Sociology

• Examples of social institutions include family, education, religion, economy, polity, and health.
• Family can be defined as a group of individuals who share common residence, economic resources, and emotional ties.
• The family is an institution where people live together as a group under one roof.
• Social institutions are the basic building blocks that make up society.
• Marxists argue that there are two main classes - the bourgeoisie (capitalists) who own the means of production and exploit workers through wage labor, and the proletariat (workers) who sell their labor power to earn wages.
• Social class is the position people occupy within society based on their income, education level, occupation, and other factors.
• The Marxist perspective views social class as determined by ownership or control over productive resources such as land, capital, and technology.
• Primary socialization occurs during childhood and is typically carried out by family members and close relatives.
• Religion can be a powerful agent of socialization, as it provides individuals with a set of beliefs, values, and moral codes to guide their behavior.
• The nuclear family is the most common type of family structure today, consisting of two parents and their children living together.
• There are different types of families such as nuclear, extended, single-parent, blended, same-sex couples, etc.
• Extended families are larger groups that may include grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, or other relatives.
• Functions of the Family include reproduction (biological), socialization/education, caregiving, consumption, production, and regulation.
• Institutions have their own rules or norms that govern behavior within them.
• They also have their own culture, which includes shared beliefs, values, and customs.
• Sociologists have identified different types of extended families based on cultural traditions, such as matrilocal (women move to live with husband's family), patrilocal (men move to live with wife's family), avunculocal (brother moves into sister's home), neolocal (newly married couple establishes own household).
• Each institution has its own unique role to play in maintaining social order and stability.
• Socialization refers to the process by which children acquire values, norms, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors from their parents or other significant adults.
• Feminist sociologists challenge traditional gender roles by arguing that women have been oppressed throughout history due to patriarchal systems.