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Social theory

Jun 18

2011

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in Social theory, Sociologists

Tags Manuel Castells Mass Communication Research Paul Lazarsfeld Two-step flow of communication

The two-step flow of communication

The processes of social mobilization against the crisis and against the measures taken by policymakers that have occurred in Spain, the Arab countries (especially Egypt), Greece or other Mediterranean countries offer an opportunity to review the hypothesis of the two-step flow of communication from the point of view of both its continuity and its diversity, and they suggest that this process could be the inverse of that which is indicated by the original studies.

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Jun 10

2011

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in Epistemology social sciences, Social theory

Tags Immigration Material conditions Social class Social identity Social mobility Social structure Stigmatization Symbolic capital

Racism and crisis

There are two possible hypotheses explaining the mechanism of racism in situations of crisis. The first appears to be not specific to situations of crisis and suggests that when these contexts receive immigrants there are some changes in the social structure which would be analogous to upward mobility. According to the second hypothesis, the changes that are taking place in the social structure are totally opposed to what is pointed out in the previous hypothesis, involving a loss of symbolic capital of certain native classes.

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Aug 25

2010

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in Epistemology social sciences, Social theory

Tags Self-analysis Social structure Sociology

The sociologist and the social position

Not everyone can be a social scientist. As not everyone can be a soccer player. The only people being really able to do social science or sociology are the socially uprooted as many cases demonstrate all along the history of the social sciences; that is, those who are not well integrated in its membership groups, and which do not have reference groups: these are characterized by having a habitus which, by socialization (some would call it "by nature"), is cognitively heterodox; i.e., socially critical.

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Aug 25

2010

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in Epistemology social sciences, Social theory

Tags Epistemological break Pierre Bourdieu Self-analysis Social structure

The epistemological break

The epistemological break is not a technical, non continuous and consciously planned process. It is an undecided and infinite social process determined essentially by social conditions affecting the individual. An effective epistemological break hardly can take place without performing previously a rupture with both the common and the cultivated thought. And doing this means breaking with the social groups which are the spokesmen of such thought patterns.

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