SOC225 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Early Childhood Education, The Sociological Imagination, Elijah Anderson

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC225
• Professor: Temitope Oriola

Document Summary

Biological and psychological theories tried to explain the criminality of individuals. Perspective that society creates criminals and fosters crime. Sociological theories consider the wider relationship between crime and social structure. The sociological imagination : removing yourself from the equations so you can better analyse and see the connection between an individual and the society that they live in. The duality of structure : anthony giddens coined phrase- has to do with structure and human agency. Structure is to be understood as a set of social rules and resources that influence action. Structures are enabling and constraining agency, but they also exist only by agency. Structure comes to life by action, so structures only exist through agency. Anomie: the breakdown of social cohesion and social control mechanisms in a society (e. g. during rapid change) This breakdown can lead to high rates of crime. Russia is a contemporary case study of how anomie is associated with rising crime rates.