SOCI 210: Sociological perspectives

Agenda

  1. Administrative
  2. Course review & exam notes
  3. Identity & interaction online

Course review
& exam notes

Screenshot from The Matrix showing a hallway and three people all made from stylized green glowing computer code on a black background

Course review

Some of the

Substantive topics

  • Race & Ethnicity
  • Disability
  • Gender
  • Class
  • Stigma
  • Inequality
  • Politics & the state
  • Social movements
  • Instutions & groups
  • Technology
Some of the

Theories and frameworks

  • Structural functionalism
  • Conflict theory
  • Symbolic interactionism
  • Social construction
  • Socialization
  • boundary maintenance
  • Queer theory
  • Social norms
  • Culture
  • Social change

Any combination of the theories and frameworks on the right can be applied to any set of the topics on the left

Course review

Some unifying themes

Everything is social*

(* at least in part)
  • Social forces permeate every aspect of our lives
  • Everything from the material world we inhabit to the way we perceive that world is influenced by our social contexts

History matters

(a.k.a. colonialism!)
  • A society cannot be separated from its historical context
  • Histories of colonialism, domination, exploitation, etc. affect every social institution
  • Social institutions change slowly

Power structures align

(Marx had a point …)
  • Many social systems embed power relations
  • Power and oppression are self-reinforcing
  • The divisions we see in any one institution (e.g. race) are very likely reflected in another institution (e.g. class)

Exam notes

Format & details

  • Wednesday, April 16, from 2:00pm to 5:00pm
  • Same format as midterm, but slightly longer
  • A single page (front and back) reference sheet is allowed
    (No other format or content restrictions)

Multiple choice

  • 20 multiple-choice questions
  • Four options per question
  • Order randomized

Short answer

  • Respond to 4 of 5 short answer sections
  • Each section has 2–3 individual prompts
  • Extra pages at the end but you should be able to answer the questions without using them

Exam notes

Identity
& interaction online

Screenshot from The Matrix showing a hallway and three people all made from stylized green glowing computer code on a black background

Identity online

Identity online

Curation

  • For many, online persona is carefully curated
  • Safety in ability to “edit out” events
  • Performance of self can be more intentional and reflexive

Identity online

Pseudonymity

  • Online context removes need (and often the expectation) to tie actions to offline self
  • “Disposable” identities
  • Distinct from anonymity

Identity online

Multiple personas

  • Different accounts for different roles (overt)
  • Sockpuppets (covert)
    e.g. Fake movie critic “David Manning”
    (actually a Sony Pictures marketing executive)

Identity online

"Pop" sociology

  • Makes explicit use of social theory, but is not written for an academic audience

Identity online

“…the internet is built to distend our sense of identity”

  • Both online and offline interaction require the negotiation of multiple identities
  • But the scale and relentlessness of online presence create a strained sense of self
  • Context collapse (Marwick and boyd 2011):
    It is diffucult to segregate social contexts online, so we feel compelled to speak to all of them at once
  • “Identity, according to Goffman, is a series of claims and promises. On the internet, a highly functional person is one who can promise everything to an indefinitely increasing audience at all times.” (Tolentino 2019, 16)

Applying the sociological eye

Sociological thinking

  • Our lived experiences and perspectives make us all experts on 'the social'
  • Sociology provides interpretive lenses to make sense of and generalize those experiences (“The view from the 14th floor”)
  • Discourse about the world around us can be contextualized in terms of power, structure, norms, identity, etc.

There is a sociology of everything. You can turn on your sociological eye no matter where you are or what you are doing.… There is literally nothing you can't see in a fresh way if you turn your sociological eye to it. (Collins 1998)

  • I hope this class helps develop your "sociological eye" that you can turn toward the things that are important to you!
Aerial photo of two crosswalks intersecting at non-right angle. A small crowd of people are walking in various directions, all of them holding umbrellas

Online identity can mean a whole lot of things. Social media accounts, sock puppet accounts, hacker handles, game personas, ...