NYU Professor Harvey Molotch--Introduction to Sociology; This course provides a sampling of problems and methods used by sociologists, with concrete examples from everyday life, history, and contemporary events.
Professor Molotch, thank you greatly for posting your lecture as a resource. As a teacher in the high schools you are a great resource to keep me a step ahead and refresh my memory to content I have not studied in years.
thank you so much for posting these videos. people like me that are addicted to learning yet are not in a position to be attending classes appreciate these videos beyond expression. thank you
READING LIST for Lectures 3, 4. Culture and Ethnocentrism Marvin Harris, "India's Sacred Cow" Horace Miner, “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” Nicholas Thomas, “Cook Reappraised” A review of The Apotheosis of Captain Cook by Gananath Obeyesekere, as published in Current Anthropology, Vol. 34, No. 3 Richard Bernstein, “Cook Was (a) a God or (b) Not a God” a review of Marshall Sahlins, How Natives think About Captain Cook For Example. as published in New York Times May 24, 1995
How interesting is what he points out at 40:58 - 41:51... not only regarding the colinialist origins of anthropology, but also the social science as a human activity. Reflecting on sociology's method and its social implications is something absolutely fascinating. It reminds me of A. Schutz's social phenomenology...
Watching this video makes me aware of the ways in which I summarize and tell stories in class - and how they might not translate well if recorded for all time. I must watch what I say! I have two points to make. One is a specific comment on an inaccuracy. Anthropologists do not go out and search for a specific kind of person called a "big man." Big Man is a term used for a certain kind of leader in egalitarian societies. There are no formal titles or inheritable roles or permanent leadership positions. Leadership is transient and for a specific activity. That's what we call a Big Man. Not all of the societies we study have Big Men. It IS true, however, that early anthropologists - who were mostly men - assumed that knowledge of a culture was best garnered from experts, and that elder males were experts - not young people, not people on the margins, and not women. Like sociology, we have long moved past that. Feminist anthropology in the 1970s and 1980s, along with post-structuralism (post-modernism) moved us - like sociologists - to taking the knowledge of minority groups in society as legitimate in its own right. Which raises another point - why is anthropology filling the 'savage slot' here? I could just as easily point to sociology as the handmaiden of racism. As early as the very early 20th century, anthropologists had already confirmed that race was not a valid concept, and yet sociologists were still writing tracts about the 'Negroes' of this or that city as a dying race. The point is that we can all cherry-pick and we can all point to the past of a discipline as being misguided. Or, we can take each other's fields as what they are today. Anthropologists do NOT all think that 'primitives' are 'myth-driven.' That is the perspective of French structuralism (Levi-Strauss, hot and cold societies) and widely rejected in anthropology. Sahlins was heavily influenced by structuralism, but I don't see him making claims that ONLY 'primitives' (a term we just don't use) are myth-driven. Any anthropologist can tell us, as Dr. Molotch does, that all peoples are myth-driven. Just take a look at politics today.
yep yep when i saw so few Americans could not squat, it really was a shock to me. i thought it was in the genes at first but then i realized it was because we squat so much in Taiwan 30 years ago. i still squat ON my chair :) but this is considered "uncivilized" in my country now. So i bet the new generation in my country cannot squat either.
liked this lecture. though i must say, in case of india (asia), professor could have made a distinction between rural india and urban india. how norms vary between the have and the have-nots. how it is connected to income and livelihood, and education (western). the indianness that we in this country are proud of is due to the common threads that run through our cultures and languages. sacred cow is just one of the thousand elements that bind the diverse asian indian society. but overall, interesting lecture. hope to see more. thanks.
biswadip mitra What interested me about the sacred cow is that America and much of the west have systems for owning cattle, and systems of open law and closed law, which determine whether farmers exclude cattle, or ranchers restrict cattle, bit also if you go to national parks, there are overpasses covered in grass, or culverts to allow wildlife to safely cross a roadway.
I really like this lecture series, and I want the course material that likely used to be on NYU's website. I searched around a bit, but I couldn't find the course material. I could rebuild it via his directions in the lecture but that will take some time. I know he Professor Molotch requires the Sociological Imagination book by Mills. I also noticed he requires other readings. Can anyone help? I might email the professor or get the course material into a Google doc that we can attach as a url for all of these lectures. Thank you.
I would have majored in Anthropology in the college of Education if it was available. Only Social Sciences was available, though I'd taken a great deal of Sociology and History.
To follow, a copy of a post I made on my facebook thread whilst starting to watch this series today, it was loosely related to this episode.............................................................. Ethnocentrism, lol, ‘Let’s Pray’ at the beginning, this, my year of celebrating Émile Durkheim, & reading a few posts now in which posters have accused Nick Dunn, of anger & speaking out. With Harvey Molotch in the video above discussing the need to consider views from outside of our group (Peculiar Chair, great example Harvey), I feel I need to draw people attention to the term ‘Speciation’, in my opinion, Brexit, Trump, Wikileaks, Arab Spring…. Need I go on, is as a result of our evolving into a new species, now since the ‘80s with a great percentage of the world possessing a home computer with access to the internet, access to all (most) human knowledge the rate of transition has increased to undeniable visibility. So to those accusing Nick of anger??? How angry does that make me…. Onwards & Forwards Ladies & Gentlemen.
As all of you know psychopaths walk among us. I k now I shouldn't be stereotypical in identifying a specific group as being psychopathic being as not all in the group qualify as being one by diagnostic measures + the complete opposite culture with completely different values can indeed include psychopaths as well. This being said I believe that with this subject at question maybe stereotyping can be a good thing and because of this I have provided a psychopathic personality disorder list. If it's not too much trouble I was wanting to know if maybe while looking at this list carefully if yous could identify your ideas on which primary cultural group most likely fits the criteria Thank You. The Socialized Psychopath or Sociopath Motivation: power, gratification, personal gain, survival Mindset: manipulation, deception, evil Malice: high to very high; when held accountable, off the scale Also known as the corporate psychopath, workplace psychopath, industrial psychopath and administrative psychopath. Jekyll & Hyde personality always charming and beguilingly plausible, especially to those who are capable of protecting or enhancing the sociopath's position excels at deception (this must never be underestimated, but always is) excels at evasion of accountability is extremely and successfully manipulative of people's perceptions and emotions (eg guilt and anger) silver-tongued, has an extreme verbal facility and can outwit anybody (including a top barrister) in verbal conflict will often engineer himself or herself into a position of authority as gatekeeper of the organisation and thus the person through whom all information must flow, and the person to whom all requests for services must be referred - which he or she then takes delight in denying is adept at offering weak and inadequate people the positions of power, control, security, influence or respect that they crave but who lack the necessary competencies to achieve - such people are unaware that their consequent dependence on the sociopath makes them permanent manipulatees, pawns and expendable agents of harassment identifies those essential to the sociopath's survival and manipulates their perceptions them by making them feel special and thus obligated to reciprocate with support and protection manipulates others into making fools of themselves in situations where they cannot back down or from which they cannot withdraw - these people become increasingly susceptible to further manipulation and are then trapped as pawns in the sociopath's game is likely to be surrounded by people who, having been subjected to control, manipulation and punishment by the sociopath, look wretched and who start to exhibit behaviour best described as disordered, dysfunctional, sullen, aggressive, defensive, hostile, retaliatory, counterproductive or cult-like and for whom disbelief, disavowal and denial are instinctive responses creates an environment where levels of denial are so great that those involved are oblivious of the foolishness and self-evident absurdity of their denials when presented with the facts, with the result that non-involved observers are led to question whether such levels of denial merit psychiatric intervention is contemptuous of disrepute to their organisation and of collateral damage and of the destructive consequences for all direct and indirect parties is always surrounded by and leaves behind a trail of dysfunctional organisations, destroyed businesses, ruined careers, stress breakdowns and unexplained suicides despite a trail of devastation to individuals, organisations, families and communities, the actions of a socialised psychopath may go undetected or unrecognised for years a history of conducting frivolous, vexatious and malicious legal actions, especially (but not exclusively) against anyone who can recognise the sociopath for what he is only after the sociopath is exposed and relieved of position, or they move on, can the full depth of their destructive behaviour be fathomed and the consequences calculated is skilled at identifying, undermining, discrediting, neutralising and destroying anyone who can see through the sociopath's mask of sanity at all times restricts the actions and rights of others (especially those holding the sociopath accountable) whilst aggressively protecting his or her right to do anything without being hampered by social norms or legal requirements pursues endless vindictive vendettas against anyone perceived as a threat or who attempts, knowingly or unknowingly, to identify or reveal or expose the sociopath, or who makes efforts to hold the sociopath accountable is adept at appropriating rules, regulations, procedures and law to manipulate, control and punish accusers regardless of relevance, logic, facts or consequences persists in and pursues vindictive vendettas using self-evidently false evidence or information, even after this is brought to the attention of the sociopath will often manipulate minor bullies of the Wannabe type (who on their own might or would not merit the label 'serial bully') into acting as agents of harassment and as unwitting or unwilling conductors of vendettas is adept at placing people in situations where the sociopath can tap into each person's instinctive urge to retaliate in order to use them as his or her instruments or agents of harassment gains gratification from provoking others into engaging in adversarial conflict once conflict has been initiated, the sociopath gains increased gratification by exploiting human beings' instinctive need to retaliate - this is achieved by encouraging and escalating peoples' adversarial conflicts into mutually assured destruction revels in the gratification gained from seeing or causing other people's distress when faced with accountability or unwelcome attention which might lead to others discerning the sociopath's true nature, responds with repeated and escalating attempts to control, manipulate and punish is adept at reflecting all accusations and attempts at accountability back onto their accusers is adept at creating conflict between those who would otherwise pool negative information about the sociopath has no limits on his or her vindictiveness the need to control, manipulate and punish develops into an obsession with many of the hallmarks of an addiction is skilled at mimicry and can plausibly and spontaneously regurgitate all the latest management jargon exhibits minimal professional skill level and competency exploits his or her intelligence to excel at talentless mediocrity is always identifying the behaviours and strategies to which other people respond with the desired effect is able to anticipate and credibly say what people want to hear is easily able to win people over before betraying them or deceiving them or ripping them off easily manipulates and bewitches an immature or naive or vulnerable or emotionally needy person to be their spokesperson or agent of aggression exploits anyone who has a vulnerability is pushy and extremely persuasive is sexually inadequate and sexually abusive is likely to protect anyone accused of or suspected of sexual abuse of pedophile activity, and will frustrate or obstruct investigations into that person maybe associating with, or actively involved in, abuse or pedophile activity has no emotions, no emotional processing capability and no ability to understand other's emotions is incapable of understanding, initiating or sustaining intimacy the male sociopath has often convinced a string of women to feel they are in love with him and despite being treated abominably they blindly continue to be loyal to him and minister willingly to his every demand may start projects with apparent enthusiasm and energy but quickly loses interest frequently takes unnecessary and uncalculated risks but takes no account of consequences is reckless and untrustworthy with money is likely to be illegally diverting or siphoning off significant sums of money to his or her own budget, project, account or cause is unreliable and untrustworthy in every facet of life is likely to be leaking confidential information or secrets to third parties is likely to have committed or be committing criminal or near-criminal offences, eg fraud, embezzlement, deception is likely to have committed or be committing breaches of harassment and discrimination law, employment law, contract law, etc disregards rules, regulations, Health and Safety requirements, professional standards, codes of conduct and legal requirements, etc cannot comprehend the deeper semantic meaning of language and is thus unable to understand or appreciate metaphor, hyperbole, irony, satire etc (these elicit either zero response or a hostile response) likes, seeks, enjoys and relies on procedure, ritual and ritualistic practices through arrogant overconfidence takes increasingly risky chances and eventually overplays their hand or makes a mistake which leads to the sociopath revealing him or herself exhibits parasitical behaviour, takes everything and gives nothing grabs headline credit for minimal, flukey or other peoples' success whilst surviving off the backs of manipulatees who are exclusively blamed for all failures rarely blinks, may have stary scary eyes that cut right through you, or may avoid eye contact completely is callous, cold and calculating is devious, clever and cunning is ruthless in the extreme regards people as objects and playthings to be discarded when surplus to requirements displays zero empathy completely without conscience, remorse and guilt malicious and evil
+Mohd Yusuff Bin Sharif Racism is one form of ethnocentrism, but ethnicity can extend beyond racial grouping (where your genetics come from) to people you identify with such as religion; homeland; language; or nationality.
I'm not comfortable with how he speaks of Marx or his nacerima comments. I don't want someone like that saying they know how people should live, or worse yet get power and try to force people to live "correctly"
You didn't comprehend what he said... Some colonisers had the mentality that the native language of the people they colonised were humorous and irrelevant. Language's one of the elements of colonisation - that's the reason why indians, pakistanis and south-africans speak english, brazilians speak portuguese and most latinamericans speak spanish
Think he's treading on thin ice telling Americans that Jesus couldn't afford chairs and a table , he was a carpenter !!! , even if he hadn't got further than a table lamp , he could have just magiced them and the food , especially as it was probably one of the most important meals ever !!!. Wonder how many dropped out after he questioned Jesus's ability to make chairs and a table ?.
I'm not leaving but I don't like this guy. Thinking that you can prescribe what society should do is very dangerous and arrogant. Lets give Marxism another go.. And about chairs- an auditorium where you can fit many people and they can all see a performance(a play, a speech, music) doesn't require some oppressor/oppressed relation. BTW I really liked the part about names.
It’s not just an issue of wealth. It’s also an issue of class. Lower class people aren’t allowed to use chairs. Similar to how black people weren’t allowed to sit at the front of the bus.
What a terrible example. Why do we often have chairs and benches in lecture halls? It's much easier to take notes, use computers and organise papers, they are easy to organise efficiently so everyone fits and can see, and the audience aren't moving around all the time distracting from the lecture. Although maybe that wouldn't be such a loss in this case. Also, are chairs a new invention noone used before the modern day? No, people have been able to use stumps, tree logs, etc for a very long time indeed. He also don't seem to comprehend that when people squat in order to work with things they don't repetitively squat and stand up as you would when training leg muscles, but rather squat in a rather static position for an extended period of time, often in a way that's relatively self supporting for stability.
