Women and Sociology the Sociological Term Paper

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II. Social Action

Max Weber developed the concept of social action as a means of describing those actions that take into account actions and reactions of other people, then modifying that action based on those occurrences. Sociologists employ social action as a conceptual model as a means of determining how certain behaviors are modified in specific environments. When we evaluate the norms of social discourse and the customs that prevail in any given society, we see how social action works.

Importantly, social action takes into consideration reactions of others. When the reaction of an individual or group is not wanted, then the action will be modified accordingly. Sociology is essentially the study of social action, as it takes into account the way society functions and the way human behavior is established in societal structures. According to social action theory, people change their actions according to what social context they find themselves in, based on how their actions will have an affect on others. Such alterations are the object of sociological inquiry.

Social action plays a dominant role in the leadership and organization of social movements. Ella Baker, one of leading African-American and civil rights activists of the 20th century, worked primarily as a behind-the-scenes organizer for such leaders as Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and W.E.B. DuBois. When she became field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1941, she was one of the central figures who pushed for the committee to decentralize itself and be more inclusive, during which time she traveled all over the country recruiting new members. Indeed, field action played a prominent role in the social activism of Ella Baker.

Regina Curry of Chicago began her career as a social organizer by working in community-based programs. Her work has focused on improving the quality of life for individuals who are disadvantaged on a socio-economic level. She has taken the initiative to launch several homeless shelters in the course of her career, while also doing work in cooperative organizations.

At the root of Curry's social action theory, however, was the importance of education. It is thus that, in addition to her organizing, she has devoted a large portion of her career to educating young people as to the problems of society, and helping them form solutions to these problems.

Jessie Lopez de la Cruz was the first female to organize for the unionization of farm workers. Unlike Curry and Baker, who were both born in this country, de la Cruz was a migrant and immigrant worker. She soon developed a sociological imagination, however, and used this knowledge to defy the conditions of poverty that she lived and worked in and helped to establish the United Farm Workers' Union.

In short, while fieldwork formed the basis of Ella Baker's strategy for organizing community efforts, education forms the foundation of Regina Curry's approach. Jessie Lopez de la Cruz's work re-affirms the need for a sociological imagination to be firmly in store before one begins to take a step towards organizing diverse communities into coherent entities of social action.

Works Cited

Cohen, Roger. "Her Jewish State." The New York Times Magazine, July 8, 2007.

Mills, C.W. The Sociological Imagination.…