...The New Left Movement The New Left and SDS (Students for Democratic Society) emerged in 1960. They were a group of young, highly educated and highly motivated students. The SDSers came from very privileged and political backgrounds. They were definitely not your average teenagers. The members of SDS were very concerned with the state of the country and government. They wanted to end poverty, eradicate racial injustice and make the world a better place for everyone. When they first started out, the party was very efficient and organized. As the decade moved on, however, the party’s ideologies and political stance changed. They began to split over political beliefs, drug use and tactics. McAdam’s political process model states that in order to start a social movement, three things must occur. They are; structure of political opportunities, use of indigenous organizational strength and realizing cognitive liberation. The SDS started out on the same page, working to support the Civil Rights movement in the early 60’s. They published the Port Huron Statement in 1962. “They wanted a society based on participatory democracy governed by two aims; first, that individuals participate in decisions determining the quality and direction of their lives, and second, that the society be organized to encourage independence and to provide for such common participation.” After they had published their statement and had an actual list of goals and they knew exactly what they stood for, or so...
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...The Sociological Imagination according to C. Wright Mills is states that the sociological imagination is a quality of mind that allows us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two in society. (Mills, 1959, pg 6). He also explains the links between personal issues and public issues by helping to identify a personal issue and identifying it in the social structure. One tragic public issue that is very common in society today is ‘Domestic Violence’. For many years domestic violence in the family has been a private issue and was never spoken about in society. By using the three sensibilities that make up the sociological imagination which are the historical, cultural and critical sensibilities, society can begin to understand the radical changes in how society thinks we as individuals ‘should’ behave towards one another especially in the family unit according to societies expectations and social norms. The issue of domestic violence within families was evident in earlier societies. Using the historical sensibility we can see how society used to live and see how we have society has transformed our ideologies of this horrific public issue of domestic violence. From the earliest record, most societies gave the father or the patriarch of the family the right to use physical force against the women and children that he was in control of. This was evident in the reign of Romulus back in 753BC. Abbott (1852, p. 242) states that: The power of the father over his...
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...and, in the process, has contributed substantially to our understanding of the transition from pre-modern to modern society. There are many who would argue that the ideas of these three classical figures continue to have much to offer to an understanding of contemporary society and politics. There are several possible ways to study the ideas of Marx, Weber and Durkheim. In this course we will attempt to take a thematic and comparative approach by comparing the views of Marx, Weber and Durkheim on a number of central topics. We will look therefore at their ideas concerning the methods appropriate to the study of society, their views on class and the division of labour, on democratic politics and the state and on culture, religion and ideology. Our discussion will begin with a consideration of what a ‘classical’ tradition might look like in the social sciences; and of why Marx, Weber and Durkheim merit inclusion as the most significant members within such a tradition. For a fuller appreciation of the classical tradition in social theory there is no substitute for a reading of the original writings of Marx, Durkheim and Weber. As these writings are very extensive, we will rely on a number of commentaries – principally those by Morrison and Giddens as well as McIntosh’s collection of selections from the original works – to guide our journey. A partial listing of original works by Marx, Durkheim and Weber (as well as some later works) is to be...
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...struggle over institutional identities and institutional balances. The argument is not that bureaucratic organization is a panacea and the answer to all challenges of public administration. Rather, bureaucratic organization is part of a repertoire of overlapping, supplementary and competing forms co-existing in contemporary democracies, and so are market-organization and network-organization. Rediscovering Weber’s analysis of bureaucratic organization, then, enriches our understanding of public administration. This is in particular true when we (a) include bureaucracy as an institution, and not only an instrument; (b) look at the empirical studies in their time and context, and not only at Weber’s ideal-types and predictions; and (c) take into account the political and normative order bureaucracy is part of, and not only the internal characteristics of “the bureau”. 2 Making sense of public administration Is “bureaucracy” an organizational dinosaur helplessly involved in its death struggle? Is it an undesirable and non-viable form of administration developed in a legalistic and authoritarian society and now inevitably withering away because it is incompatible with complex, individualistic and dynamic societies? Are, therefore, the term...
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...like for North Koreans. This country has a political ideology called "Juche” enforce by Kim Il Sung. The ideology “Juche” will be presented in more detail below. North Korea is known as the hermit kingdom because it has been cut off from the rest of the world (Yi, Sun-Kyung, 2004). It is known to be one of the most isolated countries on earth (Lisa Ling). North Korea, Cruelly colonized by Japan early in the 20th century, and split from the south after World War II by cold war politics; it has suffered repressive governments and frequent famines (Yi, Sun-Kyung, 2004). Even with high numbers of famines in North Korea, nothing is imported or exported; this does not benefit the country or its people. This documentary shows the hardships the people have to go through. For example they have no freedom, there’s famine, they do hard labor, are isolated from the world, are punishment, killed, controlled, not allowed to even travel with-in their own country and cannot own a cell phone. It also shows the brainwashing and fear Kim Jong Il, known as The Great Leade, has created his very own people. No one is allowed to talk bad about him, better said to even think bad thoughts about him. He makes North Koreans think he is a supreme being and their God. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY The political ideology in North Korea is called "Juche”. This idea was developed by Kim Il Sung in the 1940s and it replaced Marxism as the predominant ideology in the North Korean constitution in 1977 (Locher). Juche...
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...CHRISTIAN ETHICS IN A POSTMODERN WORLD The Rise of Postmodernity Since Federico de Onis’s use of the term ‘postmodernismo’ to describe the Spanish and Latin-American poetry of 1905-1914 which had reacted against the ‘excess’ of modernism in 1934, (Rose 1991: 171) “Postmodernism” became very popular. It has been used in the fields of art (Christo-Bakargiev 1987), architecture (Pevsner 1967), literature (Hassan 1971), video, economics, films (James 1991), ideology (Larrain 1994: 90-118), theology (Tilley at al 1995), and philosophy (Griffin et al 1993). In trying to understand ‘postmodern’, we have to understand ‘modern’ first. According to Rose (1991: 1), there are many related yet different meanings associated with the term ‘modern’. First of all, Arnold J. Toynbee understands modern as referring to the historical phenomenon of The most significant of the conclusions that suggest themselves is that the word ‘modern’ in the term ‘Modern Western Civilization’, can, without inaccuracy, be given a more precise and concrete connotation by being translated ‘middle class’. Western communities became ‘modern’ in the accepted Modern Western meaning of the word, just as soon as they had succeeded in producing a bourgeoisie that was both numerous enough and competent enough to become the predominant element in society. We think of the new chapter of Western history that opened at the turn of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as being ‘modern’ par excellence because...
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...The post-modern family Over 30 years ago, C. Wright Mills (1959) described the post-modern period as one in which the economy would shift employment from heavy industry to non-unionized clerical, service, and new industrial sectors. He foresaw the rise of multinational corporations, trouble in the social welfare system, and decline in human freedom and choice. At that time he wondered how the human family would respond to and adjust to this new period in world history. Post-modernism, by no means simple to define, is characterized by a "close reading" of small units rather than general theorizing about big ideas. The postmodern tends towards elaboration, eclecticism, ornamentation, and inclusiveness; it dismisses the existence of an absolute reality and is deeply suspicious of the concept of human progress (Doherty 1991). If we define the current ongoing effort to remake contemporary family life as the post-modern family, such a definition carries with it overtones from the definition of postmodern art and literature. In these fields the term post-modern signals the end of a familiar pattern of activity and emergence of new areas of endeavour whose activities are unclear and whose meanings and implications are not yet well understood. Thus, the post-modern is characterized by uncertainty, insecurity, and doubt (Stacey 1990). Full consensus on the definition of the emerging post-modern family structure has not been reached, despite recognition of the need for better understanding...
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...Social stratification exists in America because the wealth and power belongs to a small portion of the population. Wealthy people possess an enormous amount of power over the political system and are held in high esteem by our society. There is a general feeling that those who are wealthy and powerful are superior to the average person. Social stratification involves not only socio-economic inequality, but the belief system held by people in America. A stratified society exists when there is an unequal distribution of wealth, power and prestige. In American society, political power and wealth are not distributed equally (Johnson, 1996). Paul Krugman is an economist and author of the book, 'The Spiral of Inequality' (1996). Krugman believes corporate greed, the decline of organized labor and changes in the way goods are produced are the causes of the growing social and economic inequality in the United States (Anderson, 2003). There is an unspoken general agreement in America that certain occupations deserve higher wages and more respect. Professions, such as physicians, lawyers, athletes and actors, are held in high esteem, whereas custodians, waitresses and trash collectors are considered professions that are not worthy of respect or praise and require minimal skill or intelligence. America most definitely needs skilled physicians and lawyers, but it also needs custodians, trash collectors and others who perform much needed tasks in order for society to thrive and function...
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...Is Sociology a Science? A Classroom Exercise for Promoting Discussion* Royce A. Singleton, Jr. College of the Holy Cross *I wish to thank Dave Hummon for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, 1998. © 2005 Royce A. Singleton, Jr. Is Sociology a Science? A Classroom Exercise for Promoting Discussion Abstract Though sociology was founded on the idea that the social order is subject to scientific study, the “science” question remains controversial. By learning about this controversy, students can learn much about the discipline. This paper describes an exercise, together with data collected from six classes, that asks students to project their personal images of scientists and social scientists. These images invariably contain half-truths and misconceptions that can be used to address three related questions: (1) What is science? (2) How is sociology scientific? and (3) What are the major challenges to sociology as a science? I draw upon my own students’ responses to show how the exercise can generate a wide-ranging discussion of these issues. Is Sociology a Science? A Classroom Exercise for Promoting Discussion The question of whether sociology is a science has a long history in the discipline. It was addressed by virtually all the classical social theorists. But for some time the debate about the scientific status of sociology was muted. In the post-World...
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...REVISTA DE SOCIOLOGÍA, Nº 28 (2013) pp. 31-49 Elites, political elites and social change in modern societies1 Luis Garrido Vergara* Resumen Los estudios académicos acerca de las élites políticas poseen una vibrante historia reciente. El objetivo aquí es proveer un resumen selectivo de esa historia, enfocándose en la importancia de la distinción social y en las teorías de la estructura de poder como el marco teórico para comprender la influencia de las élites políticas en el cambio social. Dado que nuevas perspectivas y preocupaciones han surgido en este campo, la organización de este artículo no es completamente cronológica. Aunque puedan haberse ignorado muchas contribuciones relevantes, la intención aquí es brindar algún sentido de la riqueza e importancia de lo que han logrado los académicos acerca de la relación entre élites y representación, los vínculos entre élites, democracia y cambio social y las teorías de la estructura de poder. En este artículo también se estudia hasta qué grado la introducción de una nueva metodología de investigación por parte de la teoría de la dominación de clase de Domhoff abrió una nueva perspectiva en los estudios sobre las élites. Finalmente, se presentan una estrategia de investigación para las élites y dos conclusiones principales. Palabras clave: Élites políticas - cambio social - estructura de poder - representación. Abstract Scholarly studies of elites and political elites have a vibrant recent history. My aim here is to provide a selective...
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...“Best Perspectives to Human Resource Management” Author: Arrey Mbongaya Ivo ©2006 African Centre for Community and Development (www.africancentreforcommunity.com ) All rights reserved. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction, Perspectives in Management and the genesis of Human Resource Management 1.1 Scientific or Closed management, Human Relations or Semi open system, Open System or Contingency system 1.2 Personnel management/ Personnel Manager 1.3 The genesis of Human Resource Management(HRM)/Defining Human Resource Management 1.4 What is ‘Hard’ and ‘Soft’ HRM? 1.5 The Debate between Human Relations(HR) and Human Resource Management(HRM) 1.6 The Human Resource Manager and his role 2.0 Attempting a framework for Human Resource Management(HRM) 2.1 Using HRM as a style, a strategy and an outcome 2.2 Is HRM a restatement of Personnel Management? 2.3 Is HRM a new managerial discipline? 2.4 HRM as a resource-based dimension of management 2.5 The Strategic and international possibilities of HRM 3.0Using some models of HRM to critically assess HRM “Hard” and “Soft” Approaches. 3.1The Harvard Model 3.2The Michigan Model 3.3Guest comparative models 3.4The ‘Choice Model’ and its benefits. 4.0The influence of senior management and their Effectiveness 4.1 policy makers 4.2 senior managers and their frames of reference 4.3 The more effective the better the policies 4.4 The Japanese example 5.0 Conclusion, limitations and proposals 5.1HRM a widespread contemporary, evolving & contingent...
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...Bryant-45099 Part I.qxd 10/18/2006 7:42 PM Page 36 5 FEMINIST METHODOLOGIES AND EPISTEMOLOGY ANDREA DOUCET Carleton University, Canada NATASHA S. MAUTHNER University of Aberdeen, Scotland O ver the past 10 years of teaching courses on research methods and feminist approaches to methodologies and epistemologies, a recurring question from our students concerns the distinctiveness of feminist approaches to methods, methodologies, and epistemologies. This key question is posed in different ways: Is there a specifically feminist method? Are there feminist methodologies and epistemologies, or simply feminist approaches to these? Given diversity and debates in feminist theory, how can there be a consensus on what constitutes “feminist” methodologies and epistemologies? Answers to these questions are far from straightforward given the continually evolving nature of feminist reflections on the methodological and epistemological dimensions and dilemmas of research. This chapter on feminist methodologies and epistemologies attempts to address these questions by tracing historical developments in this area, by considering what may be unique about feminist epistemologies and feminist methodologies, by reviewing some of sociology’s key contributions to this area of scholarship and by highlighting some key emergent trends. The chapter begins with a brief overview of the theoretical and historical development of feminist epistemologies, followed by a similar overview...
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...Foundation Course 1 Human Rights, Gender & Environment Understanding Patriarchy Suranjita Ray• Subordination of women to men is prevalent in large parts of the world. We come across experiences where women are not only treated as subordinate to men but are also subject to discriminations, humiliations, exploitations, oppressions, control and violence. Women experience discrimination and unequal treatment in terms of basic right to food, health care, education, employment, control over productive resources, decision-making and livelihood not because of their biological differences or sex, which is natural but because of their gender differences which is a social construct. “Sex is considered a fact - one is born with either male or female genitalia. Gender is considered a social construction - it grants meaning to the fact of sex. Conversely, it could be said that only after specific meanings came to be attached to the sexes, did sex differences become pertinent” (Geetha, 2002: 10). Gender based discriminations and exploitations are widespread and the socio-culturally defined characteristics, aptitudes, abilities, desires, personality traits, roles, responsibilities and behavioral patterns of men and women contribute to the inequalities and hierarchies in society. Gender differences are man made and they get legitimised in a patriarchal society. This paper attempts to link the theoretical dimensions of patriarchy with its empirical experiences to engage in the ongoing...
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...Glossary of Sociological Terms |11-Plus Exam |Examination introduced with the 1944 Education Act, sat by all pupils in the state sector| | |at the age of 11. If they passed they went to the selective Grammar School, or if they | | |failed to the Secondary Modern School. This exam still exists in some counties such as | | |Kent and also in Northern Ireland. | |12-Plus Exam |Exam made available only to a minority of 'high-flyers' in Secondary Modern schools, | | |offering a late chance to go to Grammar School at the age of 12. | |'30-30-40 society' |A term associated with Will Hutton to describe an increasingly insecure and polarised | | |society. The bottom 30 per cent is socially excluded by poverty from the rest of society.| | |The next 30 per cent live in fear and insecurity of falling into poverty. Only the top 40| | |per cent feel secure and confident. ...
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...“Work Ethic: Do New Employees Mean New Work Values?” 2010 Journal of Managerial Issues, 22 (1), 10-34 Raymond K. Van Ness, Ph.D. State University of New York at Albany, Kimberly Melinsky, Ph.D. ABD, The College of Saint Rose, Cheryl Buff, Ph.D. Siena College, and Charles F. Seifert, Ph.D. Siena College ABSTRACT This study compares and contrasts the individual dimensions of work ethic of graduating college and university students to those of workforce professionals. The Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile (MWEP) is used to operationalize seven dimensions of work ethic. The findings indicate that while students and workforce professionals differ within the individual dimensions, quantitatively, they have the same overall work ethic. Variances within the dimensions of work ethic may have important implications for corporate managers. Keywords: Work Ethic, Work Values, Dimensions of Work Ethic “Work Ethic: Do New Employees Mean New Work Values?” INTRODUCTION The concept of work ethic has evolved from the writings of the early 20th century scholar, Max Weber (Weber, 1904-1905), who has been frequently credited with contributing to the success of capitalism in western society with what became known as the Protestant work ethic (PWE) (Hirschfeld and Field, 2000; Hill and Petty, 1995; Kalberg, 1996; Chusmir and Koberg, 1988). Weber highlighted the value of work commitment and raised questions as to why some people place a greater importance on work and appear more conscientious than...
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