Our sociological glossary is new; we are in the process of developing our online sociological glossary, with more terms to be added as we go along. If you think there is something we haven't added yet, please let us know.
Glossary
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Base and Superstructure
Marx’s model of society, where the economic base (forces and relations of production) shapes the superstructure (politics, culture, and ideology).
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Bonding and Bridging Social Capital
Putnam distinguishes between bonding social capital (within-group cohesion) and bridging social capital (connections between diverse groups).
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Bounded Rationality
Bounded rationality acknowledges that decision-making in education is constrained by limited knowledge, time, and structural factors, rather than being purely logical.
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Bourgeoisie and Proletariat
The bourgeoisie are the capitalist class who own the means of production, while the proletariat are the working class who sell their labour.
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Bowling Alone
Putnam’s term for the decline of social capital in modern societies, where traditional forms of community engagement have diminished.
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Bureaucracy
A bureaucratic system is a structured, hierarchical organisation based on rules, procedures, and impersonal relationships, as described by Max Weber.
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Bureaucratic Rationality
Bureaucratic rationality refers to the structured, rule-based organisation of modern institutions, as described by Weber.
