Download Unit 1 Intro - MR. Chavez`s Class

Sociology
Foundations of Sociology
Essential Question:
•How does the study of
Sociology as a science help
our understanding of our
world?
Essential Terms:
• Society
• Social interaction
• Social phenomena
• Sociological imagination
• Sociological Perspective
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Functionalist -Durkheim,
Manifest Function
Latent Function
Dysfunction
Conflict -Marx, Weber
Symbolic Interactionist-Blumer,
Goffman
What is sociology ?-Studies human society and
social behavior in a scientific manner.
• Looks at two main aspects of society.
• - Social interaction-how people relate to one another and influence
each others behavior.
• Ex. How do we communicate with one another.
• EX. Peer pressure
• - Social phenomena- observable facts or events in human society.
• Ex. New language that has developed around texting… LOL, OMG,
CIC
Definition of Society:
• Is a large social group of people that share the same
geographical territory and is subject to the same
political authority and dominant cultural expectations.
• If these 3 factors are present then you belong to the
same society.
• Difficult to attain for various reasons.
• Why do you think it is hard to attain a society based
on the definition given?
Sociological imagination:
• is achieved by developing our Sociological
Perspective, that is looking at society through
the group rather than the individual
• the ability to see the relationship between
events in our personal lives and events in
society
Why study sociology? Good question..
• Understand how behavior is
influenced by social factors. Ex.
Race, gender, age etc..
• Learn how to view the world
through the eyes of others.
Different perspectives… Put
yourself in another's shoes.
• Look beyond common beliefs
and search for hidden meanings.
“look for what is not being said”
• Attempt to balance our personal
desires with their social
environment
• Find your place in society and
history
Sociology is 1 of 6 Social Sciences
• Anthropology- looks at the past
through archeology, linguistics
and traditional societies
• Psychology- focuses on
individual behavior and human
mental processes
• Political Science: Organization,
philosophy and operation of
government
• Economics- the use of available
resources
• History- The study of how past
events impact current behavior
What do sociologist do?
• Sociologists generate theories about social
issues such as the role of class, gender roles,
crime, age, racism, and culture through three
theoretical perspectives: Functionalist, Conflict
and Symbolic Interactionist.
What sociologist avoid is over generalizations
or stereotypes
• Poor people are far more likely
than rich people to break the
law and use drugs.
• The Untied States is a middle
class society in which most
people are roughly equal.
• Differences in the behavior of
females and males reflect
“human nature.”
Sociological perspectives- developed during
the French and Industrial Revolutions
• Functionalist -Durkheim
• Durkheim-saw society as a series of interrelated parts each having an
influence on the other.
• Examined what each part and its function in our society and the role
it plays. For example Family, Religion, government, values…
• Societies go through change that follows a pattern
• Unrest -Social change- Integration- stability
• Cycle happens in every aspect or area of society; Family, Religion etc..
Societies go through change that follows a
pattern
•
Social Unrest
Ex. African Americans demand
their civil rights and actively
through protests and political
spheres
Social Change
Unrest leads to Civil Rights Act
of 1964, 1965 and 1968
Stability
Integration
Society becomes stable and a
new issue arises and the
process begins again
Majority of people over
time have accepted the
social change
Create your own example using a social issue
Reason why things
change according to
Functionalism:
Manifest functions
“stated reason” (intended
& recognized)
Latent functions “ hidden
reason” (unintended &
unrecognized)
Dysfunctions (negative
consequences of an
aspect of society
• Example
• Manifest Function: Mom and Dad what
you to participate in an curricular activity
• Latent: Parents wanted you to make
friends or just get out of the house
because they wanted time to themselves
to watch The Walking Dead
• Dysfunction: Your new extracurricular
activity has consumed your life. Parents
got to drive you around, grades have
suffered and its getting expensive.
Conflict Theory
• Marx is mostly known for his work in economics but his this theory of
class struggle also had huge implications on sociology.
• That there was or is a continuous struggle between two main
classes the bourgeoisie “owners” and proletariat “workers”.
• The imbalance of power both economic and political between the
two would lead to competition for both.
• Emphasis group identification and associations. Led to sociologist
and consider how memberships in different groups had a behavioral
impact on society.
Social Conflict Theory
Competition for power because of an imbalance
Weber believed that there was a competition for property, prestige,
and power within society and we want to protect them for ourselves
and our groups.
• Change happens when power shifts.
• Conflict Cycle within and between social classes
• Conflict-Power shift-Conflict-Power shift
• EX. Government
• Democrats-Republicans-Democrats-Republicans
• EX. NFL, NBA
Symbolic Interactionist or Interactionism
• Humans act towards people or things based on how we assign
meaning to those people or things. We think “subjectively”, that is
based on emotion and opinion rather than fact.
• We assign meaning to objects, and most importantly people based on
our social interaction and communication we have with others.
• We assign a Symbol or label to physical objects and to people and
thus adjust or behavior accordingly to that object or person based on
its meaning to US.
Symbolic Interaction
• We all assign Symbols/labels to people “it just happens”
• These labels have meanings so we form an idea of how we should
interact with that person based on our previous interaction or a
perceived way we should act.
• Grandfather
• Friends in your social group
• What things may change: Eye contact, language “formal, informal”,
tone, cadence, posture
Group Discussion and Share out
Each person has a minute to share their story
• While a person is sharing all others are quiet and
listening
• One person in the group shares story with the
class
•
•Have you ever been in a group situation
where you didn’t know how to interact. Did
you find your perceived symbols of
interaction wrong?
• We are conscious of the perceived symbols people have assigned to
us and so we become “self-conscious”.
• Not a bad thing because we can evaluate ourselves and improve.
• Also meanings are not set in stone and any negative Symbol we have
assigned can change.
• Sometimes people just perpetuate that assigned symbol.
Goal/Learning Objective
I can identify examples of the 3 theories of
sociology and how they impact the manner in
which we communicate and interact within our
society.
Process
• Take 10 minutes to review your notes regarding
Functionalism, Conflict theory and symbolic
interaction.
Applying Theories
• As we watch the video, write down 3 examples that
would meet the definition of each of the theories we
have discussed in class.
• Functionalist
• Conflict
• Symbolic Interaction
A Class Divided
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.h
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