Sociology and Material Culture
Haley Schweitzer
Sociology 1010 Term Paper
Sociology and Oops My Mistake Sociology is defined as, the study of people doing things together or more specifically, “the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings” (Merriam Webster Dictionary). This paper will examine the discourse of structure in sociology, the sociology of culture, and the deviance and sanctions in sociology. After discussing these topics, I will illustrate my act of norm breaking and how it ties in with these three areas of sociology. The structure of sociology can be identified as, the relationship of definite entities or groups to each other, enduring patterns of behavior by participants in a social system in relation to each other, and institutionalized norms or cognitive frameworks that structure the actions of actors in the social system. Basically saying within the structure are groups, statuses, roles, and institutions. In sociology, a group refers to two or more people who interact on a basis of shared qualities and experiences. A status refers to a specific position within a group, for example, a manager, employee, or a grandma. Within statuses there are two subgroups, ascribed status and achieved status. An ascribed status is one that is unalterable, such as a grandma. An achieved status is one that is obtainable, such as a manager. A role is an expected behavior within a status. For example, while an employee states the position of that role, the employee’s guidelines determine what behavior is appropriate for his/her role. This is the same concept for a status and a role. An institution is complex social structures that meet basic human needs. There are five main institutions: family, economy, education, politics, and religion. The sociology of culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society. Through culture,
Sociology 1010 Term Paper
Sociology and Oops My Mistake Sociology is defined as, the study of people doing things together or more specifically, “the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings” (Merriam Webster Dictionary). This paper will examine the discourse of structure in sociology, the sociology of culture, and the deviance and sanctions in sociology. After discussing these topics, I will illustrate my act of norm breaking and how it ties in with these three areas of sociology. The structure of sociology can be identified as, the relationship of definite entities or groups to each other, enduring patterns of behavior by participants in a social system in relation to each other, and institutionalized norms or cognitive frameworks that structure the actions of actors in the social system. Basically saying within the structure are groups, statuses, roles, and institutions. In sociology, a group refers to two or more people who interact on a basis of shared qualities and experiences. A status refers to a specific position within a group, for example, a manager, employee, or a grandma. Within statuses there are two subgroups, ascribed status and achieved status. An ascribed status is one that is unalterable, such as a grandma. An achieved status is one that is obtainable, such as a manager. A role is an expected behavior within a status. For example, while an employee states the position of that role, the employee’s guidelines determine what behavior is appropriate for his/her role. This is the same concept for a status and a role. An institution is complex social structures that meet basic human needs. There are five main institutions: family, economy, education, politics, and religion. The sociology of culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society. Through culture,