SYG 2010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: George Herbert Mead, Symbolic Interactionism, Harmony Society
Document Summary
Like a body, all parts of society aim to be aligned and function in harmony. Society is made up of interdependent parts. Social change disrupts relationships and creates social problems. Intensive concentration of wealth in the hands of a few industrialists perverted social relationships. Concentration of wealth creates conflict and oppression through power imbalances. Conflict is built into the class structure of capitalist society. Our ability to use language and share symbolic meaning is fundamental to human nature and social organization. Focuses on interactional process that creates shared social meanings. Focuses on how our conceptions of social problems are formed and maintained through symbolic processes. Basic methods used to conduct social research. Ranking groups on a hierarchy of resources from high to low. Leads to a hierarchy of life chances that are shaped largely by ascribed characteristics. Absolute poverty: lack of resources needed to survive. Lack of resources which most people take for granted.
