3rd lecture

1/26/09 9:11 AM Other way to use the word status in soc [PER MCGINN] [status] = is the degree of honor that a position or group receives within a social system. A ?high status? social position receives great honor Low status - little Max Weber discussed ? Role Structure Relationships that link statuses/systems to each other are the essential parts of social structure The pieces of the pieces of social systems, the way we arrange relationships Distribution Aspect of Social structures Unequal distribution, who gets what : power, wealth, priv. Authority How these things create paths of least resistance ? ask sociologists Personal and the structural : how structure affect our behavior Domestic violence within a family system Robert Merton?s theory about ?deviant? behavior that results from the conflict between ?shared values? and ?unequal distributions? Deviance ? refusing to follow the rules Rebel Leave the system Overcome Let go of shared value ?the larger the gap between the distribution of values and the distribution of opportunities or achieving them, the more likely deviance is to occur? not having enough resources to accomplish page 100 The structure ? culture connection tech culture shapes the roles associated with various statuses or positions in a social structure culture also shapes the unequal distributions within a structure unequal distributions within social structures can shape culture: our beliefs, values, norms, attitudes, and material culture Key Concepts status role distributions exampes merton marxean structure and culture Chapter 3 lecture 1/26/09 9:11 AM 1/26/09 9:11 AM