F soc usic lecture seven

Effective from September 2015 | F_Soc USIC Sociology week 7 - Society
Contents
1. Review from Lecture Six
2. Structure and Agency
3. Personal and Social Identity
4. Primary and Secondary Socialisation?
5. Conclusion
6. Homework
sheffield.ac.uk/international-college 2

Review of Lecture Six
Last week we discussed how social structures, including social
institutions, order our lives. We also discussed the types of power
that we encounter in our daily lives.
We examined the relationship between social structures and
individuals, from Structuralist Functionalist, Marxist and Feminist
perspectives.

Identity
 Identity refers to the sense that someone has of who
they are and of what is most important about them.
(Haralambos and Holborn 2013: 729).
 Identity involves making comparisons between people
and establishing similarities and differences between
them. Those who are believed to be similar share
aspects of their identity.
 Important sources of identity are likely to include:
nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, religion and social
class.
Example:
An individual can be British-Asian, heterosexual, female,
Hindu and middle-class.

Types of Identity
 Types of identity:
Personal Identity: refers to how a person thinks about him/herself.
Social Identity: refers to how individuals are perceived by others.
Therefore personal identity is an individual’s view of themselves while
social identity is society’s view of the individual.

 The concept of identity has become increasingly important in
sociology due to the fast pace of changes and transitions
experienced by the contemporary societies.
Examples: gender roles, work patterns, technology, globalization,
migration, environmental degradation… etc.
The meaning of masculinity and
femininity are less clear cut than they
use to be. In early 20th
century gender
roles were very clear marked by the
clothes men and women wore to the
roles they played in society. Men
worked and were seen as the
breadwinners. Women stayed home
and took care of the children and the
home. These behaviours and actions
enforced societies’ interpretation of
masculine and feminine behaviour

How are identities formed?
There are two central questions about the formation of identities in the social
sciences:
How are identities formed?
To what extent do we shape our own identities?
oPeople actively shape and change their own identities, for example people
have a great deal of choice about what social groups to join, through forms
of consumption… etc.
oAt the same time however, societal factors play a significant role.

Structure and agency debate
Identity is formed through a combination of individual
agency and structural restrictions.
Agency is the capacity of individuals to act
independently and to make their own free choices.
 Structure refers to those factors of influence e.g. social
class, gender, ethnicity, culture, etc that determine or
limit an individual’s decisions.

Identity and Sociology
There are different arguments proposing how identities are formed.
George Mead (1863-1931) an American philosopher and sociologist argued that
human development involves imagining the way others view us. Our identity is
linked to the external identity others bestow upon us.
Erving Goffman (1922-1982) a Canadian-born sociologist and writer saw the
social world as a play. Individuals put on a performance for others to convince
them of who they are. By presenting themselves in particular roles individuals
develop identities.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) an Austrian neurologist believed that childhood
experiences, often unconscious, were vital for the development of identities in
adulthood, particularly gender and sexual identities.

Identity and Culture
 Identities can be formed through the cultures and sub-cultures to which
people belong, however, different theoretical viewpoints see the
relationship between culture and identity in different ways.
 According to Structuralist views ‘identity’ is formed by people’s
involvement in particular cultures and sub-cultures.
• e.g. people who identify themselves as Christian would be
expected to have a strong Christian Identity.
• Post-modernist theories, however, stress the diversity of factors
influencing identity.
• For example one could identify himself/herself as Muslim,
secular, feminist, liberal and multicultural, vegetarian… etc.

Effective from September 2015 | F_Soc USIC Sociology week 7 - SocietyEffective from September 2015 | FY10 Sociology week 2 - Society
Identity & Socialization
 Socialization describes the process of how we are taught the
behavioral rules we need to become both a member of a particular
society/culture and a competent social individual.
 Through socialization, the individual learns the culture of their society.
Young children for instance are
expected to learn the roles,
norms and values they will need
to function in society from their
family and school; these
elements are not inherent in
children but taught.

Two forms of Socialization
 Primary Socialisation: takes place within the family where children
learn common goals, appropriate behaviour and gender roles.
 Secondary Socialisation: takes place outside the home, mainly in
schools and in the community. Here children learn to treat each other
according to certain rules that apply to everyone (e.g. sharing,
respect) and to conform to these rules.
o Parents and teachers become socializing agents and have the
responsibility for preparing children for adult society.
o Differences in adult backgrounds means that not all children are
raised with identical norms and values.
o Differences in culture, language, values, beliefs, norms and traditions
can influence the socialisation processes.

In some instances where children are not socialized at all
they fail to show the social and psychological development
expected from a socialized child (e.g. walking upright,
talking, etc.
Genie was a 13 year old girl from California who was
discovered having never been socialized by her parents. In
1970 Genie was found by authorities to have been locked
in a room, having never been spoken to or nurtured by
either of her parents. Genie could not walk upright, speak
and was developmentally delayed because she had been
abused and neglected all her life.
Watch Genie Wiley - TLC Documentary (2003)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjZolHCrC8E

Summary
 This week we learned about the significance of social structures and
agency on human behaviour.
 We also discussed how beliefs, values and norms influence an
individual’s identity. Identity refers to the sense that someone has of
who they are and of what is most important to them.
 Important sources of identity are nationality, ethnicity, sexuality,
gender and social class
 There are two types of identity: Personal Identity and Social Identity
 Identities can be formed through external influences or socialization,
stemming from culture.
 Debates on identity enable us to gain greater awareness into why
people behave the way they do and what factors cause people to
behave they way they do, how people are socialized, how they
perceive themselves and how society perceives them.

 Review lecture and prepare questions for seminar one
 Read Giddens pp.334-344 available on MOLE.
Homework

F soc usic lecture seven

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to F soc usic lecture seven

Similar to F soc usic lecture seven (18)

More from USIC

More from USIC (9)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

F soc usic lecture seven

Editor's Notes