Sociology 101

Hey Guys.. This probably looks a little familiar, but here is a small list, including the one handed out in class on Monday, of some key terms that will be helpful for you in the long run. Emily & I will most likely be adding to this throughout the semester so be sure to check back here occasionally especially when writing your papers or studying.


Sociology
"Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies. It is a dazzling and compelling enterprise, having as its subject matter our own behavior as social beings. The scope of sociology is extremely wide, ranging from the analysis of passing encounters between individuals in the street up to the investigation of world-wide social processes." (Anthony Giddens, 1989 Sociology)

Medical Sociology
"Medical sociology is concerned with the relationships between social factors and health, and with the application of sociological theory and research techniques to questions related to health and the health care system.
Typical areas of research include the influence of ethnicity, gender, age, or socioeconomic status on the access to and quality of health care; health and risk taking behaviors; social constructs of illness; health beliefs and perceptions; health effects of sociocultural changes; the role of health institutions and health professionals in society; the social implications of biomedical innovations, education, and communication; and other sociological aspects of medical organization and practice." (Nation Library of Medicine: Institute of Health.)

Culture
Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called "the way of life for an entire society." As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, norms of behavior such as law and morality, and systems of belief. Within societies there are subcultures, which exhibit their own norms and ways of doing things.

Social Structure
Several ideas are implicit in the notion of social structure:

1. First, human beings form social relations that are not arbitrary and conincidental, but exhibit some regularity and continuity.
2. Second, social life is not chaotic formless but is, in fact, differentiated into certain groups, positions, and institutions that are interdependent or functionally interrelated.
3. Third, individual choices are shaped and circumscribed by the social environment, because social groups, although constituted by the social activities of individuals, are not a direct result of the wishes and intentions of the individual members. the notion of social structure implies, in other words, that human beings are not completely free and autonomous in their choices and actions but are instead constrained by the social world they inhabit and the social relations they form with one another.

Morbidity
The incidence of disease : the rate of sickness (as in a specified community or group.)

Mortality
The number of deaths in a given time or place; the proportion of deaths to population; the number lost or the rate of loss or failure.

SocioEconomic Status (SES)
A family's socioeconomic status is based on family income, parental education level, parental occupation, and social status in the community (such as contacts within the community, group associations, and the community's perception of the family.) (Demarest, et al. 1993)