Social Theory Glossary

The capacity of individuals to act independently and make choices that shape the social world.

Marx's concept describing workers' estrangement from the products of their labor, the labor process, fellow workers, and their own human potential under capitalism.

A condition of normlessness in which social norms are weak or absent, leading to feelings of disconnection. Introduced by Durkheim.

A form of organizational structure characterized by hierarchy, formal rules, specialization, and impersonal authority. Central to Weber's analysis of modern society.

Marx's concept that conflict between the bourgeoisie (owners of the means of production) and the proletariat (workers) is the engine of historical change.

Durkheim's term for the shared beliefs, ideas, and moral attitudes that operate as a unifying force within a society.

A perspective emphasizing how power, inequality, and competition over scarce resources drive social structure and change.

Non-economic assets such as education, taste, and cultural knowledge that confer social advantage. Concept developed by Bourdieu.

Systems of knowledge, language, and practice that define what can be said and thought in a given domain. Central to Foucault's work.

The specialization of cooperative labor tasks in a society. Durkheim analyzed how increasing specialization transforms social solidarity.

A range of social, political, and theoretical movements and ideologies that share the goal of defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights across genders.

A theoretical perspective that analyzes society as a system of interdependent parts each serving a function to maintain overall stability.

Bourdieu's concept of deeply ingrained dispositions and perceptions acquired through socialization that unconsciously guide behavior and reproduce social class.

Gramsci's concept of dominance achieved through cultural and ideological leadership that makes the existing social order appear natural and consensual.

Marx's theory that material conditions and economic activities fundamentally shape society and historical development.

Weber's methodological tool: a conceptual model that abstracts and accentuates key features of a social phenomenon for analytical comparison. Not a description of reality but a measuring rod.

A framework analyzing how overlapping social identities such as race, gender, and class create compounded systems of discrimination and privilege.

Weber's metaphor for the way bureaucratic rationalization traps individuals in systems of efficiency and control, potentially depriving life of meaning.

A social system in which men hold primary power and authority in political, economic, and domestic life, and women are systematically subordinated.

A broad intellectual movement questioning fixed meanings, stable structures, and objective truth. Associated with Foucault, Derrida, and Deleuze.

Foucault's concept that power and knowledge are intertwined: power produces knowledge, and knowledge reinforces power relations.

Weber's concept of the historical shift toward calculated, rule-governed, and bureaucratic modes of organization as the defining tendency of modernity.

The networks of relationships among people that enable a society to function effectively. Developed by Bourdieu and later by Putnam.

The perspective that seemingly natural categories and institutions are produced and sustained through human interaction, culture, and historical processes.

Weber's interpretive method requiring the social scientist to understand social action from the subjective perspective of the actor.