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Awakening the Sociological Imagination
Society is …
• A group of individuals
…living together as members of a community
…in agreed upon ways
What Does Society Look Like?
• Society:
o Is an object (it has a form/shape)
o If Society is an object, then it can be studied like
any other subject
o A Sociologist does to society …what a Biologist
does to a living organism …what a geologist does
to a rock
o Society becomes something scientifically dissected
and studied
A Geologist Studiying a Rock
Upon Further Examination
• As we study this object (society) we discover
– It is made up of countless other components
• Things such as cultures, institutions, rules …
– These things can also be studied on their own
– Additionally, these parts can be broken down
and studied
– We soon discover “society” is huge and has
many moving parts, shapes and boundaries
Society looks like this painting by
Kandinsky
Or more like this: Relationships
between individuals in a society
What Can We See?
• When we sociologically examine closely, we
can see:
People living their lives
o Interacting with each other
o Working, Playing, Eating, Dancing, Flirting, Learning,
Fighting, Grieving, Marrying, Worshiping, etc…
There are limitless observable happenings for us to
analyze!
They are happening all around us – every moment of
every day of every life!
Seeing Sociology
- We can see …eating, meeting
and greeting “norms”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcEfzHB08QE
Is Sociology a Science?
Natural Science is the
study of the “physical”
features of nature and
the ways in which they
interact
Social Science is the
study of the “social”
features of humans and
the ways they interact
and change
The Social Sciences
• Social Sciences Include:
oSociology
oPsychology
oAnthropology
oEconomics
oPolitical Science
oHistory
Sociology
• The study of the
relationship
between the
individual and
society
• Ranges from large
scale institutions
and mass culture
to small groups
and individual
interests
The Sociology of “The Sopranos”
would deal with family, mafia,
loyalty, morality, immigration, etc..
TO BE CONTINUED
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Sociologists Ask …QUESTIONS!
Bathroom Etiquette is just an example of the types
of things we can and will examine in Sociology
Transitioning back to the video yesterday … there was
an interesting phrase used. The gentleman stated:
“We have forces all around us” that influence our
actions! …We tend to think of ourselves as free
agents – BUT IN REALITY – we are not!”
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Sociologists Ask …QUESTIONS!
AGREE or DISAGREE?
DO WE MAKE OUR OWN DECISIONS ABOUT LIFE
OR ARE WE PROGRAMMED / PRE-PROGRAMMED
BY OUTSIDE INFLUENCES?
padlet.com/pvteacher/socialforces
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Sociology: A Definition
• Sociology is the scientific study of human
activity in society.
• More specifically, it is the study of the
social forces that affect human behavior.
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Social Forces
• The human-created ways of doing things
that:
– influences
– pressures
– or push people to:
• behave
• interact with others
• and think in specified ways
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Social Forces
• The human-created ways of doing things that
influence, pressure, or push people to behave,
interact with others, and think in specified ways:
– Technology
– Racial classification
– Symbolic Meanings
– Institutions
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Why Study Sociology?
• Helps us understand how human activity
and behavior is organized.
– Pushes us to identify social forces shaping
human activity
– Pushes us to ask questions about that
activity’s consequences.
– Helps us to understand who we are
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Write a Caption
Write a caption
that addresses a
way in which the
“mobile phone”
is a Social Force
affecting human
relationships
and activities.
Photo Credit: Lisa Southwick
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Write a Caption
•Define a cell phone and its
purpose
•Identify the cell phone as a
“Social Force” which has
impacted … (give your
example)
•Reflect on what is gained
and perhaps lost as a result
(how are activities changed
and relationships effected?)
Write a caption that addresses a way in which the
mobile phone is a social force affecting human
relationships and activities
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
One Possible Caption
The cell phone is a technology humans invented to
communicate with others while on the move. There is no
question that this technology or social force has changed the
way people communicate. Because most people have their
own phone, callers do not have to speak to a 3rd party before
speaking to the person being called. So a parent, calling to
see if a child playing at a friend’s house is coming home, talks
to the child directly and misses an opportunity to talk to
another parent. On the surface it seems efficient to avoid a
third party; on the other hand, the ties among parents are
weakened.
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.