Tag: Theory
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Max Weber’s Theory of Class, Status, and Power
Sociologists love to cite and discuss Max Weber. Weber wrote a famous essay called, “Class, Status, and Party.” Weber designed the essay to set him apart from Karl Marx, who had a unidimensional view of classes, inequality, and society. Max Weber had a multidimensional view of classes, inequality, and society. Two main differences between Weber […]
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Marxist and Neo-Marxist Theories of Social Stratification
Why does social stratification exist? Karl Marx had a Theory Karl Marx, a social and economic thinker in the 19th century, had a theory of how societies are organized and why inequality exists. His powerful theories inspired the Communist revolutions in Russia and China, and eventually in Eastern Europe and Vietnam. Because of the popularity […]
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Classic Theories of Social Stratification
Why is there inequality in society? Social stratification, and inequality, are fundamental concepts in sociology. We defined stratification as the existence of structured inequalities between social groups on the basis of power and resources. But this just defines the term. A crucial question is: Why does inequality exist in society? To answer this question, let’s […]
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What can we learn about society and sociology from very old textbooks? Not much.
In sociology, the concept of society is fundamental. It is a concept that every sociology student, and simply everyone, should think about. But what is society in sociology? And can we learn it from very old sociology textbooks? In this post, I attempt to answer these questions with the work of Charles A. Ellwood, 14th […]
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How to Write the Introduction to a Research Article in the Social Sciences
What is an introduction? Empirical research articles in the social sciences require a title, an abstract, and an introduction. Introductions in social science articles are short — perhaps three or four paragraphs long. They are at the beginning of empirically-based research articles in sociology, psychology, and political science. In a previous article, we discussed the […]
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Mythical Farmers and Max Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Where are the farmers in Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism? Farming is the US capitalist ideal of a people: morally and spiritually strong, selling the products of their hard labor. We idolize them as the pure embodiment of what society should be. We gain insight into this national myth through the work […]
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The Concept and Measurement of Power in Intersectionality
The idea of power is inherent to intersectionality. In this post, we discuss how the concept of power is integral to the concept and framework of intersectionality, and how to measure power structures. Intersectionality is about politics and the use of power. Noted intersectionality scholar Patricia Hill Collins (2015: 3) argued that, “Drawing upon racial […]
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The Rise of Big Data and Computational Social Science in Sociology
In this post, we examine the rise of big data and computational social science in sociology. Many sociologists complain about quantification Academics (on Twitter and elsewhere) often loudly complain about metrics — the quantification of their production, including impact factor, citations, and “points” that universities and other academic institutions, as well as government institutions, devise […]
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Choosing Concepts: An Application of Gerring’s Typology to Max Weber’s Class, Status, and Party
In a previous article, we discussed John Gerring’s (1999) typology of how to choose a concept. In this article, we apply this to a famous set of concepts by sociologist Max Weber. Class, Status and Party Let’s apply what we have learned about concepts to a classic, German sociologist Max Weber’s “Class, Status, and Party” […]
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What is a concept? How should we choose a concept?
When we write social science articles, we write about concepts. What is a concept? How do we choose the right one? Defining “Concept” A dictionary definition of concept is that it is “an abstract idea.” It is a thought. For a thought to move from your head to the page and out in the world, […]