MAJOR SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS (FINAL) REVIEW

Instructor: Christian O. Brought to you by FINO 528 PART 1: RELIGION Characteristic Involve a set of symbol Involve a feeling of the relevance of awe Apply in a mass of believers Types of religions in small societies Totemism o Totem = animals or plants that contain a supernatural power, using in ritual ceremonies o E.g. Northern American Indian Tribes Animism o Believe in spirit o E.g. African tribal societies Types of major religions in the West Abraham Religions o Believe that Jesus was existed o Christianity: Jesus = son of god o Islam: Jesus = prophet o Judaism: Jesus = teacher Types of major religions in the East Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism 1) Karl Marxs view on religion Heart of the heartless world o Heaven from the harshness of daily reality o E.g. giving a working class a hope, while they are struggling to survive. Religion will and should eventually be disappeared o People should not scare of the god in which people themselves created. o Similar the Feuerbachs idea of Alienation People are attaching their created idea to attach with the supernatural idea (eg. God) The opium of the people
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o Religion acts as a drug making people accepting their life, delaying their happiness, and will be rewarded after life. o Religion working class

inequality -> false consciousness

2) Durkheims view of religion Defined religion in terms of sacred and profane o Giving value to the normal thing o E.g. cross in Christianity Collective Ceremonials o Makes religion different from magic o Contain a ceremony -> enabling the solidarity and unity within a society Religion is important as it is shaping the people thought o (midterm) Religion core a social value, which then maintaining the social cohesion. Religion will eventually disappeared and replace with reasoning 3) Max Webers view of religion Study the world religions Two types of worldly religions o Salvation Religions E.g. Christianity Dealing with sins People can be forgiven by god More active in a social change (against sinful) o Other world Religions E.g. Buddhism No forgiveness, repay after life More spiritual More passive in a social change Secularization Moving away for religion Separate the church from the state Methods determining the secularization o Level of memberships in the religious organization o The wealth of religious organization o Religiosity (level of social influence)

Against Secularization Idea of believing by not belonging o Protestant: people can communicate directly with god -> not necessary to go to the church Cannot apply with religions in the East o Buddhism: No church Populations in the eastern countries are increasing o India = population increasing -> still religious Religious Fundamentalism Their view of religion is only the right view in the world Literal interpretation of the teaching (scripture), and applied to all aspects of life o Benefit the privilege Only privilege such as priest can interpret the teaching There are many religious fundamentalists o Therefore, against secularization Terms in Religion Cosmology: study of the structure of the universe Cosmogony: study of the origin of the universe Theology: study of the religion and its influence Theism: believe in god Monotheism: one god Polytheism: many gods Pantheism: god is everything and in everywhere Atheism: no god

News + Selectivity Glaskow Media Groups arguments o News is bias towards the companies and against the workers Making works become unreasonable and aggressive o News selectivity = Gatekeepers Control what will be shown Counter arguments o Glaskow is bias Sometimes the companies are really victims o Gatekeepers Cannot show everything in the news 1) Habermas: The Public Sphere Public Sphere = The public arena for debate against certain issues Starting: Salons and Coffee Shops in Paris Popular Cultural Industry o Decreasing public sphere o Media shapes the way of thinking > having the same way of thinking -> no debate -> no public arena o E.g. Gender role in popular culture 2) Baudrillard: Hyper-Reality Media doesnt only present the world, but recreate the world People understand the reality through pictures in the media o e.g. Thai flood -> the media presented only the terrible area of flood -> The foreigners understand that all areas look like the picture > not coming to Thailand o e.g. We are electing the politician in TV, not the real person. Impacts of mobile phone and internet technologies decreasing of face-to-face interaction (BB, FB, CHAT) comfortable o e.g. paying via mobile Media and Globalization Increasing of privatized ownerships o -> more media sources -> more global Diversification of media products o More competition -> more global
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PART 2: MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION Introduction Starting from TV Two types of broadcasting Public Broadcasting Govnt funds Eg. Thai PBS (Thailand), BBC (UK) Privatized Broadcasting Depends on income from selling advertising Eg. ABC, NBC (USA)

 Merging of media cooperation o Merging -> Larger -> more global Increasing of Transnational cooperate structures o Able to reach more geographic -> more global Censorship + Guidance Filtering information Media is not just selling the product, but influence the way of thinking Media regulations o Too much No freedom of expression Affect the prosperity of media sector o Too little Monopoly -> limit view

Management is characterized by written rules Relationships are regulated in terms of super and subordination (ruler and ruled) o Ideal type of bureaucracy Clear-cut hierarchical authority Fulltime with salaries Written rules are applied to all rank (including the administrators) Able to separate the work and life affairs Unable to own the material resources o Technically, bureaucracy is an effective system Japanese Model Bottom-up decision making o Decision making lies on both supers and subordinations Group work o Work and evaluate in group o Authority lies on a group rather than an individual Job-security guaranteed Less specialization o Flexible Merging of work and private life o Eating together after work 2) Merton Different from Weber, Bureaucracy is not an efficient system Dysfunction of Bureaucracy o Too strict on the written rule o Not allow the decision making -> no creativity o Leads to Bureaucratic Ritualism Bureaucratic Ritualism o Rules is important than a goal Rules are applied with every situation, even if there is another creative choice to deal with. Therefore the organization is inefficient 3) Burns & Stalker: Mechanistic & Organic Organizations Mechanistic Organization
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PART 3: ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNMENT 3.1: ADMINISTRATION 1) Max Weber System of Dominance o Against Hobbess idea that men were obeyed by the use of force o Focusing on the relationships between rulers and ruled o The ruled was obeyed by the given legitimacy o 3 types of legitimate dominance Traditional Dominance Historical elements E.g. monarch Charismatic Dominance Charisma, magic power, extraordinary gifts E.g. Gandhi Legal Dominance By rule and law E.g. Teacher, Prime Minister Bureaucracy o Characteristic Hierarchical Organization Fulltime Occupation Specialized administrative skills

o Hierarchical command o Communicating vertically (Top -> Bottom) o Specialization o People at the top and bottom are rarely communicating o Unable to deal with the unpredictable change Organic Organization o Communication is more diffused o Goal is important than rule o Making decision and solving problems together

Ruler if the state is inherited through royal blood line E.g. King, emperor, tsar o Totalitarianism Rule by one party, controlling all aspect of life E.g. Communism 5) Geller: Nationalism Idea of the nation, which is the product of industrial revolution o Economic Push State wanted to expand the economy -> need more effective system of state => sense of different nationstate o Transportation Revolution More interaction between people -> identity is in need

4) Michael Foucault Techniques in prison can be applied in administration Idea of surveillance: overlook and being watch to make pressure o Direct surveillance E.g. teachers monitoring students working on desk o Indirect surveillance Attendance, stamp in out are applied Disadvantages o Working uncomfortably o Hating supervisions o Alienation: separating us (subordinations) and them (supers) -> disunity 3.2: GOVERNMENT Systems of government Democracy o Greek: Demokratia: Demos (ppl) Kratos (power) = people rule o 2 types Participatory Democracy Decisions are made by everyone in community who are affected by them E.g. Ancient Greek, Athens Representative Democracy Decisions are made by elected representatives Authoritarianism o Monarchies

PART4: RETHINKING INSTITUTIONS & POWER PART 4.1: ClASS THEORIES vs. ELITIST THEORIES CLASS THEORIES 1) Karl Marx: Marxism Society is divided into two classes, working class and ruling class, by the economic push. Social class = ppl who share certain economic interests joining together to promote their interests Working Class (Proletariat) o Interest: struggle to survive o Lack of power: depend on the capital of bourgeoisie o False Consciousness: working hard -> dont realize of the inequality o They were seen as an interchangeable subject o Join together in trade unions Ruling Class (Bourgeoisie) o Interest: Using the proletariat to gain benefit o Having power: control capital and the means of production exercising state power: control the decision making
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2) Gramski: Neo-Marxism Dual Consciousness o Against Marxs idea of False Consciousness o Working class and ruling class are having an interaction in everyday life -> working class should know that there is an inequality Hegemonic Class o Power doesnt only lies on the ruling class o Working class is able to gather into unions -> they must have some power ELITIST THEORIES 1) C. Wright Mills Power lies to the selected few, the Elites Power Elites join together = Command Post Main elitist group = Power Blocs o Economic Elite o Military Elite o Political Elite Differences from Marxs idea o The ruling classes dont always use the power for their economic interest, because there are also Military and Political Elites o There is no clear-cut separation between classes. The classes are overlap and have some bridges between them. 2) Robert Dahl Polyarchic Government o Greek: poly (many) arkhe (rule) o Polyarchic government = power in government is vested in many people. o Different elites share the different interest -> polyarchic o There is a wider range of power, not only a command post -> no united single interest Dispersed Inequality o The inequality is changeable according to the context and situation o Sometimes the working class benefit E.g. taxation: the rich pay more than the poor.
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Critics of Elitist Theories Non-Decision Making o Majority also have their power through non-decision making o By not making a decision -> they are making a decision to make no decision. o Not accepting the decisions -> influences decision making Barriers of Decision Making o Policy Demand -> Barrier: Community value o Policy Choices -> Barrier: Inclusion on government agenda o Decision Making Arena -> Barrier: Modification or defeat o Implementation -> Barrier: enforcement, administration, acceptance o Effective Decision Making Therefore, people do have some power in decision making PART 4.2: NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT New Social Movement After WW II E.g. woman rights, environment, homosexual rights Past Social Movement vs. New Social Movement o Past Aimed at state Asked for policy change o New Aimed at public Asked for cultural change 1) Armstrong & Bernstein: New approaches in studying social movements Past and New social movements should be studied with the same method Method: 2 parts o Political Process Aim at state Ask for policy change o Multi Institutional Politics Aim at public Ask for cultural change THE END, GOOD LUCK: GET A Special Thx: PWoody 518 22/01/12