Social institutions are systems and structures that shape the activities of groups and individuals in society. You can t visit a social institution

Transcription

1 Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Education Religion Politics and The Economy 1

2 What Are Social Institutions? Social institutions are systems and structures that shape the activities of groups and individuals in society. You can t visit a social institution it is a structure, not a place. Politics, education, and religion are examples of institutions. 2

3 What Is Politics? Politics: the methods and tactics of managing a nation or state, as well as administering and controlling its internal and external affairs

4 What Is Politics? Government: the formal, organized agency that exercises power and control in modern society, especially through the creation and enforcement of laws

5 What Is Politics? Power is the ability to impose will on others. one s Authority is the noncoercive, legitimate exercise of power.

6 Types of Political Systems Authoritarianism is a system of government by and for a small number of elites that does not include representation of ordinary citizens.

7 Types of Political Systems A dictatorship is one form of an authoritarianism system; usually a dictator does not gain power by being elected or through succession but rather seizes power and becomes an absolutist ruler.

8 Types of Political Systems Totalitarianism is the most extreme and modern form of authoritarianism, in which the government seeks to control every aspect of citizens lives.

9 Types of Political Systems A monarchy is government by a king or queen, with succession of rulers kept within the family. Absolute monarchies typically have complete authority over their subjects. Constitutional monarchs are royal figures whose powers are defined by a political charter and limited by a parliament or other governing body.

10 Types of Political Systems A democracy is a political system in which all citizens have the right to participate.

11 Pluralist Theory vs. Power Elite Pluralism: a system of political power where a wide variety of individuals and groups have equal access to resources and power.

12 Pluralist Theory vs. Power Elite C. Wright Mills coined the term power elite a relatively small number of people who control the economic, political, and military institutions of a society.

13 What Is Politics? Many people worry about the influence of money in politics. Special interest groups are organizations that raise and spend money to influence elected officials or public opinion.

14 What Is Politics? In addition to special interest groups, the mass media also impacts politics. For instance, many people form their beliefs based on information from opinion leaders. Opinion leaders are high-profile people who interpret events and influence the public.

15 What Is Education? Education is the process by which a society transmits knowledge, values, and expectations to its members so they can function in society.

16 What Is Education? Schooling serves a number of important functions for society: The transmission of knowledge Learning to follow society s rules and to respect authority Being socialized to develop other qualities that will eventually make people efficient and obedient workers

17 What Is Education? Educational institutions also help to reproduce the inequality seen in society. The hidden curriculum describes the values and behaviors that students learn indirectly over the course of their schooling because of the educational system s structure and teaching methods.

18 What Is Education? The Pygmalion Effect: the idea that teachers attitudes about their students unintentionally influence their academic performance

19 What Is Education? Kozol s ethnography, Savage Inequalities, contends that because schools are funded by local property taxes, children in poor neighborhoods are trapped in poor schools, which reinforces inequality.

20 What Is Education? Many believe that America s educational system is in crisis, though there is little agreement on how to fix the problem. Some attempts have included early college high schools, homeschooling, school vouchers, and charter schools.

21 What Is Education? Early college high schools: institutions that blend high school and college into a coherent educational program in which students earn both a high school diploma and two years of college credit toward a bachelor s degree

22 What Is Education? Homeschooling: the education of children by their parents, at home

23 What Is Education? School vouchers are payments from the government to parents whose children attend failing public schools to help parents pay for private school tuition.

24 What Is Education? Charter schools: public schools run by private entities to give parents greater control over their children s education

25 What Is Education? Distance learning includes any educational course or program in which the teacher and students do not meet together in the classroom, a situation increasingly available over the internet.

26 What Is Religion? Religion includes any institutionalized system of shared: Beliefs: propositions and ideas held on the basis of faith Rituals: practices based on those beliefs that identify a relationship between the sacred (holy, divine, or supernatural) and the profane (ordinary, mundane, or everyday)

27 What Is Religion? Sociologists do not evaluate the truth of any religion, but rather study the ways that religions shape and are shaped by cultural institutions and the ways that religions influence and are influenced by the behaviors of individuals.

28 What Does Religion Do? Religion Shapes everyday behavior by providing morals, values, rules, and norms for its participants Gives meaning to our lives Provides the opportunity to come together with others to share in group activities and identity

29 Religion and Social Change Religion can be made dysfunctional by promoting inequality with sexist, racist, or homophobic doctrines. On the other hand, religious organizations have also been agents of social justice and political change.

30 Religious Composition in the United States 30

31 What Is Religion? Religiosity is the regular practice of religious beliefs, measured by church attendance. Thirty-eight percent of Americans report attending services weekly.

32 What Is Religion? Extrinsic religiosity refers to a person s public display of commitment to a religious faith. Intrinsic religiosity refers to a person s inner religious life or personal relationship to the divine.

33 What Is Religion? Two groups have dramatically increased in size in recent decades: Fundamentalists: those who literally interpret texts and want to return to a time of greater religious purity Unchurched: those who consider themselves spiritual but not religious, and who often adopt aspects of various religious traditions

34 So What? Importance of Institutions Social institutions are an important part of the structure of our society. As a sociologist, it is important to understand how institutions shape our lives, and how we can shape institutions as well!