short"
6. Social Bonding Theory--Hirschi--Strong Social Bonds Prevent Deviance; Attachments to Parents, School, Church; Commitments to Conventional Norms; Involvement in Conventional Activities; Belief in the Validity of Social Norms (Internalization); Lauritsen, Sampson, and Laub (Criminology 29 (2), 1991)--The "Victim-Offender Overlap Is a Crucial Issue . . . It Is Not Possible to Understand Juvenile Victimization Without Also Understanding its Linkages with Patterns of Juvenile Offending" (p. 267) ; "The Convergence in Time and Space of Suitable Targets and the Absence of Any Capable Guardians May Lead to Increases in Victimization Independently of Any Structural or Cultural Conditions That Might Motivate Individuals to Engage in Crime"; Propinquity to Victims Increases Victimization (p. 267)
7. Containment Theory--Reckless--The Socialization Process Creates Barriers Against Deviance; Inner Containment--Internalization of Social Norms, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values; Internal, Voluntary Control of Impulses; Outer Containment--Agents of Socialization Influence Strongly Behavior; It Takes a Village to Raise a Child; The Criminal Justice System
8. Neutralization of Deviance--Rationalization of One's Deviant Behavior--Sykes and Matza--Five Techniques--Denial of Responsibility--The Dog Ate My Homework; Only Following Orders; Denial of Injury--That Couldn't Possibly Have Hurt; Denial of the Victim--She Was Asking for it; Condemnation of the Condemners --They're All Just Hypocrites (the Jimmy Swaggart defense); Appeal to Higher Loyalties--A Mission from God; Oliver North; Tim McVeigh
9. Explaining Deviance--Conflict Theorist--Consensus Does Not Exist because Deviance Is a Matter of Who Defines it--Marx--The Ruling Ideas Are the Ideas of Those in Power--The Bourgeoisie therefore, the Core Values of Capitalism Are Themselves Responsible for Deviant and Criminal Behavior; Minorities and the Poor Are Blamed for Their Plight and Are Seen as Potentially Criminal; Minorities and the Poor Are Disproportionately Over-Represented in the Criminal Justice System
10. Explaining Deviance--Labeling Theories--An Interactionist Perspective--Deviance Is a Label Assigned to Certain Acts and Certain People--Edwin Lemert--Primary Deviance--Occurs When an Individual Violates a Norm and Is Viewed as Deviant but Rejects the Deviant Label and Maintains a Conformist Conception of Her/Himself; Dr. King; Rosa Parks; Timothy McVeigh? Secondary Deviance--The Deviant Label Is Internalized and a Deviant Role Is Assumed; Ozzie Osborne and Alice Cooper's On-Stage Persona; Howard Stern's On-Air Persona; Marilyn Manson (?)

Chapter 9--Class--Inequality in the US