Unit Essay Revisions
Gracyn Troupe
December 4th, 2023
Summary of revisions for UE #1
I received a 22/25 for Unit Essay 1, which is not a bad grade but it shows that there are errors within my writing that need to be fixed. I had some trouble when it came to knowing when to start a new paragraph, I was blending two different ideas into one paragraph. When you take a look at paragraph three in the essay below, it was previously attached to the paragraph above. I have decided to split the original paragraph because I started talking about a different sociological figure, because this is a new topic it needs to have its own paragraph. When you scroll down to look at paragraph four, that paragraph was originally attached to the paragraph above, but when taking another look I decided that it needs to be its own paragraph because I changed topics and it doesn’t belong in a paragraph that was discussing another sociological figure. I initially put the three paragraphs as one because I was providing background information on the topic of the paper and then started to talk about figures in the field and when I started to talk about those figures I was switching back and forth rather than starting new paragraphs. In paragraph five, there was a sentence that stated, “ Sociological theory is also unique in the fact that sociological theory has been a topic of conversation within sociology for a very long time (Sternheimer, 2018),” this sentence was not able to point out the uniqueness of theory within the field of sociology because many other sciences use theory; to fix this I have removed that sentence itself and combined it with the following sentence so it now reads, “Sociological theory is unique in the way that it’s a science that studies solely humans and the structures that makeup society because not all scientific theories have one main focus that is so crucial in understanding society and the way it works.”
UE 1
Sociology can be defined as the study of the structure and the functioning of society. Many different individuals influenced the theory of sociology and helped establish sociology as a scientific discipline; those individuals are Auguste Comte, Harriet Martineau, and Herbert Spencer. All three figures came up with their own contributions to sociology whilst coming up with the definition of sociology itself. Auguste Comte contributed greatly to sociological theory which will be explained further. Although sociological theory is a theory like many others, it is unique in a way of its own for many reasons.
Auguste Comte was a positivist theorist who was born in the late 1700s. Comte was well-educated and always questioned his teacher’s work. Comte believed that scientific truth is the real truth which is why he deemed sociology as a science. Comte’s aim for sociology was to examine past developments of society and predict future development. There were a few key concepts attached to Comte’s aim and those consist of social physics, or in other words sociology, social dynamics, social statics, methods of inquiry, and the law of three stages. Social physics was a term coined for the idea of new science, social dynamics refer to the idea that societies are constantly progressing, social statics refers to the idea of how societies create order, methods of inquiry is the term that refers to how data is gathered, and the law of three stages is the idea that society evolves progresses just as an individual’s mind does.
Harriet Martineau was a theorist who was born in the early 1800’s and was home-schooled growing up. Martineau’s goal was to create a science of society that would be structured, enabling people to make personal and diplomatic decisions that are guided by scientific understanding. There were a couple of key concepts that Martineau explained were crucial to achieving this goal; morals and manners, things & discourse of persons, dominations, and feminism. Morals refer to forces that compel individuals to behave a certain way in particular situations while manners refer to observing the way people do things. Things refer to stuff in society that embodies the common mind of people in society while the discourse of persons is the interactions of language use between people. Domination refers to the idea that dominant groups do not obtain the right to act as moral beings and feminism refers to the idea that women and men should have equal opportunities.
Hebert Spencer was a theorist born in 1820 who grew up home-schooled as well. Spencer’s key contribution is that human societies evolve like all other phenomena. “Evolution… was to Spencer that universal process, which explains alike both the ‘earliest changed which the universe at large is supposed to have undergone… and those latest changes which we trace in society and the products of social life,’” (Coser, 2003, p.90). Spencer explains that sociology should be the science society uses to detect the laws that govern humans and their societies.
Sociological theory is a theory that tries to explain how and why the social aspects of the world are the way they are; Sociological theories tend to evaluate situations and be more critical than theories that are of the natural sciences (Edles & Appelrouth, 2010, p. 3). Sociological theory is a fundamental feature of the discipline of sociology for the reason that it provides us, as a society, with elucidation for human behavior from different theoretical standpoints. With sociological theory, we are able to explain the behaviors of individuals or groups when they encounter certain social circumstances. This theory is a theory that sociologists use to delineate why situations may have occurred and why individuals or groups reacted the way they did, this provides us with a framework to stimulate social change within societies. Sociologial theory is important for very many reasons but the major reason is because it provides sociologists and other theorists with a framework when trying to interpret the social world and reactions to phenomena. One of the main features of the sociological theory is that it seeks to explain how and why something is what it is. There are three different levels to which we can categorize phenomena; the micro-level, the meso-level, and the macro-level. The micro-level is the smallest level, it pertains to issues that affect individuals meaning interactions between people. The meso-level refers to the groups within societies like organizations and communities. The macro-level consists of society as a whole.
Sociological theory differs from other theories in the sociological realm in the way that sociological theory does not have the intent to attempt to predict what the outcome of a situation will be. In order to understand a sociological theory, we need to be aware of what a theory is. A theory is a set of ideas that was developed that attempts to explain recognizable facts or make sense of experiences (Sternheimer, 2020). Sociological theory is unique from other theories in the way that it looks very closely at interconnected relationships within the many systems that make up society. Sociology is unique in and of itself in the way that it uses existing frameworks and research techniques to study social life, social structures, and social change. Sociological theory is unique in the way that it’s a science that studies solely humans and the structures that makeup society because not all scientific theories have one main focus that is so crucial in understanding society and the way it works. Sociological theory is very important and crucial to understanding the social world around us and how individuals behave when in a specific social phenomenon.
Throughout the following paper, I have examined and explained a few very important figures that made great contributions to sociology and sociological theory. I have also explained what sociological theory is and why it is important. Sociological theory helps provide sociologists with a framework and a lens through which we view the social world. Sociological theory is unique in the way that it studies and predicts social behaviors due to certain social situations.
References
Coser, L. A. (1977). Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in historical and social context (2d ed.). Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Edles, L. D., & Appelrouth, S. (2004). edles, L.D., & Appelrouth, S. 2010. Sociological Theory in the Classical Era: Text and Readings. 3rd edition. Sociological Theory in the Classical Era, 1–10.
Sternheimer, K. (2020, February 17). Theories and hypotheses. Everyday Sociology Blog. https://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2020/02/theories-and-hypotheses.html (Sternheimer & Norton, 2020)
Sternheimer, K. (2018). Joining the conversation: Why study theory?. Everyday Sociology Blog. https://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2018/01/joining-the-conversation-why-study-theory.html
Summary of revisions for UE #2
I received a 20/25 for Unit Essay 2, which shows that there are evident errors within my writing that need to be revised. The first issue that needs to be fixed is my lack of APA format within the paper, my sources were not in APA format, and I did not meet the four source requirement. To fix this issue within my writing, I have added two more sources so I now have a total of four, my citations are in the correct format, and have included in-text citations. In my response to question 1, it was mostly answered correctly but there is a small indication that I have not mastered the material. I have reworded the sentences regarding the four types of social actions which can be seen in paragraph two. The previous sentences now read, “Value-oriented social actions are actions that one engages in that they see as most beneficial. Emotional/affective social actions are actions that are expressed by emotional states or feelings. Traditional social actions are actions that are custom to society, actions that have always been done and so they continue to be done the same way.” I had the same issues in my response to question three, I need to be clear of how well I know the material. To demonstrate my understanding of the material, I have modified a sentence in paragraph four that now reads, “Weber’s ideas on types of authority have remained prevalent in the way that societies elect authorities today, individuals tend to select authority figures on which type of authority they feel the figure has that most demonstrate their desired values.”
UE 2
Max Weber, along with many other sociological theorists, made great contributions to the science of sociology and is a very crucial figure in the development of modern world science. Max Weber was a German sociologist and philosopher whose work still remains to have a great influence on sociology, he was born in 1864 and passed away in 1920 (Grether, 2023). Weber, at times, challenged and rejected other theorists’ contributions to sociology and in doing so, has come up with his own theories. Weber’s work was mainly concerned with the understanding of bureaucracy and rationalizations within society, social action, and types of authority.
Weber’s main concerns as a theorist also happen to be his key contributions to sociology. Max Weber explains bureaucracy is a type of social organization that consists of hierarchies and the division of labor (Poling, 2021). Weber was interested in how characteristics of bureaucracy could lead to negative consequences. When Weber explained rationalization, he explained it as efficiency, calculability, and demystification. He said that rationalization often leads to depersonalization and the destruction of individual freedom, and that rationalization makes it a challenge for people to pursue specific values. His second key contribution is social action, he explained social action as the interactions between human beings and the motivations that exist for people to interact with others. He says that motivations are led by personal desires and social forces within society. There are four types of social action: purposeful/rational, value-oriented, emotional/affective, and traditional. Purposeful/rational social action refers to the actions where people interact with other individuals to achieve certain goals. Value-oriented social actions are actions that one engages in that they see as most beneficial. Emotional/affective social actions are actions that are expressed by emotional states or feelings. Traditional social actions are actions that are custom to society, actions that have always been done and so they continue to be done the same way.
The next concern that Weber focused on is the types of authorities within society. According to Max Weber, there are three types of authority: traditional, charismatic, and rational/legal. Traditional authority refers to the idea that society believes in the sanctity of traditions that have existed for great lengths of time and it’s continued that way because it always has been that way. This type of authority is based on persistent societal practices that have been passed down. Charismatic authority refers to the idea that society trusts a leader because the leader has shown exceptional heroism and sanctity, so therefore the people follow the rules set in place by the leader. This type of authority is based upon the characteristics of the leader like their abilities, drives, and attitudes. Rational/legal authority is the belief in the legality of patterns and normative rules and laws; this type of authority is governed by already established rules. Further explained, this type of authority is the most common form of authority in societies, these are societies where people obey authority figures simply because they have higher positions. This type of authority is used in institutions like the government, universities, and large organizations.
Max Weber’s contributions that he made to the science of sociology are still relevant in today’s society because they have produced fundamental frameworks for understanding modern society. His ideas of bureaucracy and rationalization have had big impacts on modern organizations and cultures within the community. Weber’s ideas on types of authority have remained prevalent in the way that societies elect authorities today, individuals tend to select authority figures on which type of authority they feel the figure has that most demonstrates their desired values. When looking at different cultures today, they tend to use one of those types of authority that Weber explained. An example of this is hereditary monarchy, which is when power is passed down through generations of family. Social action is still relevant today because whether or not people realize they are using of of the four types he explained, their actions fall into one category.
Throughout the following paper, I have examined a very crucial figure in the field of sociology and his key contributions. I have also explained what his key contributions are and how they are embedded in modern society today. His work has provided the modern societal world with frameworks that are still used to this day. When looking at the interactions between human beings, the government/large corporations, and bureaucracies, Weber’s framework that he has created with his studies is clearly visible.
References
Coser, L. A. (1977). Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in historical and social context (2d ed.). Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Grether, S. (n.d.). Max & Marianne Weber [Review of Max & Marianne Weber]. Retrieved November 29, 2023, from https://canvas.longwood.edu/courses/1310260/files/58059468?module_item_id=13400179
Poling, J. (2021, March 22). Applying Weber’s concept of bureaucracy to the pandemic. Applying Weber’s Concept of Bureaucracy to the Pandemic. https://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2021/03/applying-webers-concept-of-bureaucracy-to-the-pandemic.html
SOCIOLOGY – Max Weber. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 29, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICppFQ6Tabw&t=11s
Summary of revisions for UE #3
I received a 44/50 for my Unit Essay 3, there are some errors within my writing that need to be fixed. The first error that was demonstrated through my writing was an error within an in-text citation in the first paragraph, the title of the journal was italicized when it should not have been, and that is now fixed. The second problem I had was citing my background information on Goffman in the first paragraph, I went in and added in-text citations to cite my writing and this source has been added to my references. Within the first paragraph, I also had written work that read, “…was motivated by questions that…”, or “These questions that motivated…”, I removed these expressions so my writing could be more straightforward and to the point. My writing now reads, “Goffman questioned the roles individuals play within social interaction…” and “Goffman wanted to expose the dynamics attached to social interaction…”. Looking at the second paragraph, I added unnecessary explanation when it came to describing dramaturgy, this read “the first premise, the second premise, and the third premise.” I took this out because the following sentence introduced the three premises. I did the same thing when discussing dramaturgy in the third and final paragraph, instead of just using the work dramaturgy, I listed all of the components within; this was not needed. My APA format was not done correctly regarding my citations, the authors of the articles used were not listed. This was fixed and this can be seen in the references section of the paper.
UE 3
Erving Goffman is a Canadian-American sociologist who was born in Mannville, Canada in June of 1922 and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in November of 1982 (American Sociological Association, 2023). He spent the majority of his life living in the United States, teaching at universities. Goffman himself earned a Ph.D. in sociology in 1953 and was the president of the American Sociological Association from 1981 to 1982 (Grether, 2023). The social and economic contexts of Erving Goffman’s life are the Civil Rights era, the Great Depression, and wars such as WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War; these social and economic phenomena in which Goffman lived through contribute to Goffman’s thought about the social world in which he studied (Grether, 2023). Goffman’s studies focused on face-to-face communication and the formalities of social interaction between individuals. Erving Goffman’s major concerns in his work are the understanding of interactions between beings, social roles within society, and the presentation of the self. Goffman questioned the roles individuals play within social interaction, how individuals utilize the front and back stages of social life, what face-to-face interaction entails, how social order is used in everyday life, and how beings deal with identities that are stigmatized (Grether, 2023). Goffman wanted to expose the dynamics attached to social interaction and how people utilize these to structure their social worlds. He was influenced by Herbert Blumer who coined the term “symbolic interactionism,” symbolic interactionism is the way that “people act toward things based on the meaning those things have for them; and these meanings are derived from social interaction and modified through interpretation.”
Some of Erving Goffman’s key contributions to sociology are the concepts of the front stage and back stage, impression management, the dramaturgy model, and the 3 premises within this model. The front stage refers to social interactions that happen in front of people in public spaces, an example of this would be individuals going to work or school compared to them being at home, when individuals go out to public places they usually put on different clothes or carry a certain persona (Everyday Sociology Blog: When Back Stage becomes Front Stage: Goffman’s Dramaturgy in the Age of Teleconferencing, 2020). People in the front stage are able to act a certain way for people to perceive them in certain ways (Goffman, 1959). The back stage consists of private areas, areas that an audience or the public cannot see, for instance, being at home would be the back stage instead of being visible to the public (Everyday Sociology Blog: When Back Stage becomes Front Stage: Goffman’s Dramaturgy in the Age of Teleconferencing, 2020). Impression management, according to Goffman, is the way in which we watch the people that we encounter and interact with (Joshi, 2022). When individuals interact with others they are called actors, when people interact with other actors they want to present themselves in a certain way so that others will accept them. Members of the audience, in this case it would be the public, may disturb this performance which is why the actors try to maintain their impressions, this is called impression management (Joshi, 2022). Dramaturgy views social life as a theatrical performance, meaning that all individuals are actors on a stage that have specific roles, scripts, costumes, and sets. In dramaturgy, individuals act in different ways depending on the context of social interaction in which they encounter. There are three premises within dramaturgy, the first premise states that we only know a person by what they show us, the public. The second premise refers back to impression management, we present ourselves in certain ways to be perceived how we want to and satisfy specific audiences. The third premise states that the more that an individual engages in a specific interaction, the more strongly the person can feel a sense of self.
Goffman’s work regarding dramaturg helps us understand interactions between individuals that happen within society, especially through social media as it is so prevalent in today’s world. The front stage can still be shown through interactions between people that happen in the public eye, but in today’s time it can be seen through social media; social media posts, and interactions. Everything that is posted onto a social media account becomes public whether it is pictures or a word post, these are posts that are visible to those who click on your profile or follow you. An individual can make others on social media perceive them in certain ways based on what they are wearing and what they are doing in their posts, this would be considered the performance. The back stage, when it comes to social media, is where an individual prepares their performance; their performance could be prepared face-to-face or online, this could be the construction of the social media post. How individuals present themselves is constructed through the preparation process (Joshi, 2022). The first and second premise is shown through social media by individuals only posting what they want people to see and by this, we as the public, perceive them in certain ways. The third premise can be shown through an individual posting the same type of posts and once this is done many times, the posters themselves will start to perceive themselves that way.
References
Daniels, A. K. (1983). Erving Manual Goffman. American Sociological Association. https://www.asanet.org/erving-manual-goffman/
Sternheimer, K. (2020, May 4). When back stage becomes front stage: Goffman’s Dramaturgy in the Age of … When Back Stage Becomes Front Stage: Goffman’s Dramaturgy in the Age of Teleconferencing. https://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2020/05/when-back-stage-becomes-front-stage-goffmans-dramaturgy-in-the-age-of-teleconferencing.html
Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Anchor Books.
Grether, S. (2023, November 25). Goffman.Pptx [PowerPoint Slides]. https://canvas.longwood.edu/courses/1310260/files/58145691?module_item_id=13400184
Joshi, M. (2022, May 11). Erving Goffman’s Dramaturgical Approach – Madhura Joshi. Doing Sociology. https://doingsociology.org/2022/05/11/erving-goffmans-dramaturgical-approach-madhura-joshi/