Download International Sociology and Current Sociology.

Chapter 1
The Sociological Point of View
Section 1
Examining Social Life
Pages 4-8
Section 1 Objectives
• 1. Describe what sociology is and explain what
it means to have a sociological imagination.
• 2. Explain how sociology is similar to and
different from other social sciences.
The Natural and Social Sciences
• The broad study of science can be divided into
the natural and social sciences. The natural
sciences examine and analyze the natural
world. These sciences include biology,
chemistry, geology, and physics. The social
sciences examine and analyze the social
world, or the world of human beings. These
sciences include anthropology, economics,
history, political science, psychology, and
sociology.
The Sociological Perspective
• Sociology: studies human society and social
behavior.
• Social sciences: the disciplines that study human
social behavior or institutions.
• Social interaction: how people relate to one
another and influence each other’s behavior.
Sociologists focus on the group rather than on
the individual.
• Social phenomena: observable facts or events
that involve human society.
Why study sociology?
• Sociological perspective: It helps you gain a
perspective on and view yourself and the world around
you. Look beyond commonly held beliefs to the
hidden meanings behind human actions. The
sociological perspective helps you see all people are
social beings. Your behavior is influenced by social
factors and that you have learned your behavior from
others. This allows you see beyond your own day to
day life by viewing the world through others’ eyes.
• It’s a scientific systematic way, rather than depending
on common sense explanations.
• The sociological perspective helps you find an
acceptable balance between personal desires
and demands of your social environment. If
you always do what you want to do you are
likely to conflict with others a great deal of the
time. If on the other hand you always do what
others want, you will not grow very much as
an individual. Using the sociological
perspective can help guide you to finding a
balance.
Sociological Imagination
• The connection between the larger world and
your personal life is what sociologist C. Wright
Mills called the sociological imagination. Mills
described the sociological imagination as “ the
capacity to range from the most impersonal
and remote [topics] to the most intimate
features of the human self-and to see the
relations between the two.”
Sociological Imagination Activity
• Illustration that
represents the larger
world or society, such
as the issue of drinking
and driving affects
society at large, affects
specific groups in
society,
• Illustration of an image
that represents an
individual, such as a
figure of a person or a
face. How it affects you
personally.
Sociological Specialties
• Social behavior and groups can be examined
from a variety of angles. As a result, many
sociologists focus on a specific area of study.
These specialties include topics such as
adolescence, aging and the life course, crime,
education, health and medicine, labor and
occupations, racial and ethnic minorities, and
sports.
The International Sociological
Association
• To promote and advance the knowledge of
sociology worldwide, the International
Sociological Association (ISA) was founded in
1949. This organization provides a network
for sociologists throughout the world to share
research, debate ideas, and present new
findings. Journals published by the ISA include
International Sociology and Current Sociology.
Activity
• Divide into small groups.
• I will assign each group one of the ASA
publications listed in this feature.
• American Sociological Review
• Sociological Theory
• Journal of Health and Social Behavior
• Teaching Sociology
• Contemporary Sociology
• Each group should create a handout highlighting
the journal’s main features.
Sociology’s Place in the Social Sciences
• Sociologist James M. Henslin provides an example
of how each social science might study juvenile
delinquency. Historians might examine juvenile
delinquency during a particular place and time.
Political scientists might examine how access to
political power affects who joins youth gangs.
Economists might study the economic costs of
juvenile delinquency, and anthropologists might
examine how culture contributes to youth crime.
Finally, psychologists might examine the
personality traits of gang members.
Social Science Activity
• I will divide you into five groups.
• You will be assigned one of the following
disciplines:
• A. anthropology
• B. economics
• C. history
• D. political science
• E. psychology
• You will use library and in-class resources to
research your assigned discipline and then
create a poster about the discipline.
• Choose a spokesperson to present your
assigned discipline and explain the role of that
discipline in the social sciences.
• Remember sociologists borrow freely from the
various social science