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Chapter 2. Concepts For Social And Cultural Theories. Chapter Outline. The Concept of Society Social Structural Concepts Stratification Networks The Concept of Culture Cultural Concepts. Chapter Outline. Modernization and Globalization Jews and Italians in North America
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Chapter 2 Concepts For Social And Cultural Theories
Chapter Outline • The Concept of Society • Social Structural Concepts • Stratification • Networks • The Concept of Culture • Cultural Concepts
Chapter Outline • Modernization and Globalization • Jews and Italians in North America • Theorizing About Ethnic Mobility • The Cultural Theory • The Social Theory • Reference Groups and Italian Traditionalism
Society • Any relatively self-contained and self-sufficient group united by social relationships. • A society occupies a definite physical location—even nomadic societies tend to travel a familiar route within a specific area. • Not all societies are nations and some nations include several societies.
Social Structures • Social structures are characteristics of a group rather than of individuals. • Social structures influence behavior in much the same way that physical structures such as doors and stairways channel movements.
Networks: Strong and Weak Ties • A tie is another word for a relationship. • Strong ties • Require more time and effort than weak ties. • More effective for exerting influence • Weak ties are more effective for spreading information. • Weak ties • Networks based on weak ties will be larger than networks of strong ties.
Redundant Ties and Networks • A tie that duplicates links among members. • Any member can send a message to another member by several routes. • Implications: • Information will get around rapidly. • Everyone’s information will be the same. • The scope of the information reaching the group will be very limited.
Local Networks • Members engage in direct, person-to-person interaction and form and sustain strong ties. • Members provide one another with emotional and material support. • Weakness: They are self-contained and lack input as well as outreach.
Cosmopolitan Networks • Members seldom engage in face-to-face interaction and tend to be scattered geographically. • Offer little solidarity and have little capacity to comfort and sustain members. • Benefit: Members have a constant flow of new information and a great reach of influence.
Culture • The pattern of living that directs human social life. • Everything that humans learn and the things they learn to use. • language, religions, science, art, notions of right and wrong, explanations of the meaning of life
Values and Norms • Values are general standards for assessing good and bad, desirable and undesirable. • Norms define what behavior is required, acceptable, or prohibited. • Groups and societies vary immensely in terms of values and norms.
Cultural Theory of Ethnic Mobility • The best way to predict how people will behave is to know their cultural background. • Example: Jewish and Italian Success in North America • Jewish values of learning and norms of educational achievement helped them become successful. • Italians valued family loyalty over learning which led them to drop out of school and thwarted their social progress.
Social Theory of Ethnic Mobility • Social causes account for the differences in the economic position of immigrants. • Upon arriving in new surroundings, people with higher status backgrounds are likely to regain higher-status positions. • A group’s average status in a new society will reflect their average status in the old society.
Reference Groups AndItalian Traditionalism • The reference group for large numbers of Italian Americans was the inhabitants of rural villages in southern Italy. • As the reference groups began to change, and Italian Americans began to adapt to the culture and conditions around them. • In a few years, Italians achieved rapid upward mobility.