Election(extra)

An election is a way people can choose their candidate or their preferences in a democracy or other form of government.
Most democratic countries hold new elections for their national legislature every few years, but this differs from country to country. Some democracies elect other national officials. In others, these are appointed. Democratic countries also hold local elections. Some democracies have regional, provincial or state elections too.
There are different ways to organize an election in different countries. Voters might vote for an individual, or they might vote for a political party. This is because different countries use different voting systems.
Countries that are not democracies can also hold elections. This is usually done to let the people choose a local representative. Also many countries call themselves democracies, but behind the scenes have a more autocratic form of government. Elections are done between the main person and the opposition.

Agency (for extra credits)

Agency

 I think 'Agency' refers to the thoughts and actions taken by people that express their individual power in social context. The core challenge at the center of the field of sociology is understanding the relationship between structure and agency. Structure refers to the complex and interconnected set of social forces, relationships, institutions, and elements of social structure that work together to shape the thought, behavior, experiences, choices, and overall life courses of people. In contrast, agency denotes the power people have to think for themselves and act in ways that shape their experiences and life trajectories. Agency can take individual and collective forms.

Anomie (for extra credits)

Anomie

 The label "anomie" is applied to the sense that one's social group lacks cohesion and definition - particularly with regards to moral values. This feeling might results from a disaster or war which disrupts the functioning of society or might be the result of fundamental and disruptive shifts in traditional values as society undergoes changes and people around seem to be living dissolute lives.

 Another, less obvious, cause might be a social system which encourages individual autonomy to such a degree that individuals no longer feel an identification with the wider community and, instead, identify solely with their own interests and actions. Émile Durkheim used this in an attempt to explain suicide rates in 19th century Europe. According to Durkheim, suicide rates were higher among Protestants than among Catholics because the former were less likely to develop strong attachments to communities which would help them cope with stress during times of crisis.

Altruism(extra)

Root of Altruism

Altruism is concern for the well-being of others. A truly altruistic act is something done completely for the benefit of another, without concern for the self. It usually involves sacrificing something, with no expectation of receiving anything in return. It is considered a virtue in many cultures and a basic aspect of most religions. It is the opposite of selfishness.

selflessness is defined as preferring others over yourself. This means devotion to others and completely forgetting concern for oneself. But I don't think there is a complete altruism. Altruism is a product of the evolution. It is one way of surviving selected by humans. Altruism is ultimately derived from self-interest. Of course, exceptions do exist, such as flesh and blood relationship. I will think about the problem.

 



 

Cultural Hegemony (for extra credits)

Cultural Hegemony

 Cultural hegemony, a concept articulated by Italian scholar and activist Antonio Gramsci, refers to domination, or rule, achieved through ideological (cultural) means. The term refers to the ability of a group of people to hold power over social institutions, and thus, to strongly influence the everyday thoughts, expectation, and behavior of the rest of society by directing the normative ideas, values, and beliefs that become the dominant worldview of a society. Cultural hegemony functions by achieving the consent of the masses to abide social norms and the rules of law by framing the worldview of the ruling class, and the social and economic structure that follows it, as just, legitimate, and designed for the benefit of all.

 Gramsci developed this concept based on Karl Marx’s theory that the dominant ideology of society reflected the beliefs and interests of the ruling class. Consent to the rule of dominant group is carried out through the dissemination of dominant ideologies via social institutions like education, media, family, religion, politics, and law, among others. Because institutions do the work of socializing people into the norms, values, and beliefs of the dominant social group, if a group controls the institutions that maintain social order, then that group rules all others in society. Cultural hegemony is most strongly manifested when those ruled by the dominant group come to believe that economic and social conditions are natural and inevitable, rather than created by people with a vested interest in a particular social order.

Race (for extra credits)

Race

 I think races as a concept that is used to signify different types of human bodies. While there is no biological basis for racial classification, sociologists recognize a long history of attempts to organize groups of people based on similar skin color and physical appearance.The absence of any biological foundation makes race often difficult to define and classify, and as such, sociologists view racial categories and the significance of race in society as unstable, ever shifting, and intimately connected to other social forces and structures. Sociologists emphasize though, that while race is not a concrete, fixed thing that is essential to human bodies, it is much more than simply an illusion. While it is socially constructed through human interaction, and through relationships between people and institutions, as a social force, race is very real in its consequences.

Aging

Aging

 Human's life can divide various age spans. For example, Infancy, Toddler, Childhood, Adolescence, Young adult, Prime adulthood, Middle age, Old age.

 Biological significance and social meaning of aging are different. In social meaning, aging, I think it is ready to not maintaining youth and vitality.

 It is possible to receive an unfair treatment by age. For example, too young people can't vote. Old people can be self neglect.

 One of the reasons that older people are marginalized in society, since no other production economical activities. Actually elderly people are less production economical activities span in all age group.

 I think if there is a change in consciousness and social systems, it is possible to continue the raw vitality more productive for the elderly.

Aging

Mick Jagger is one of elderly people, but he is still hot.