Ryan Mead

Table of Contents

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, students will be able to:

Define and distinguish between key sociological concepts: social constructions, social categories, social institutions, and social structures.
Explain the process by which social constructions gain meaning and become “naturalized” in everyday life.
Identify examples of social constructions (e.g., money, marriage, graduation) and analyze how they influence social behavior and expectations.
Describe major social categories such as race, class, gender, age, ethnicity, and sexuality, and understand how these categories shape individual and group experiences.
Apply the concept of intersectionality to explore how overlapping social categories influence unique lived experiences.
Recognize the functions and roles of major social institutions (family, education, economy, religion, politics) in maintaining societal stability and transmitting values.
Differentiate social structures from institutions and explain how underlying social patterns organize relationships and social roles.
Reflect on how abstract sociological concepts are present in familiar settings and professional contexts such as schools, hospitals, and local communities.

Introduction

Sociology invites us to look beyond our personal experiences and ask bigger questions about how the world around us works. As we explored in the previous module, sociology is defined as the study of social relationships between two or more people and how those relationships solidify into social constructions, categories, institutions, and structures. This module takes a deeper look at each of these foundational ideas.

This section can feel abstract and even overwhelming at first. Many of the ideas challenge common sense understandings and ask us to see familiar things in new ways. That is expected. Sociology teaches us to question what feels normal or natural, and that process can take time. It is important to acknowledge that feeling uncertain or confused at first is not a sign of failure. It is a sign that you are learning to think sociologically.

Think of this module as the foundation for your sociological toolbox. The terms and ideas introduced here will return throughout the course. Whether you are preparing for a career in nursing, criminal justice, human services, or another public-serving field, these tools will help you understand the social forces that shape the lives of the people you will serve, as well as your own.

Every society has recurring patterns for how things are done. This includes how we define family, organize schools, distribute money, or decide what counts as success. These patterns do not emerge by accident. They are shaped and sustained by social constructions, social categories, social institutions, and social structures. These terms may sound unfamiliar now, but they refer to real forces that shape everyday life.

Social institutions are organized systems, such as family, education, and government, that meet important needs in society. Social categories group people based on shared traits, such as age, race, gender, or class. Social constructions are ideas and practices that exist because people collectively agree they have meaning, such as weddings, money, or legal systems. Social structures are the often invisible patterns that shape roles, relationships, and expectations across society.

These concepts create the framework of our social world. This module will help you understand how they operate in daily life, and how they influence who we are and how we relate to others. Learning to recognize these forces gives us the ability to think more critically about our own experiences and to better understand the communities and institutions around us.

Module 02 – Lecture 01: “Defining Social Constructions,” The Online Sociologist. Video Link.

Have you ever stopped to ask why a graduation ceremony feels important? Why a wedding makes a lifelong promise feel official? Or why a dollar bill can be exchanged for food or clothing? These are everyday parts of life, yet we rarely pause to consider where their meaning comes from. Sociology invites us to step back and ask an important question: What if the meanings we take for granted are not natural, but created by society?

This is where the idea of social constructions comes in. In sociology, we define a social construction as something that exists because people collectively agree it does. It gains meaning and importance because we treat it as real through our shared beliefs and behaviors. Social constructs like graduations, weddings, and money do not have power on their own. They have power because we give them power, and we act as though they are real.

Understanding social constructions is essential to developing a sociological perspective. When we realize that many parts of our world are constructed, we begin to question what we often call “common sense.” What seems obvious or natural may actually be the result of long-standing social agreements. For example, it might feel like there is only one way to do a wedding or one correct form of money, but different cultures and historical periods have done these things very differently. “Common sense” often reflects the values of the dominant group in a society, not some universal truth.

Social constructions matter because they shape how we live, what we value, and how we interact with others. They influence everything from how we celebrate achievements to how we define relationships or exchange goods. They also reveal whose values and perspectives are widely accepted, and whose are ignored or challenged. In this way, social constructions are not only about shared meaning, but also about power.

To make this process clearer, we can look at four stages that explain how social constructions form and become part of everyday life:

Agreement on Reality: A group or society comes to a shared understanding that something matters. For example, people agree that completing school is important.
Social Definition: The group assigns specific meaning or form to that idea. Graduation ceremonies, with caps and gowns, become the chosen way to mark school completion.
Continued Maintenance: The meaning is kept alive through repeated actions, like schools hosting ceremonies and families celebrating them.
Naturalization: Over time, the idea becomes so accepted that it feels like it has always been that way. We rarely question it, and it feels like a natural part of life.

Let’s look at some familiar examples to see how this works.

**Image 01:** Examples of social constructions. Image created using Canva.

Graduation did not always involve a formal ceremony, but over time, societies agreed that finishing a course of study should be recognized. Specific traditions like gowns, speeches, and diplomas were created to mark the occasion. Schools and families repeat these traditions every year, reinforcing the value of graduation. Eventually, it becomes expected. For many students, graduation feels like a natural part of life, even though it is a social creation.

Marriage is also a social construct. People across cultures recognize it as a meaningful relationship, but the way it is defined and celebrated varies. Some see it as a religious bond, others as a legal contract, and others as both. Traditions, laws, and expectations around marriage help keep it recognized as a valid institution. Over time, it becomes so deeply woven into society that many see it as an essential step in adult life, not as something created by people.

Money might feel like the most “real” example, but it, too, is a social construct. At its core, money is only valuable because we all agree it is. A piece of paper or a number in a bank account holds no natural value, but through agreement and regulation, we treat it as a medium of exchange. Governments and institutions work to maintain this belief, and as a result, money becomes a normal, unquestioned part of life.

By understanding how social constructions form, we learn to look at the world in a new way. We see that many things we take for granted are not fixed or natural, but made and maintained by people. This helps us understand why different societies have different customs, and why change is always possible. More importantly, it helps us question which ideas we accept without thinking and opens up space to imagine other ways of doing things.

**Image 02:** Different social categories. Image created using Canva.

Module 02 – Lecture 02: “Defining Social Categories,” The Online Sociologist. Video Link.

In the previous section, we explored how shared beliefs shape social constructions—ideas and practices like weddings, graduations, and money that feel natural but are actually created and maintained by society. Now we turn to something equally familiar: the traits we use to describe ourselves and others. Think about how quickly we identify people by their appearance, speech, clothing, or behavior. These judgments often happen without much thought, yet they influence nearly every interaction we have. In sociology, we call these groupings social categories.

A social category is a group of people who share certain traits that society considers meaningful. Examples include age, gender, race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality. These categories help shape expectations, roles, and social experiences. They are not just labels. They are powerful tools through which society organizes people, often influencing how individuals are treated and how they understand themselves.

It is important to understand that categorization itself is a social construction. The categories we use and what they mean are not fixed in nature. Instead, they are created, defined, and maintained by societies. The traits we focus on, the boundaries we draw, and the meanings we attach to each group all reflect collective beliefs. This means that social categories can change across time and cultures, and that different societies may categorize people in very different ways.

Also, the categories listed here are not the only ones. They are simply some of the most widely recognized and influential in many societies today. In your own community, workplace, or culture, other categories may matter just as much. Part of developing a sociological perspective is learning to notice these systems of classification and to question how they shape experience and opportunity.

Like social constructions, social categories are deeply embedded in everyday life. They influence not only how we see others, but also how others see us. By studying social categories, sociology helps us uncover the often hidden ways that society organizes people and assigns value based on group membership.

In the next sections, we will explore several major social categories in more detail. We will also introduce the concept of intersectionality, which helps us understand how different categories overlap and interact to create unique experiences.

In this section, we will look at several common social categories that have a strong influence on individual and group experiences in society. As you read, keep in mind that these categories are not biological facts or fixed truths. Instead, they are socially constructed ideas—created, defined, and maintained through collective belief and behavior. Their meanings can change over time and differ across cultures. These categories help shape how people understand themselves and how they are treated by others.

Race

Race is one of the most visible and socially powerful categories. It is often based on physical traits such as skin color, facial features, and hair texture. But the meanings we attach to these traits are not natural. They are created by society. Categories like “White,” “Black,” “Indigenous,” or “Asian” reflect social ideas about difference, not scientific realities. These ideas have been used historically to justify unequal treatment, and they continue to influence how people are perceived and treated today. Racial identity can shape everything from everyday interactions to opportunities in education, employment, and healthcare. It also affects how individuals understand themselves and where they feel they belong.

Ethnicity

Ethnicity refers to a shared cultural background. It often includes common traditions, language, ancestry, religion, or food. While race is imposed by outside perceptions, ethnicity is often more about internal connections and cultural identity. For example, a person might identify as Irish-American, Haitian, or Palestinian based on family heritage and cultural practices. Like race, ethnic identities are socially meaningful. They offer a sense of belonging, but they can also be the basis for misunderstanding or exclusion. Ethnic identity is shaped by history and place, and it can change across generations and social contexts.

Class

Social class refers to a person’s position in the economic hierarchy. It is often defined by income, wealth, education, and occupation. Class influences where people live, what kind of healthcare and education they can access, and how much control they have over their future. Class also shapes social networks and how people are treated by others. For example, someone from a low-income rural background might face barriers that a wealthy urban resident does not. Social class is not just about money. It includes the expectations, values, and assumptions that society connects to economic status. Like other categories, class is a social construction. Its boundaries and meanings shift across time and place.

Gender

Gender refers to the roles, behaviors, and identities society associates with being male, female, or somewhere in between. It is often assumed to be tied to biological sex, but gender is shaped by culture and social expectations. Society teaches us from a young age what is considered “appropriate” for boys and girls, and those expectations influence everything from clothing and hobbies to careers and relationships. People experience gender in different ways. Some feel that their gender matches their assigned sex at birth, while others identify as transgender, nonbinary, or gender-fluid. Gender is not just personal. It is also social. It affects how people are treated, what opportunities they have, and how they see themselves in the world.

Age

Age is a social category that influences how people are expected to behave at different stages of life. Society often assigns roles and responsibilities based on age, such as going to school as a child, working as an adult, or retiring as an elder. These roles are not natural. They are created by social norms and policies. For example, age-based laws decide when people can drive, vote, or receive social services. People are often treated differently based on their age, whether they are seen as too young to understand or too old to contribute. These judgments shape how people move through the world and how they are valued at different life stages.

Sexuality

Sexuality includes both sexual orientation and sexual identity. It refers to whom a person is attracted to and how they experience and express that attraction. Categories such as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and pansexual describe different patterns of attraction. Like gender, sexuality is deeply influenced by social norms. Societies vary in how they define and accept different sexual identities. In some communities, certain expressions of sexuality are embraced. In others, they are marginalized or even criminalized. People often internalize messages about sexuality from family, media, religion, and education. This makes sexuality not only a personal matter but also a deeply social one.

Each of these categories plays a role in shaping how we move through the world, how others see us, and how systems and institutions respond to us. In the next section, we will explore intersectionality, a framework that helps us understand how these categories overlap in complex and meaningful ways.

The Importance of Intersectionality

**Image 03:** Imagining intersectionality. Image Source.

As we explore social categories like race, gender, and class, it becomes clear that people do not experience society through just one category at a time. Most of us live at the intersection of multiple identities. A person may be a woman, Latina, working-class, and disabled. Each of those traits can affect how she is seen and treated. More importantly, they do not act separately. They combine to shape a unique social experience.

This is the central idea behind intersectionality, which is defined as a framework used in sociology to understand how multiple social categories interact and influence each other. It helps us see how systems of advantage and disadvantage overlap. Rather than treating race, gender, or class as isolated experiences, intersectionality looks at how they work together in real life.

**Image 04:** Kimberlé Crenshaw (1959-Present) who coined the term, intersectionality. Image Source.

The term intersectionality was introduced by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in the late 1980s. She used it to explain how Black women’s experiences of discrimination were often ignored by legal systems that treated racism and sexism as separate problems. Crenshaw argued that we cannot understand inequality fully if we only look at one identity at a time.

This concept can be challenging. Some people may wonder whether it divides us or focuses too much on difference. But intersectionality is not about dividing people. It is about understanding complexity. Each of us lives at the intersection of different social forces, and recognizing that reality helps us better understand ourselves and each other. It also helps professionals in fields like nursing, criminal justice, and human services recognize how identity shapes people’s access to care, safety, opportunity, and dignity.

Let’s consider an example. A young person who is both low-income and LGBTQ+ might face different challenges in school than a student who is low-income but heterosexual. That difference is not just about money or identity on its own. It is about how those parts of identity combine. Intersectionality helps us see the full picture.

By using an intersectional lens, sociologists and practitioners can:

Better understand how systems like racism, sexism, and class inequality overlap
Recognize which groups may face compounded disadvantages
Identify gaps in policies, services, or protections
Avoid one-size-fits-all approaches to social problems

Ultimately, intersectionality encourages us to ask deeper questions. Who is included? Who is left out? Whose experiences are being recognized, and whose are being ignored? These are not just academic questions. They are essential for anyone working to make communities more fair, inclusive, and responsive to human needs.

As we move forward in this course, we will continue to use intersectionality as a tool for deeper analysis and empathy. It helps us uncover what might otherwise remain hidden and offers language to explore inequality in ways that are honest and informed. Building on this foundation, we now shift from understanding how individuals are categorized to examining the broader systems that shape society. These systems, known as social institutions, organize relationships, guide behavior, and help maintain the structure of social life.

**Image 05:** Different social institutions. Image created using Canva.

Module 02 – Lecture 03: “Defining Social Institutions,” The Online Sociologist. Video Link.

As we move from understanding social categories and how they intersect to shape individual experiences, we now turn to another powerful force in society: social institutions. These are the organized systems that guide behavior, establish norms, and meet the shared needs of a community.

To begin, imagine a society without schools, families, governments, or religious organizations. Without these systems, there would be little structure or predictability in daily life. Social institutions are what provide that structure. They help societies function by creating order, giving meaning to relationships, and offering support to individuals.

Each social institution has two interconnected parts that work together to shape how it functions in society:

Material Elements
These are the physical parts of an institution. They include buildings, tools, documents, and laws. For example:
- A school includes classrooms, textbooks, desks, and attendance records.
- A government includes courthouses, voting machines, citizenship papers, and official policies.
Ideals and Values
These are the shared beliefs that give the institution meaning and purpose. While the material elements are visible, these ideals are what guide how the institution operates. For example:
- Schools are based on the belief that education is important and should be accessible.
- Families are shaped by ideas about love, care, responsibility, and support.
- Governments are built on principles such as justice, equality, or authority, depending on the society.

Both components are necessary. Without material structures, institutions cannot function. Without guiding values, those structures would lack meaning or direction.

Studying social institutions is essential to sociology because they reveal how society is organized and how social order is maintained. Institutions influence behavior, shape relationships, and help individuals understand their roles and responsibilities within a larger community.

It is also important to recognize that institutions are not the same everywhere. What counts as a family or how a government operates varies across cultures and historical periods. Institutions evolve in response to social, political, and economic change. For example, the structure of families may shift as cultural values change, or educational systems may adapt to new technologies and labor demands. By examining institutions across different times and places, sociologists gain insight into the diversity of social life and how societies adapt to new challenges.

In addition to organizing society, institutions play a key role in shaping identity. Through a process called socialization, institutions teach individuals the values, norms, and behaviors expected by their community. Schools, for example, do more than teach academic subjects. They help students learn how to follow rules, work with others, and understand societal expectations. Families introduce children to their first relationships and roles, influencing their sense of self and belonging.

Social institutions, then, are more than systems that operate in the background. They influence how we live, what we believe, and how we relate to others. Understanding them gives us valuable insight into how society functions and how individual lives are connected to broader social forces.

In the next section, we will explore five core social institutions—economy, politics, religion, education, and family—and examine how each one influences daily life and contributes to the structure of society.

Now that we understand what social institutions are and why they matter, we can look more closely at five core institutions that play a central role in shaping society: the economy, politics, religion, education, and family. These institutions are not separate from daily life. They influence how we live, how we interact with others, and what opportunities we have.

The Economic Institution

The economic institution is responsible for managing how goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed. This includes everything from job markets and wages to banking systems and trade.

Different societies organize their economies in different ways. In capitalism, private individuals or companies own most businesses and compete in the marketplace. In socialism, the government often plays a larger role in distributing resources to promote equality. In other societies, people may trade goods directly in a barter system.

Examples of material elements in this institution include money, banks, credit cards, factories, stores, and online marketplaces. Underlying these are values such as fairness, profit, productivity, or cooperation.

The economic institution matters because it affects nearly every aspect of daily life, including where people work, what they can afford, and how wealth is distributed within a society.

The Political Institution

The political institution is how societies govern themselves. It creates laws, enforces rules, and makes decisions that affect people’s rights, freedoms, and responsibilities.

Governments come in many forms. In democracies, citizens elect leaders to make decisions. In monarchies, leadership may be passed down through a royal family. In authoritarian systems, power is concentrated in the hands of a few and often limits public participation.

Material elements include government buildings, voting systems, legal documents, and citizenship records. The guiding values often include justice, security, freedom, or authority.

Political institutions are essential for maintaining order and resolving conflict. They shape how resources are allocated and how power is distributed across a society.

The Religious Institution

The religious institution brings people together around shared spiritual beliefs and practices. It helps individuals and communities find purpose, moral guidance, and a connection to something larger than themselves.

Religious institutions include a wide variety of faiths and traditions, such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and many Indigenous spiritual systems. These traditions may involve worship services, rituals, sacred texts, and religious leaders.

Material components include places of worship like churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues, as well as objects like prayer books, altars, and religious symbols. The values promoted by religion often include compassion, service, forgiveness, or obedience.

Religion plays a powerful role in shaping culture and identity. It can bring people together, influence laws and politics, and provide support during times of hardship.

The Educational Institution

The educational institution is where knowledge, skills, and cultural values are passed from one generation to the next. It prepares people to participate in society and to develop their individual potential.

Education takes many forms, from public schools and universities to homeschooling and vocational training. Different societies may emphasize different goals, such as memorization, creativity, discipline, or workforce preparation.

Material elements include schools, classrooms, textbooks, tests, and technology. The ideals behind education often include opportunity, achievement, equality, or citizenship.

Education is not only about academics. It also socializes young people into societal norms, teaching them how to interact with authority, work with others, and understand their place in the world.

The Family Institution

The family institution is often considered the most personal and foundational of all. It connects individuals through relationships such as marriage, parenting, adoption, and kinship.

Families can take many forms, including nuclear families, extended families, single-parent households, and chosen families. Each type reflects different social, cultural, and economic values.

Material elements include homes, family photographs, shared meals, and household tools. Family values may emphasize love, loyalty, care, responsibility, or tradition.

Families provide emotional support, teach social roles, and help individuals develop their first sense of identity. They are the first place where many people learn how to relate to others and what it means to be part of a group.

Together, these five institutions form the backbone of social life. They are deeply connected to one another and to the everyday experiences of individuals and communities. Understanding them helps us see how society is organized and how personal lives are shaped by larger systems.

Module 02 – Lecture 04: “Defining Social Structures,” The Online Sociologist. Video Link.

Think back to the halls of a high school. You might notice friend groups forming, students showing respect to teachers, or the way classes are separated by grade level. No one hands out a rulebook explaining these behaviors, yet they are widely followed. These unspoken expectations are part of what sociologists call social structure.

Social structure refers to the underlying patterns that shape how people relate to one another and to the larger society. These patterns include roles, relationships, routines, and norms. They help society function smoothly by creating order and predictability. Social structures influence who has authority, how people behave in different settings, and what roles individuals are expected to play.

It is helpful to compare social structure to something more familiar. If a social institution is like a school building with its staff, schedule, and purpose, then social structure is like the blueprint that explains how it is all organized. Social structure does not refer to a specific place or organization. Instead, it describes the system of rules, relationships, and expectations that shape our behavior across many parts of life.

This idea can feel abstract, but it becomes easier to grasp through real examples. In a high school, structure is visible in how students are grouped by grade, how authority is given to teachers, and how daily routines like lunch periods or class schedules are followed. These patterns shape how people interact, where they fit in, and what roles they are expected to take on. The same kind of structure exists in workplaces, hospitals, churches, and even families. We often think of these patterns as “just the way things are,” but they are created and reinforced by society over time.

Studying social structure helps sociologists understand how societies stay organized and how people make sense of their place within them. It reveals the invisible forces that shape our decisions, opportunities, and interactions. While individuals can make choices, those choices are often influenced by the social structures they live within.

For example, understanding social structure can help explain why certain groups may have easier access to education or employment, while others face barriers. It also helps us see how power, privilege, and inequality are maintained over time. By identifying these patterns, sociologists can explore how change happens and what might be needed to create more fairness and opportunity.

Social structure is less visible than social institutions or categories, but it is just as important. It gives us a framework for understanding how society works behind the scenes. By learning to recognize these hidden patterns, we can better understand both individual behavior and broader social outcomes. This knowledge is especially useful for those entering fields like criminal justice, nursing, or human services, where understanding people’s social environments is key to helping them effectively.

Conclusion

This module presents some of the most challenging content in the course. The concepts introduced here—social constructions, categories, institutions, and structures—require a shift in how we think about everyday life. Instead of seeing the world as simply natural or fixed, sociology asks us to examine how meanings are created, how people are organized, and how larger systems shape what we often take for granted.

By working through this material, you have begun to build your sociological toolbox. We explored how shared beliefs become social constructions, how categories like race and gender shape individual experiences, and how intersectionality helps us understand overlapping identities. We also examined the major institutions that provide order and pass down values, and the underlying social structures that organize behavior and expectations. These tools will help you understand how individuals and groups are shaped by forces that are often invisible but deeply influential.

Together, these ideas form the foundation of sociological thinking. You will return to them throughout the course as you apply this toolbox to real-world issues and professional settings. Whether you are entering nursing, criminal justice, or human services, these concepts will help you better understand the communities you serve and the systems you work within.

Key Terms

Age: A social category related to the expectations and roles that societies assign to individuals at different stages of life.

Class: A social category defined by a person’s socioeconomic position, including income, education, wealth, and occupation, which influences access to resources and opportunities.

Economy: A social institution that organizes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services within a society.

Education: A social institution focused on the transfer of knowledge, skills, and cultural values across generations.

Ethnicity: A social category based on shared cultural traditions, language, ancestry, and heritage.

Family: A foundational social institution made up of individuals connected through blood, marriage, or adoption, responsible for emotional support, socialization, and cooperation.

Gender: A social category related to cultural expectations, roles, and identities associated with femininity, masculinity, and gender diversity.

Intersectionality: A concept describing how overlapping social categories such as race, gender, and class combine to shape unique experiences of privilege and discrimination.

Politics: A social institution responsible for governance, decision-making, law creation, and the organization of power in society.

Race: A social category often based on perceived physical traits that society uses to assign meaning and structure social interactions.

Religion: A social institution that organizes shared spiritual beliefs, practices, and moral systems, often providing a sense of meaning and community.

Sexuality: A social category that includes sexual orientation and identity, influencing how individuals express attraction and form relationships.

Social Categories: Groupings based on shared characteristics such as race, class, gender, or age, which influence individual identities and social dynamics.

Social Construction: A concept or practice that exists because people collectively agree it does, assigning meaning through shared norms and behaviors over time.

Social Institution: A stable and organized system that meets collective needs by combining physical elements with shared values and guiding social behavior.

Social Structure: The overarching system of organized roles, relationships, and institutions that shape social behavior and maintain order.

Sociology: The study of social relationships between two or more people and how those relationships solidify into social constructions, categories, institutions, and structures.

Module Summary

In this module, you explored some of the most foundational and challenging concepts in sociology. You learned how social constructions, social categories, social institutions, and social structures shape both individual experiences and the organization of society. These concepts form the sociological toolbox you will continue to use throughout the course. Together, they help us understand how meaning is created, how people are classified, how systems function, and how roles and behaviors are organized. Whether you are preparing for a career in nursing, criminal justice, human services, or another field, these tools will help you think critically about the social forces that affect the people you serve and the systems you work within.

Apply What You’ve Learned

Now that you have developed a stronger sociological foundation, think about how these concepts appear in your daily life and future profession. How do social constructions shape the way people understand success, health, or responsibility in your community? How do social categories affect who gets heard, who gets help, or who gets left out? How do institutions like schools, courts, or hospitals support or limit people in your area? And how do invisible social structures shape what people expect of themselves and others? Begin to notice these patterns in the places you live, study, and work. The more you apply these ideas, the more useful your sociological toolbox will become.

Check Your Understanding

Use the questions below to review the key concepts from this module. These are designed to help you reflect on what you’ve learned and prepare for assessments. Be ready to answer each one in your own words, using specific ideas and terms from the reading.

What does it mean to say that “money,” “graduation,” or “marriage” are social constructions, and how does this change the way we understand their importance in our lives?
What does it mean to say that categories like race, class, and gender are socially constructed, and how does this challenge what we think is “normal” or “natural”?
What is intersectionality, and why is it important to understanding how power and inequality operate in society today?
How do social structures shape behavior in ways we do not always notice, and why does sociology emphasize their role in everyday life?